Introduction

For my mother, Antoinette Malgieri, whose childhood nickname was biscottini e taralluzzi

I was genetically programmed with a passion for cookies. When my mother was a little girl in Italy, she loved all types of little sweets so she got the nickname biscottini e taralluzzi (biscottini are little biscotti, or cookies in general; taralli are ring cookies that are usually salty, but diminutive ones, taralluzzi, are usually sweet).