Journals

One More Cookie Please

November 8, 2012   

I have been constantly instructed to try an Opus cookie, assured it is the best confection to be found on the Hill.  For the majority of first-years, the Opus cookie was a priority.  Most likely, one of the first snacks they bought on campus was a chocolate chip and large coffee.

However, I only just recently discovered the full beauty of the café treat; I just never got around to sampling the Opus menu for my first few months.  Food from the dining halls is included in my meal plan, which is already paid for.  Additionally, I have never been much of a “snacker.”   After a meal, I am usually satiated for at least the next few hours.

However, last week I was struck by the confection display in the café.  Standing at the counter, the trays of various cookies seemed to form a shrine to baked goods.  There was pumpkin spice, peanut butter, butterscotch….mounds of brightly colored desserts all under my nose.

The woman behind the counter asked if I wanted anything else with my coffee.

“Yes, I’ll need a cookie.”

For my first Opus cookie experience, I selected the classic chocolate chip.  It was a thinner cookie, chocked full of dark chocolate specks.  It was also perfectly round, a fact I could not help but be impressed with.  I thanked my server, turned around and took a bite—wow.

I stopped dead in my tracks and my eyes widened.  Looking down at the bite mark in the once perfect circle, I found most of the thin cookie to be filled with semi-solid chocolate.  The dough itself was slightly salty, with a hard crust and soft interior.  It was the perfect treat—a dense, chewy confection with an initial crunch that appealed to the sweet, salty, fatty, and chocolatey appetites.

I’ve been creating desserts for years—from apple pies, to black forest cakes, to chocolate-cayenne ice cream.  Never have I been able to concoct such a perfect confection.  Let me recommend the Opus Café to anyone on campus and in need of a treat; you’ll be sorry you didn’t go sooner.