APULICA / FRESH PASTA, BREAD AND PASTRY

Cartellate

PAT · Fresh pasta, bread and pastry · Puglia

Apulica editorial team · Sources checked: 2026-10-11

In brief

A very thin sheet of flour, white wine and extra virgin olive oil is cut into strips, pinched and coiled into a spiral, then fried. (Atlante dei PAT di Puglia — Cartellate)
Once fried they are coated with honey, vincotto or fig syrup, or dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon. (Atlante dei PAT di Puglia — Cartellate)
They are a Christmas sweet; in Puglia tradition the strips recall the Christ Child's swaddling bands. (Atlante dei PAT di Puglia — Cartellate)

History and origin

Cartellate are the Christmas sweet par excellence of Puglia's tradition, listed among traditional products with the whole region as their area of origin. Their origins probably go back to the Byzantine era, when Eastern customs blended with local traditions: the name is linked to the Greek kartelas, little basket, and the sweet combines Puglia's olive oil with the Eastern scent of cinnamon.

In Puglia's tradition the strips of pastry wound into a spiral recall the swaddling bands of the Infant Jesus, which is why the sweet is tied to Christmas.

Written records are not lacking: as early as 1906 a Foggia periodical, the Don Chisciottino, linked cartellate to Christmas, and the recipe appeared in 1976 in the Noci Gazzettino, as well as in the cookbooks of Carnacina, Veronelli and Sada.

Sources: Atlante dei PAT di Puglia — Cartellate · Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026)

Area and method of production

The dough is made from flour, white wine and extra virgin olive oil, worked together until firm and not at all sticky. After resting for fifteen to twenty minutes it is rolled into very thin sheets, one to two millimetres thick and about twenty centimetres wide.

A pastry wheel cuts strips of about three centimetres, which are folded into a U, pinching the edges together alternately, while being rolled into a spiral at the same time. The shaped cartellate rest on trays for four to five hours to dry.

They are then fried at 150 degrees for one or two minutes, until they start to turn golden. Once cool they are dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon, or coated with honey, vincotto or fig syrup.

Sources: Atlante dei PAT di Puglia — Cartellate

How to recognise it

Cartellate are shaped as a spiral resembling a little basket, as the name suggests, with the folds of pastry forming many hollows that hold honey or vincotto. They are crumbly and crisp, with the typical blisters that frying creates on the surface, and keep the scent of the white wine in the dough.

Their look changes with the finish: glossy and dark when soaked in vincotto or fig syrup, golden and amber with honey, pale and cinnamon-scented when simply dusted with icing sugar.

Sources: Atlante dei PAT di Puglia — Cartellate · Atlante dei PAT di Puglia — Vincotto

In the kitchen

The most traditional topping is vincotto, must from late-harvested grapes boiled for twelve to fifteen hours until it becomes a dark, thick syrup with a hint of caramel. Country families made it as the only sweet condiment of the winter feasts, and cartellate are the recipe that best represents it.

The alternative is cotto di fichi, made by boiling and pressing very ripe figs and then thickening the juice: it was once made in every home precisely for Christmas and Easter sweets, cartellate first of all. Those who prefer a lighter taste can choose honey, or icing sugar with cinnamon.

Cartellate are made during the Christmas holidays, when vincotto and fig syrup return to the centre of Puglia's tables.

Sources: Atlante dei PAT di Puglia — Vincotto · Atlante dei PAT di Puglia — Cotto di fico · Atlante dei PAT di Puglia — Cartellate

Where to taste it

Cartellate are made all over Puglia during the Christmas holidays, and the most authentic way to taste them is at that very time, when they appear in homes across the region; the regional record also mentions direct sales by producers.

Two festivals are devoted to this sweet, both in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani: the Sagra della Cartellata in Trinitapoli and the Sagra della Cartellata e del dolce tipico natalizio in Trani. Dates and editions are best checked on the municipalities' calendars.

Travellers in Puglia in December can also look for vincotto and fig syrup, the toppings that go with cartellate, which are sold by producers and in specialist shops.

Sources: Atlante dei PAT di Puglia — Cartellate · Atlante dei PAT di Puglia — Vincotto · Atlante dei PAT di Puglia — Cotto di fico