Houston McLaury – Opinions Columnist 

For desserts, the Evelyn Young Dining Hall offers a multitude of choices. Cheesecakes, crumbles, cupcakes, anything to fill the heart of the young aspiring college student. Students often grab these desserts at the end of the day as a pick-me-up, something to reward their work during the day and to allow themselves a celebration of getting through their assigned workload. But, what is the most fulfilling to the sensitive pallet of the student, a brownie or a cookie? 

I believe that the standard chocolate chip cookie from the Caf is the standout, rather than the brownie. The cookie can be applied to any pallet, thanks to its mixture of sweet flavors and crunchy exterior. Meanwhile, the chocolate brownie is much too rich for itself, destroying its potential and use in the rich flavor of chocolate that drowns the pallet of those that consume it. Not only that, but its soft texture does little to improve its condition for my palate. These shortcomings add up, hence putting the brownie beneath the cookie. These are the following reasons why the cookie is better than the brownie.

Breaking down the standard of a chocolate chip cookie will help to unravel the mystery of its flavor. For most chocolate chip cookies, the recipes often consist of sugar, flour, salt, butter, baking soda, eggs, chocolate chips, and, of course, water. For brownies, it follows a similar format, consisting of sugar, flour, chocolate chips, salt, eggs, extra virgin olive oil, water, and the most obvious deviation: cocoa powder 

This is where the two most important differences in the ingredients can be found, the first being the cocoa powder in the brownies, and the second being the baking soda in the cookies, which adds to the complexities of its flavor profile. These differences separate the rich flavor of brownies from the delicious flavors of the cookie.

The first difference, cocoa powder, provides the most significant change to the inferiority of the brownie. As said earlier, the worst part of a brownie is the richness of them or the immediate feeling of fullness one gets after eating a brownie. For me, I try to chase down the brownie with a glass of milk to resolve this issue, this rich feeling flooding my sense of taste, but oftentimes I rarely go back to the Caf to grab some milk. So, for the rest of the night I have to suffer through the rich taste of chocolate on my taste buds or chase it down with water, which does an even greater disservice to the already horrid dessert. 

Compare this to the cookie, which prioritizes the use of baking soda. This addition of baking soda, while allowing the cookie to rise, also allows for a saltier taste of the cookie. This saltier taste is why I adore cookies, it balances out the sweet flavor of the cookie. In the downfall of a brownie, all I am able to taste is the sweet richness of the chocolate, while with cookies I am able to get a wonderfully delicious blend of sweetness and salt. 

Then there is the issue of texture regarding the brownie. The brownie, depending on the way it is baked, can result in three different textures: cakey, chewy, and fudgy. But on campus, I’ve only encountered the cakey and chewy types of brownies. The cakey brownie, while sweet, often crumbles beneath the grasp, and gets stuck in between my teeth, adding to the discomfort of the everlasting rich taste. 

However, the chewy brownie is only slightly better. It has a much more defined crust that encases the soft center of the brownie, but still suffers from the richness all brownies are inherently made with. This is again, where the cookie shines through, brave and true. The texture of the cookie shines because of its toughness, the crunch one feels as soon as one sinks their teeth into the delicacy. There are little to no crumbs that fall from it, leading to an easy cleanup and an overall divine texture. Another reason why the cookie is superior to the brownie.

The problem with brownies is not the texture, but the flavor of the treat. Its richness immediately fills up a person and requires something to wash it down, the best option being milk but what tends to be the only option is water, adding to the displeasure of the confection. Meanwhile, cookies are not fully rich due to their ingredients and they have a more complex flavor profile than a brownie. This difference in flavor, and in ingredients, is the reason why cookies are superior to the dubious brownie.