Tina Casagrand's Salus Populi

What makes a good cookie?  Or, perhaps I should start more objectively–what makes a cookie good?

Cookies look attractive and taste sweet.  They are portable–small and not too crumbly, easy to slip into a pocket and smuggle out of a dining hall.  A baker needs not bother with a rolling pan or cutting knife; merely a sheet and spoon will do.  What began as an accident (chefs baked dallops of cake batter to test their oven temperature) beget its own cookbooks, and now boasts incredible diversity.

Other sites chronicle the evolution of the cookie ad nauseam, and I have neither the knowledge nor the interest to augment their research.  Only one strain of the cookie genome tickles my taste buds into scholarly pursuits: the chocolate chip cookie.

KitchenProject.com reports the history of this, the greatest of cookies:

Ruth Wakefield invented chocolate chip cookies in 1930 at the Toll House inn she and her husband Keneth ran near Whitman, Massachusetts. … One evening in 1937 she got the idea to make a chocolate butter cookie so she broke up one of the bars of semi-sweet chocolate that Andrew Nestle gave her. She thought that it would mix together with the dough & make all chocolate cookies. Needless to say, it didn’t. However the cookies came out decent so she served them. They of course were so good they had to be done again. She published the recipes in several newspapers and the recipe became very popular.

Ruth Wakefield, we salute you.

Let’s return to the question of what makes a good cookie.  Now, my great-grandmother’s special cookie recipe is hands-down the best cookie on the planet, and I hesitate to declare it the best in the universe only because extraterrestrial grandmothers might have equally stellar recipes . . . or at least intergalactic lasers.  Only nine other people share this grandmother, you see, and therefore most of you must look elsewhere for sugary satisfaction.  I’m happy to guide you in the right direction.  Here are some cookies I’ve eaten recently, and how they stack up to gramma’s:

1. MU Campus Dining Services’ Double Chocolate Chip Cookie: While I suspect they purchase pre-made dough, the fine people of the Mizzou dining halls serve these cookies warm from the oven, with white and milk chocolate chips melting into a chocolate dough.  Their small 2.5″ diameter (probably for minimal food waste) produces the perfect balance of crunchy edges and soft interior.  The next best thing from CDS: Carnival Cookies.
   Like Gramma’s?  Not really, too uniform. Rating: 4/5

2. Pepperidge Farm Soft-Baked Chocolate Chunk Milk Chocolate Caramel Cookie: These cookies don’t live up to such a long title, or even the golden-brown image on the packaging.  Granted, I prefer well-browned cookies, but these even have a chalky texture.  The caramel chunks are also way too hard, which a few seconds in a microwave might remedy.  Overall, Pepperridge Farm really needs to stick to what they do best–Milano cookies (the rival of even the best chocolate chip cookies) and snack crackers.
   Like Gramma’s?  How dare you. Rating: 1/5

3. My Best Friend Katie’s Sister’s Cookies That She Served During New Year’s Eve: Perhaps the Stolls just prefer soft cookies, but I thought these M&M-spattered treats could afford five more minutes in the oven.  That said, I’ve also been known to enjoy slightly burned cookies (they’re so tasty with milk!), so naturally that opposite end of the spectrum is less appealling.  Katie’s sister’s cookies weren’t bad though, especially since they came right out of the oven.
   Like Gramma’s?  She’s not an M&M kind of gal, really.  Rating: 2/5

4. Kashi Oatmeal Dark Chocolate: My biggest problem with soft cookies is that their the texture reminds me, “you’re eating something made primarily from butter and sugar.”  Kashi defies that concept. Here’s what they have to say for themselves:
   

   Our cookies combine our signature Seven Whole Grain blend with hearty, natural ingredients such as peanuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, cranberries, walnuts, shredded coconut, flax seeds, and dark chocolate.

   Indeed.  They’re low on sugar and oil, high on chocolate chips and grains.  If you’re seeking something hardy, this is definitely the way to go.  I’d eat these cookies for breakfast.
   Like Gramma’s?  Quite! Rating: 5/5

Hey you!  What do you consider a “good cookie?”