15 Items You'll Commonly Find At An Old School NYC Italian Bakery

The Italian bakery has remained a mainstay among New York institutions since the arrival of Italian immigrants in the early 20th century. They brought with them the best of mostly southern Italian and Sicilian pastries, cakes, and cookies. These delicacies all share a mixed past, some equally as French as they are Italian, and others showing Arabic-Sicilian influence. Many of the items continue to be made in the Italian tradition, while others morphed into something uniquely Italian-American.

These baked goods were found at many old-time bakeries throughout NYC's five boroughs. Italian cookies used to be a staple at the long-gone Walken's Bakery in Astoria, Queens. Cannoli and rainbow cookies are still going strong at bakeries on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, called New York's "real Little Italy." Whether in the boroughs or midtown Manhattan, Italian bakeries offer treats containing the old-world spirit of New York City in every bite. One thing's for sure — New Yorkers know the difference between "Italian" bakeries tourists frequent for black-and-white cookies and the real thing. Here you can discover all the best Italian bakery goods, from holiday favorites to those you crave all year long.

Cannoli are the classic New York Italian pastry people endure long travel times and lost luggage to say they've tried. New Yorkers and tourists alike can recall the famous line from "The Godfather," "Leave the gun, take the cannoli." Cannoli consists of a fried tube-shaped pastry shell filled with sweet ricotta cheese. In addition to candied fruit or chocolate chips, cannolis are often dipped in nuts including almonds or pistachios. Sometimes, the cannoli shell is dipped into chocolate to make them officially American.

They're an Italian delicacy but are actually Sicilian, dating back to Arab rule during the 10th century. The story goes, Sicilian cannoli were created by a harem of women to honor the prince's "manhood" with its shape. They were also called "Cappeli de Turchi," meaning "Turkish hats." Cannoli has traveled a long way to become probably the most recognizable item in any self-respecting Italian bakery that calls New York home.

Napoleons are the delectable stacked pastries brimming with pastry cream and flaky crust we all recognize from their scalloped chocolate design on top. Napoleons are less known than cannoli primarily because of their confusing history. They're considered a French pastry and the cornerstone of any French patisserie. Some say the Napoleon was invented in 18th-century France when Napoleon himself ate a cream puff before the Battle of Waterloo. They're technically a type of mille-feuille, meaning "1,000 layers (or leaves)" because of the layers of puff pastry.

There's another theory that they're really Italian and were named for "Neapolitan," referring to someone from Naples. The big difference between Napoleons found in Italian bakeries instead of the French Napoleons is the use of almond paste in the pastry cream. Almond is one of the most revered Italian flavors for baking and a Napoleon is one of the best representations of the flavor.

Many New York bakery goers like to fancy themselves an expert after they've sampled more than a few cannolis. Maybe they're gone through many red and white-tied boxes of butter cookies. But, the day they spot a pyramid-shaped dome sitting on top of the bakery shelf is a day most won't forget. It must be the Christmas season, and they must be looking at homemade struffoli. Also called pignolata in Calabria, and cicerchiata in Abruzzi, struffoli are tiny fried dough balls rolled in honey and topped with candied fruit and sprinkles.

Like many New York food traditions, they came from Naples but originated in Greece. The word "struffoli" comes from the Greek "stróngylos," meaning "round." They're as sweet as little donut holes and are memorable because of the honey flavor. Struffoli ends up as the festive Italian treat that kids can't wait to take apart one by one during the holidays.

Every time a set of New York City streets are blocked off on a sunny Saturday afternoon, you're bound to see zeppole. It's the Italian version of fried dough, the same appearing in sweets from Mexican churros to Nigerian puff puffs. Zeppole di San Giuseppe is the ultimate expression of this festival-happy street food. Instead of a fried fritter sprinkled with sugar (fine on its own we'd all agree), these zeppole come with pastry cream either inside or on top. Like many Italian bakery staples, zeppole di San Giuseppe is finished with a glacé cherry.

The whole point of these extra-special zeppole is St. Joseph's Day on March 19. It also happens to be Father's Day in Italy, which is when they pop up all over the place. In September, you might even find some Zeppole di San Giuseppe at the Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy. Why? Just because they're so good you can't wait until March.

You do not have to be afraid to order sfogliatella when you next visit a New York Italian bakery. If you are a character on "The Sopranos," you might say "SVOO-ya-Dell." You can also call it a lobster tail, which many Americans do. However you call it, sfogliatella is a ricotta-filled Italian pastry you have to try that boasts flakey layers of buttery dough. It has so many layers (when made properly) that it's likened to a seashell.

Sfogliatella originated in the Santa Rosa convent on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. A well-seeming nun accidentally mixed semolina flour and ricotta cheese together into the shape of a monk's hood. The filling can vary but is likely to use those age-old Italian favorites of almond and citrus for flavor. Sfogliatella is a stand-out choice when visiting your favorite New York bakery for a sweet start to the day in the city.

When you're in the middle of New York City and you want a doughnut, an Italian bakery may be the last place you'd look. We're here to tell you that Italian doughnuts, called bomboloni, are treasured by Italians on both sides of the Atlantic. Bomboloni are similar to other European-style filled doughnuts, like a German Berliner or an Austrian Krapfen. They're dough-based, don't have holes, and definitely don't feature glazes or sprinkles.

Italian bomboloni are named for "bomba," meaning "bomb," since upon first glance they look like a sweet and delicious hand grenade. Bomboloni are typically filled with chocolate, custard, jam, and marmalade, and rolled in sugar. It's no secret Italians like a sweet for breakfast to go with their cappuccino. Bomboloni are exactly the kind of breakfast they'd enjoy starting their day with. Trust us — after a whole day spent negotiating the streets of New York City, you'll be happy your morning began with a bomboloni.

Which came first — bakeries or biscotti? If you were a kid from New York City, you wanted cookies, a piece of cake, and might entertain a creamy pastry. It was your mom who ate biscotti, probably because it's the ultimate sweet treat you can dunk in coffee. Perhaps she needed to since people often joked that biscotti was liable to crack a tooth. As an adult, we come to realize biscotti from an Italian bakery is worlds better than the dried-out packaged version you watched your mom struggle with.

 In Italian, "bis" and "cotto" together mean "twice baked." It originated with the Roman tradition of baking bread twice for those traveling for many weeks or months at a time. When ordering biscotti, keep in mind they're almond-based, but additional flavors vary from chocolate and pistachio to lemon. If you're only visiting New York, take heart that you can safely stick some biscotti into your suitcase before heading home.