bizcochito

noun

biz·co·chi·to ˌbē-skō-ˈchē-tō

variants or less commonly biscochito

ˌbē-skō-ˈchē-tō

plural bizcochitos also biscochitos

: 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

Word History

Etymology

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.

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of bizcochito was in 1934

See more words from the same year