He Said...

by Patrick Adams

Before I bite into Panera’s “Chocolate Duet with Walnuts” cookie, a rich cocoa aroma clouds my sinuses so that I can’t detect the walnuts or the white confectionery chunks I see concretized in this dessert. Once I take a bite, I notice that it is crunchy around the edges and more malleable as you near the center. I can hear my molars paying their dues while they grind down the crunch. Then the taste punches me in the mouth! I’m overwhelmed by all the chocolate. It tastes exactly like it smells, which isn’t all that bad at first, but then milk becomes my lifeblood. And I have none of that. The chocolate sucks all the moisture from my salivary glands, something that could be due in part to the 150 mg of sodium and 36 g of sugar. I can’t stop, though, because I haven’t had lunch. My trade-off is dehydrating me. It reminds me of my family vacations when my parents would purposely drive into the most undeveloped corners of the United States and have a coffee break. These tortuous breaks consisted of coffee, of course, and various cookies. No milk. The only water was the ice that had melted in the cooler, so it tasted like whatever was in there at the time: bologna, salami and hotdogs. Nothing says “I love you” like meat-water and cookies. I complain and realize it’s actually just my fault. I should have prepared at the last gas station by purchasing a drink instead of napping. I would never be able to make it as a hibernating animal. Obviously I have not the skills to prepare for trekking out into the wilderness. By this time I realize I’m giving the “Chocolate Duet with Walnuts” too hard of a time. Basically, it's a good cookie, maybe even a great one, but it needs milk to put the chocolatey fire out.

...She Said

by Kristyna Mauch

I’m a little weird about cookies. I don’t like them warm or gooey; I prefer them hard and cold. After I bake a batch of cookies, they go straight into the freezer until they are hard enough to eat. I believe this stems from baking when I was younger and having to hide the cookies from my brothers, otherwise they would all be eaten before I was done. No one ever thinks to look in the freezer!

Despite my bias, my encounter with a Chocolate Duet cookie with walnuts from Panera Bread was surprisingly delicious. According to the menu, the cookie consists of chocolate cookie dough with walnuts, semisweet chocolate chunks and bits of white confectionery chunks. Translation: Yummy goodness.

The cookie is fairly large, about the size of a small plate. It is just the right amount of cookie without having to go back for more, which is good especially if you are on a diet. It is delicious to look at with a dark chocolate color and sprinkles of white and light brown from the nuts and confectionery chunks. The rim of the cookie was hard (Yes!), and the inside was soft without being too soft or gooey.

The cookie broke apart easily in my hands, which helped me eat such a monster of a cookie. Once in my mouth, the chewy cookie is pleasantly complemented by a splash of smooth chocolate whether it was the white confectionery chunks or chocolate chunks. The cookie has a lot of chunks and walnuts. If you are not a chocolate-lover, this cookie might be too heavy on the chocolate and beware if you are allergic to nuts.

I thoroughly enjoyed the white confectionery chunks within the cookie and if I had a hankering for chocolate, I would definitely reach for another Panera Break Chocolate Duet cookie.