Sunday, January 17, 2010

That Which Is Superior to Oreos

The industrialization of America's food production is a process that has become troubling to most, but if there's one thing the factories do correctly, it's cookies. Homemade cookies have their place, but there's something acceptably indulgent about the assembly-line , sugar-loaded, mass-produced, and highly processed about store-bought cookies. The following are my favorites.

Goya's guava wafers


My Spanish class's end of the year tradition. Ethnic food aisle for the win! Like regular wafer cookies they're basically only sugar, but the bonus here is the tangy guava flavor. Which arguably is better in cookie form than straight from the fruit.

Tim Tams


Yet another thing Australia does better than the United States. I asked for these for Christmas, I love them so much. They're best in the Tim Tam Slam, or the kind of cookie you have to have with milk, but either way, I promise, they match the hype.

Famous Amos chocolate chip


My love for these is part nostalgia, but they really are the king of their kind. The chocolate chips are the best, and the whole buy-in-bulk thing is pretty winning too, but mostly I remember sitting on the front steps with my sisters consuming these cookies and so they have my heart.

Trader Joe's mini meringues


Addictive little fat free puffs of sweetness. First we must establish that Trader Joe's has excellent cookies to begin with, and then we must remember the charm of meringue cookies, and factor in the reality that the size makes them easy and guiltless to consume. Win win.

The dangers of refined sugar aside, and the evils of processed foods neglected, the truth is that the store's specialty cookies are often far superior to the kitchen's oatmeal raisin cookies, if only for the glamor. Fortunately, I am all about brand endorsement. You're welcome.