Christopher Columbus is credited with bringing biscotti to America.

I do not believe it but it gives even more enthusiasm to our annual Federal Hill Little Italy Columbus Day Parade. I believe Columbus had other plans than biscotti. But what do I know. I am not an Italian historian.  In fact mush history together. Marcel Duchamps paintings and dinosaurs and the invention of the telephone are all jumbled in my surreal brain. AND anyway my ancestors were Ukrainian Russian and Hungarian, stomping around making glompkies and music and making umbrellas.

A man who lives on my street said to me on my walk. "When I die I want to come back as YOUR DOG because you take such good care of your dog." I thought that was a high and rather unique compliment.

The lady with unibrow daughter was outside with her daughters waiting for the school bus. "I love your eyebrows I said to the 7 year old thinking of Frida Kahlo and Muriel Hemmingway. "She gets teased in school her mom said, just like I did. I had the same kind but I plucked mine and now I regret it because they wont grow back. Now I have to draw them on she said touching her daughter's hair. She held an infant in her arms. "You are beautiful. The other girls are just jealous! Don't listen to them!" I said. "When I babysat little kids in my neighborhood they were always fascinated with my eyebrows, and wanted to reach out and touch them," I said.

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The History of Biscotti – Biscotti comes from the Latin word biscoctus, which means twice-baked. While Italians use biscotti as an umbrella term, of sorts, to designate many different varietals of cookies, Americans use it as the name for this delicious long, crisp, twice-baked Italian cookie. The history of this long, crusty cookie is impressive dating all the way back to the Roman Empire.

The Roman Empire – The original biscotti was Roman and designed more for convenience than as a leisurely treat. Travelers used this cookie as a long-lasting source of nourishment during long journeys. Biscotti was baked first to simply cook the ingredients and then a second time to dry them out completely, making them more durable and less-perishable for the long journey. The Roman Empire, as history tells us, fell in 455 C.E., and the popularity of the biscotti waned temporarily.

The Renaissance – Many years later, during the period known as the Renaissance, the treat re-emerged in Tuscany. As Italian lore would have it, a Tuscan baker brought them back to the community as he enjoyed serving them with the local sweet wine. Though the popular biscotti traces its roots to ancient Roman times, today’s are associated with the Tuscan region of Italy.

Tuscan Biscotti – In Tuscany, biscotti was referred to as Cantucci Di Prato. They began to be a treat, no longer the utility cracker that they once were for the Romans and were flavored with almonds from the almond groves in nearby Prato. If visiting Tuscany today, you’re sure to find cantucci in every pasticceria in Tuscany.

Coming to America – Christopher Columbus is credited with bringing the biscotti to America, as he needed a food source that had a long shelf-life during the long sail to American shores. American bakers put their own spin on the cookie, adding dried fruits and extract flavorings to add sweetness and flavor. As with most Italian foods, the American population embraced the biscotti, making it a pairing for wines, coffees and even a popular base for cheesecake crusts.