I have been searching for ANYONE who has an Italian family tradition around Christmas making Italian Bow Ties (which seem to have many other names). Specifically, my grandmother called them "nocca" or so I remembered it phonetically. I have the recipe and make them every year, but yours is the first time I read a name that sounded vaguely like nocca. Nuckadels might just be the same name. What part of Italy is your family from and do you know the derivitve of the cookie name? Was it ever called anything else. My search has been exhaustive - even Mary Ann Esposito from Ciao Italia have never heard of it saying that there are so many dialects . . .Any information will be most appreciated. Thank you.