There are some things that never change, such as the deliciousness of fried dough. Today most of us know these treats as donuts, funnel cakes, elephant ears, and fry bread. But, along the East Coast there is a long standing tradition of making little fried cookies called tangle britches (or sometimes tangle breeches). When cut and fried into a tangled mess they were said to resemble a pile of tangled up britches (or pants). These simple treats have also been associated with the Amish, a group well known for their lavish desserts and love of hearty comfort food.

Tangle britches do a take bit of work to fry up but there’s simply nothing quite like them. And the dough is simple enough to make. While many people call them cookies there are others who call them fried cakes. I personally think that their small size qualifies them as cookies!

One of the recipes for these cookies dates back to the 1860s, so they’ve certainly been made in the US for a long time.

To make these cookies you first create a dough flavored with vanilla and cinnamon, then roll it out. Then cut it into strips while your oil is heating up.

You need to have a lot of oil at the ready for this recipe since the tangled nature of the dough pieces means you can’t really turn them over. Therefore, your oil needs to be deep enough to completely cook them on the first pass.

Then drain the cookies and then apply the final flourish of a dusting of powdered sugar on top. These are perfect any time of day, but they are especially nice with a hot cup of something, be it coffee or tea.