Cookies

The American word “cookie” is of Dutch origin, from koekje meaning little cake, while the British word “biscuit” comes straight from the French bis cuit meaning twice cooked. The original biscuits were cooked twice, to preserve them on long sea voyages, and even today many crisp cookies look as if they have been in the oven twice. Some cookies are a version of pie pastry, with the fat rubbed into the flour, then liberally sweetened and often flavored with nuts. Others follow the mixing method for creamed  or melted cakes, though results differ as cookie mixtures are compact rather than fluffy, designed for baking in a thin layer rather than rising.