These Angel Wing Cookies (a.k.a. Chruściki, Krusciki, or Faworki) are traditional Christmas cookies that look like delicate angel wings or knots.
The cookies are dusted with powdered sugar to make such a beautiful cookie that it is impossible to stop eating— so yummy! Watch the video tutorial and you’ll see how easy these are!
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With slight variations, Angel Wing Cookies, or Ribbon Cookies are popular around the world and go by so many names, like Polish Chrusciki or Faworki, Italian Crogetti, Chilean Calzones Rotos, and French Bugnes.
Angel Wing Cookies Video
Watch how simple it is to make these Angel Wing Cookies in the tutorial above. I’ll walk you through it step-by-step and share great time savers on rolling and cutting the dough.
Angel Wing Cookie Recipe
I remember loving these Angel Wing Cookies from childhood, so when I couldn’t find my Mom’s recipe for Ukrainian Krusciki, I made it my mission to recreate them. Even though the cookies are easy to make, so many of my test batches fell flat, and I was about to throw in the towel until…
I saw a recipe for Norwegian (Fattigmand) in a Costco Magazine, and after a few tweaks, I finally nailed it! I was beyond excited, and judging by how much my family loved them (my daughter declared that she ate 12, and my husband lost count), I can see myself continuing this treasured Christmas cookie tradition.
It was worth all of the trouble to finally be able to share this Angel Wing Cookie Recipe with you. The dough here is seriously the best – it creates a cookie that is both crisp and tender and it actually has great flavor. It’s also super easy to work with. Roll up those sleeves, and let’s make some ribbon cookies!
Ingredients for Angel Wing Cookies (Chrusciki)
Angel Wing Cookie dough ingredients vary slightly from country to country, but they all use pantry staples for a simple, easy-to-make dough.
- Egg Yolks – from large eggs (no need to waste the whites, add them to make an Egg White Omelette, Pavlovas, or my Meringue Shell Cookies)
- Granulated sugar and powdered sugar – granulated for the cookie dough, and powdered sugar to dust the outside
- Unsalted butter and heavy cream – make the dough soft and pliable and create a crisp and buttery cookie.
- Vanilla extract – Gives the cookies great flavor and aroma. You can also swap it with brandy or rum.
- Flour – We use all-purpose flour. I add 2 1/4 cups and then keep an extra 1/4 cup on hand for dusting.
- Vegetable Oil – you can use extra light olive oil or any neutral-flavored, high smoke point oil.
Tools for Making Angel Wing Cookies
You’ll love that you have options and you don’t need fancy tools for this recipe:
- Pizza cutter or ravioli cutter – easily cut the cookies in strips with straight or flared edges, like in my Sourdough Discard Crackers recipe.
- Rolling pin or pasta roller – the dough is easy enough to roll with a rolling pin but you can also use a pasta roller (I have a KitchenAid mixer attachment)
- Oil or candy thermometer – Keep the oil around 370°F to prevent the oil and cookies from getting too hot and burning or from cooling too much, which makes them absorb more oil. A clip-on pot thermometer or candy thermometer makes it easy to track.
How to Make Angel Wing Cookies
These Angel Wing Cookies are so much fun to make. I love that this recipe is different from other cookies baked in the oven. If you haven’t tried a fried cookie, you’ll be hooked after this.
- Mix the dough – Beat the yolks and sugar together for 1 minute, and then mix in cream, vanilla, melted butter and salt. Add flour a little at a time and then knead with your hands until smooth, but not crumbly. If it’s sticky, add a bit more flour.
- Role out the dough – Divide the dough into quarters and wrap the dough in plastic wrap to keep it moist while working. Roll one piece on a well-floured surface, or see my tips for using a pasta roller below. Aim for a uniform thickness so the cookies fry at the same rate. This makes a crispy cookie, but you can leave it a bit thicker for a softer cookie (add a few seconds to the fry time).
- Cut the dough – Cut into 1” strips and then strips into 4” segments. I use a ravioli cutter for zigzag edges, but a knife or pizza cutter works for straight edges. Fold the angel wing shape: Cut a 1” slit along the length of each strip, and then pull one of the ends through the slit.
