American biscuits as British "cookies"? (Was: Tortillas and enchiladas )

[Carol]

montims:
> 
> going off on a bit of a tangent here, why exactly are American
non-sweet scone siblings called biscuits in the first place?  Biscuit
is a French word meaning twice cooked, as is biscotto/i in Italian. 
This is why the thing is crispy and drier and lasts longer than the
more airy confection known as biscuit in America...  Also, I pondered
why dog biscuits were not called dog cookies here, but nobody I asked
had a satisfactory reply...  I feed my cats what I call "cat biscuits"
and everybody else calls "kibble" - a bizarre word I'd never heard
before coming to Minnesota...

Carol responds:

I can't answer the first question, but I was thinking about dog
biscuits in relation to this thread and came up with the idea that
they're a vestige of the British usage of "biscuit" for a hard,
crunchy treat. They're not called "dog cookies" because they're not
sweet, or so I imagine (never having tasted one *or* explored the
etymology).

As for "kibble," I've only heard the word as part of a brand name,
Kibbles and Bits, for a cat treat. (I've never heard anyone say "cat
biscuits," either.

Carol, who would like American biscuits even if they were called tripe