COOKIE OF THE MONTH

When I was a teenager, my family had a cookie jar on the kitchen counter. I remember that cookie jar being filled with Chips Ahoy cookies and Oreos. But it never ever stayed full for very long. In our house at that time there were two teenage boys and two younger girls, so things like cookies and gallons of milk disappeared very, very quickly. These days most of my cookie consumption happens on the job. On any given day, there are ten varieties of cookies to choose from - and they're all good.

W. D. Deli has ten big cookie jars that sit on the counter each day. Nine of those jars are filled with types of cookies that we have all the time. But the tenth jar, that TENTH jar, ladies and gentlemen, contains the W. D. Deli Cookie Of The Month. Each month a different type of cookie occupies that jar. Cookies Of The Month are usually thematic with the month or the season. Sometimes the flavor might be inspired by a recent trip, maybe a childhood memory. Last month the special cookie was the Butterscotch & Black Salt. That cookie idea came from a recent trip to New York City, where we enjoyed a similar cookie at a street fair. This month's tempting treat in the Chocolate-Covered Cherry. Sort of Valentine-y, don't you think?

One of the problems with having a Cookie Of The Month is at the end of the month, we're not always ready to say goodbye to a cookie. Mr. Beers is already lobbying on behalf of the most recently departed Butterscotch & Black Salt. He feels quite strongly that this is a cookie that we should have ALL the time. Between you and me, Mr. Beers has mentioned (with a mischievous gleam in his eye) how wonderful it would be to have a cookie business - one where you'd never have to give up one cookie to make room for another... We'll just have to put a pin in that thought and come back to it another time.

Some of the more popular Cookies Of The Month that have come and gone have been: Apple Cinnamon (October), Red, White, and Blue (July), Pumpkin (November), Snickerdoodle, and S'mores. Last March we decided to do something green, and came up with the idea of a Pistachio Cookie. When April came, and we said adios to our greenified nutty friend, some folks mourned its loss. One customer in particular has asked me at least a dozen times about her cherished Pistachio Cookie. She wants one. Now. There is hope on the horizon for dear Colleen. Next month is March once again, and it will be time for me to start shelling those Pistachios.

Ah, cookies. What is it about cookies? Is it basic science - the biological/chemical response to sugar? Yeah, sure. But there has to be more to it than just that.... I think next time I go to mom's I'm going to bring some Chips Ahoy and some Oreos and fill her cookie jar. Just for fun. But you - if you get a chance - you should come by W. D. Deli and check out the cookies here. You won't be disappointed.

"I'm the baker," said Kevin.