- Fry the dough – Fry 2-3 of the Angel Wing Cookies in 2 inches of vegetable oil. Use a candy thermometer to keep between 360-370°F. Flip them after 15 seconds and cook the second side for 15 seconds. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel and dust with powdered sugar. (Warning: They will instantly become irresistible once they are sugared).
Pro Tip:
To save some time, I like to use a pasta roller to roll out the dough. First, flour the dough and feed it through on the biggest setting. Continue to feed it through several times, reducing the thickness setting each time until you reach a level 3 (KitchenAid) or a thickness slightly bigger than a lasagna noodle. It feels just like making Homemade Pasta.
How to Store Angel Wing Cookies
These cookies are the crispest the same day they are made (and honestly they are usually gone on day one), but they do keep well if you want to make them ahead for your holiday parties or cookie platters.
Once cooled and dusted with powdered sugar, loosely cover with plastic wrap (you want to let a little air in to keep them crisp) and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
My Angel Wing Cookie recipe brings me back to the Christmases I spent making and eating these cookies as a kid. They are decadent, crispy, and crave-worthy with the perfect hint of vanilla. Try these special cookies for your Christmas dessert table.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
Christmas is one of my favorite times to bake cookies, and these Angel Wing Cookies will join these other delicious holiday cookies as part of our baking tradition.
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Christmas Sugar Cookies
- White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Almond Snowball Cookies
- Finnish Meringue Cookies
Angel Wing Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 egg yolks, from large eggs
- 6 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 6 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- Pinch of salt
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/4 cup more to dust and knead
- Vegetable oil, extra light olive oil, or other high-heat oil for frying
- 1/4 cup Powdered sugar, for dusting, added to taste
Instructions
- Make the Dough: In a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat together yolks and sugar for 1 minute on high speed, or until lightened in color. Add heavy cream, vanilla, melted butter and salt, and beat to combine. Add the 2 1/4 cups flour, adding a little at a time, mixing to incorporate. Once it gets too thick to use the mixer, mix it in with a firm spatula. Transfer dough to your work surface and knead it for a minute until smooth. Add more flour as needed so your dough is not sticky at all.*
- Roll Cookie Dough: Divide the dough into 4 pieces and wrap it in plastic wrap. Use one piece of dough at a time, keeping the rest covered with plastic wrap. Roll as thin as possible over a lightly floured surface to prevent sticking. *.
- Cut and Shape Cookies: Cut the dough sheet into 1-inch thick strips with a pizza cutter or ravioli cutter, then cut them diagonally into 4-inch lengths. Cut a 1-inch slit lengthwise in the center of each piece of dough. Pull one of the ends through the slit and gently tug to create a twisted shape or an angel wing shape,
- Fry and Dust Cookies: Add 2 inches of oil in a large saucepan. Set over medium heat and heat to 370°F. Use a thermometer to keep the oil between 360-370°F while frying. Add 3-4 angel wing cookies to the hot oil, setting them in one at a time, they will float to the top. They should be done in 15 seconds per side (If it’s faster, the oil is too hot). Use 2 forks to flip them over. Transfer to a paper towel-lined platter to drain and cool. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Arrange on a platter, dusting each layer of cookies generously with powdered sugar.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
I’m literally eating these right now, lol! The family of a lady I take care of makes these every year at this time. They always bring them in for the staff. So delicious!
I’m so glad you loved them! They are so special!
I found that these cookies were very dry and somewhat tasteless. I am thinking I might have worked too much flour into the dough when kneading.
Hi Carol, it could be due to adding too much flour. Did you make sure to add the powdered sugar at the end? It definitely needs the extra sweetness since the cookies aren’t very sweet themselves.
My grandmothers recipe contained whisky also. She said it made the dough flakier and added flavor.
G’day Natasha, Beverley from Australia, love your recipes, now 80 yrs. old, family all grown & gone therefore not as much specialty cooking done by me as in the past, but certainly for my 6 grandchildren when I know they are visiting. My M.I. Law had 8 children she used to make these by the wicker clothes basketful and called them Crostoli, flavoured with Grappa, just folded slightly differently to yours. I may try these in the New Year when all the family return from overseas holidays as it’s just me home this Christmas. Seasons Greetings to you & yours and wishing you a safe & Happy New Year. 🎄✝️🎅🏼
Helllo Beverly! Thank you for your message, I’m glad to hear that youre enjoying my recipes. I hope your family will love my Angel Wing Cookies too!
