Cookies & Biscotti

Biscotti is Italian for "biscuits". In North America, the word has been taken to refer to a specific type of biscuits. more...

Origin and Italian usage

The word "biscotti" in Italian is the plural form of biscotto, which applies to any type of biscuit, and originates from the medieval Latin word biscoctus, meaning "twice-baked": it defined biscuits baked twice in the oven, so they could be stored for long periods of time, which was particularly useful during journeys and wars. Through Middle French, the word was imported into the English language as "biscuit".

North American usage

In North America, the Italian term "biscotti" has been taken to refer to a specific type of biscuits, derived from Tuscan cantucci, a type of hard almond-flavoured biscuits traditionally served with vin santo, probably originating from the town of Prato and therefore still known as "biscotti of Prato".

American biscotti are indeed crisp cookies often containing nuts or flavored with anise. Traditionally, biscotti are made by baking cookie dough in two long slabs, cutting these into slices, and reheating them to dry them out. A basic recipe is a mix two parts flour with one part sugar with enough eggs to create a stiff batter. To the mixture baking powder and flavorings such as anise, chocolate, or nuts are added. The slabs are baked once for about twenty-five minutes. They are then cut up into individual cookies and baked again for a shorter period. The longer this second baking is, the harder the cookies will be.

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