Ushering in the Era of the Reasonably-sized Cookie

I am currently sitting in Panera, enjoying a bottomless cup of coffee and one of their new offerings, the Petite Cookie. In fact, I specifically came to Panera today because of the petite cookie. I had a few decent leads on a few things, and wanted to treat myself with a little taste of toffee nut oatmeal or a perhaps a white chocolate "duet."

I wouldn't have done this before, gone to a coffee shop specifically for a cookie, because it has been impossible to find a cookie smaller than an average hubcap. It goes along with the general audacity ushered in in the mid-90s when one day it was suddenly perfectly normal to pay $1.75 for a 79 cent-worthy cup of black coffee.

And the tip jar. Seriously. That took some serious nervy genius to impliment the tip jar at a coffee joint. I feel that it's somehow supposed to balance out the fact that you are being served by someone with a PhD in Latin. Not that I am opposed to earning advanced degrees in things less than marketable... I have a Bachelors degree in Theatre and a masters in Creative Writing, after all... But seriously, the gal behind the counter at Chick Fil-A at the mall is running around just as much and I don't tip her.

I don't mean to be so snarky, I don't want this to become one of those kinds of blogs where I devote 1500 to how someone cut me off in traffic. But seriously, the $2.89 cookie is nothing more than pure, obvious greed. I dare propose that the complexities of the collapsing housing market and economy in general can be reduced to the over-sized cookie...

Which brings me to the delightful discovery of the Petite cookie offered at Panera. Just the perfect size, and .49 cents a piece. I even get two - a sugary chocolate or toffee nut, and a shortbread to cut the richness a bit.

I spark of hope for less than a buck. I think things are looking up.