Recipe is similar to mine from a Polish Cookbook. Only difference is sour cream instead of whipped cream. I make these for parties and store them layered in a cardboard box with paper towels dividing the layers. This has worked for me to keep the more than two weeks,(carefully hidden away).
Thank you for the tip, we appreciate it!
Angel wing cookies, instead of the Heavy Cream can I use Half/Half?
Thank you,
Tom
Hi Tom! I haven’t tried using half and half to advise if it’s going to work.
My husband is Danish and his family makes these cookies every Christmas. We have always called them kleiner.
Ooh, these look soo good! They remind me of a savoury treat my mom made growing up – Mennonite roll kuchen. It’s the same dough formation except the dough has no sugar and is rolled a bit thicker. I can’t wait to try these!
P.s. my lineage comes from the southern Ukranian area a few generations back so that might be why I love your recipes. Well, and because they are amazing!
Hi Natasha,
I found the video pinned in pinterest and commented there but it wasn’t your page. Wanted to let you know I grew up with these made by my Sicilian mother. She called them Wandies (I hope it’s the correct spelling). She’d make huge batches and put them in separate containers with one covered in powdered sugar and one dripping with honey….sooo good I couldn’t pick a favorite!!!
Hi Lisa! I’m glad you found this recipe. They are so delicious! I agree, it would be hard to pick a favorite between sugar and honey.
Where can I find the clip on thermometer that you use for the oil in the angle wing cookie recipe? My Bohemian mother-in-law use to make these for this family, and I would like to keep up the tradition.
Hi Mary Ann! In the recipe post above, there is a section “Tools for Making Angel Wing Cookies”. It’s linked there. The red font words can be click on.
I made these and they are absolutely excellent. The only thing I did different is my grandmother was Polish. I added a shot of rum. She always use whiskey. Thank you so much for sharing this great recipe.
You’re so very welcome, Sandra!
The cookie is wonderful. Thank you. Please add the melted butter to the written recipe . Also: instead of vanilla extract, you can use rum extract for the dough, or sprinkle it with rum-flavored powdered sugar. My mother used this in Transylvania-Romania-Europe.
Your sincerely,
Hana
Thank you for pointing that out, Hana! I’m glad you love this cookie!
My Polish trained baker dad made these in his bakery. Such wonderful memories. I haven’t made these in years. Anxious to make them again. Thank you for sharing.
I’d love to hear how they compare and I hope they bring back sweet memories for you!
I’d almost forgotten these! My Croatian grandma would make these many years ago. They were soooo good.
Hi Natasha! Is it possible to use whole milk instead of heavy cream? I’m trying to save myself from having to hit the grocery store today! 😂❤️🎄 merry Christmas!
Hi Katie, I think these cookies need the fat from the heavy cream. It might possibly work if you add a little less of the cream/milk and more butter to offset the difference but I haven’t tested that to give you exact amounts.
I have to make them Natasha, thanks for sharing the recipe. I remember having them in Germany at Christmas Markets as a young girl…yummy 😋😋. How long will they stay fresh and can you freeze them please? Merry Christmas 🎄 and thanks for your wonderful recipes. 💛
Hi Christina. See my note above for recommendations on how to store these cookies. I have not tested freezing. They are usually gone on day one! I assume it could work. I would wait to apply the powdered sugar when you thaw and serve them. Let them fully cool and store them in an airtight container. You may even incorporate some paper towel to help absorb moisture or parchment paper to help prevent them from sticking to each other and breaking.
They may not be as crisp as when they are made fresh. You might be able to recrisp them in an oven at low temperature. Please let us know the results if you try any of this.
We make our Polish Chrusciki with sour cream instead of heavy whipping cream and no butter. My Bushia would also add some Brandy, Whiskey, or Rum.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Debbie!
Oh my goodness! My aunt in Romania use to
make these for us when we visited her. I remember how much we loved these as kids. I have not found a recipe for them, until today, 30 years later. Thank you so much, Natasha. Merry Christmas! Can’t wait to try making these.
Hi Denise! I’m so glad you found this recipe. I hope it brings back those cherished memories! Merry Christmas.
These are exactly like my Hungarian grandmother’s Hazenbluzen, which we always loved growing up!
That’s so sweet! I love how these traditional Christmas Cookies can bring back lovely memories.
Excellent.