bizcochito

biz·co·chi·to | \ ˌbē-skō-ˈchē-tō

variants: or less commonly biscochito \ ˌbē-skō-ˈchē-tō

plural bizcochitos also biscochitos

Definition of bizcochito

: a crisp cookie of New Mexican origin flavored with anise and cinnamon Back at the Richardson campaign office, the bizcochitos are gone, and people are disappointed.— Kate Nash, Albuquerque Tribune, 4 Jan. 2008 New Mexico … also boasts an official state cookie, the bizcochito …— Kenneth C. Davis, Don't Know Much About Geography, 2004

History and Etymology for bizcochito

borrowed from American Spanish, from Spanish bizcocho “any of various kinds of unleavened pastry,” earlier, “unleavened pastry baked twice to remove moisture,” probably nativization of Medieval Latin biscoctus, literally, “twice-cooked,” from Latin bis- “twice,” + coctus, past participle of coquere “to prepare food with heat, cook, bake”

Note: Spanish bizcocho, attested from shortly before 1300 (La Gran Conquista de Ultramar) is paralleled by Italian biscotto (“sacchos de biscoto” in a Bolognese Latin document from 1219), Old French bescuit (12th century), Old Occitan bescueg (late 13th century), Portuguese biscouto. All these words appear to be based on a semi-learned compound biscoctus, though the age, geographical origin, and dispersion of this etymon have not been clarified.

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