Let's assume that Bella ate x biscuits.
Since "Ally ate twice as many biscuits as Bella," this means Ally ate 2x biscuits.
Together, Bella and Ally ate x + 2x = 3x biscuits.
If there were 35 biscuits at first and 17 biscuits were left, this means they ate 35 - 17 = 18 biscuits.
Therefore, 3x = 18.
Simplifying the equation, we have x = 18/3 = 6.
This means Bella ate 6 biscuits.
Since Ally ate twice as many biscuits as Bella, this means Ally ate 2 * 6 = <<2*6=12>>12 biscuits.
Therefore, Ally ate 12 biscuits.