Yummy Yummy Cookies...NOT!

When I was assigned this paper, there were a few steps I had to take prior to writing. First of all, it was necessary to explore the topic that I was writing about. In this case, I had to eat a variety of chocolate chip cookies before I could critique and reflect upon them. Then, I had to take my knowledge to another level. This required research from various sources who have opinions on chocolate chip cookies and the various elements they are critiqued upon. Finally, after accumulated an adequate pool of ideas on the subject, I was able to write my paper. The actual paper writing process came very easily for me, as I had experienced firsthand what it was that I was analyzing. The main struggle that I had with my draft was in making what I wanted to say sound interesting. I couldn't simply be boring with the descriptions I used, so making up a good flow for the essay was definitely the hardest part. On the contrary, knowing what it was that I wanted to say was by far the easiest part. I knew exactly what it was I wanted to express throughout the entire essay. My favorite part of this draft was imagining all of the chocolate chip cookies in my head. Although none of them were up to par with homemade cookies, a few of them were still moderately tasteful. The frustrating part for me was just the repetition that is required when describing multiple items under one topic. Since each cookie may have a similarity with another, it became redundant to explain it again. Preparing for this essay was simply by doing the steps I listed above. After experiencing firsthand the tastes, it was fairly simple to write an essay about them.

When rereading my draft I really enjoyed it. I was interested the majority of the time and felt like I did a good job as a first draft. However, I did find little things that could be improved, such as making sentences more interesting. After all, this was only the first draft and I am very satisfied with it. I will probably go back and add more "excitement" to my paper to grab the readers attention throughout it's entirety. An example of my dull sentence structure can be seen in the following excerpt: "The first step we took was to discuss the packaging of the various chocolate chip cookies. From this, we thought we had a pretty good idea of how the cookies were going to taste. For example, the Baked Montauk cookies came in a packaging that looked very appealing to the eye." Also, I could definitely elaborate more on the various cookies that I tasted, but I would only do that if I could make it sound interesting.

My partner really enjoyed my introduction, but he did say it may be a bit long. Upon starting my essay I intended only the first paragraph to be my intro. But, upon further thought, it seems as though my second paragraph is also part of my introduction. I probably did that because I could not express all of my ideas in the first paragraph. My partner thought the same thing. While he did say it could be shortened, he said that I delivered throughout the rest of my essay. He emphasized how well I linked the topics in my intro with the body of the essay.

The first thing that I would do to revise my essay is go back and look at the introduction. This would be paragraphs 1 and 2. I would like to combine them into one paragraph, while still maintaining the strong ideas that I had expressed. However, if upon revision I want to keep my introduction, I may leave it as is. Also, my essay is very "to the point", so I may want to go back and add some interesting transitions. In my body paragraphs I could definitely use some stronger words and transitions. This would allow me to further bring my readers into the essay.

Chocolate Chip Cookie…Grossness?

            Believe it or not, chocolate chip cookies were actually invented. They weren’t just made by every grandma in history and passed down to their grandchildren. In fact, chocolate chip cookies were first invented in 1930. That means that they haven’t even been around for 100 years, so any person claiming to have the best recipe that has been passed down through their family for generations is lying!

            Now, there has also been much debate on what the best chocolate chip cookie is. It is often a race to find the perfect blend of ingredients to make the ultimate chocolate chip cookies. Usually the store bought cookies are not even in the race for the best cookie. But for some of us, those fancied homemade cookies cannot be obtained easily. So, as a class we decided to compare the tastes of various store-bought cookies and analyze how good they are.

            The first step we took was to discuss the packaging of the various chocolate chip cookies. From this, we thought we had a pretty good idea of how the cookies were going to taste. For example, the Baked Montauk cookies came in a packaging that looked very appealing to the eye. They were packaged in a white bag the resembled the texture of a flour bag. A cookie with melted chocolate chips was depicted on the front that made it look extremely appetizing. On the other hand, the Keebler cookies are packaged in kid friendly bag that looks appetizing, but not gourmet like the Montauk cookies. The blue packaging with cartoon figures on it makes it appealing for kids. It makes the buyer assume the cookies aren’t very good, as they are made for kids.

            The REAL test for the best cookies was the taste test. We tried the best cookie first, even though we expected it to be the worst. These were the Keebler Chips Deluxe. They tasted fairly good for packaged cookies, but nowhere near the quality of my mother’s home made cookies. I definitely could have eaten them as a snack, but I would never choose them over some freshly baked cookies. Next, we tried the sugar free cookies. They hardly even tasted like chocolate chip cookies. They were more like those vanilla wafers that you eat out of the box. I don’t understand how those would resemble chocolate chip cookies! When we were opening the Chips Ahoy, we thought they would taste almost identical to the Keebler cookies. However, they were the hardest cookies we tried and did not taste much better. Now, both the Archway and the Montauk cookies looked the most appetizing to eat. However, they also tasted quite possibly the worst. It was like sour dough just being forced down your throat. The generic Wegmans cookies were just that, generic. They weren’t awful, but they weren’t great either. There was no special feature about them.

            Chocolate chip cookies have always been my favorite dessert, along with a glass of milk. I have a craving for homemade chocolate chip cookies at least once a day. However, I never really enjoy eating packaged chocolate chip cookies. They just don’t contain the same freshness and taste that make chocolate chip cookies what they are. If I had the opportunity to pick any cookie, it would be homemade cookies of any caliber over these packaged balls of dough.