Posted by on Feb 12, 2011 in Oatmeal, Whole grain | 0 comments

Common Grounds Coffee House
4321 Se Hawthorne Blvd – Portland
$1

Note: I owe this find entirely to one of my favorite cookie eaters and tipsters. (I was getting ready to write that the above link has nothing to do with cookies, but I then realized: what in the world could have more to do with cookies than…Santa Claus?   It’s all a big circle game,  my friends.)


Anyway, cookie tipster friend was telling me that he’d recently picked up a really fantastic chocolate chip at Common Grounds – a solid, classic, very homemade tasting chocolate  chip. I hadn’t been to this joint for several years – for no reason other than the fact that it’s not on my regular path. And while I’m sure the coffee is decent, there are several other joints nearby where you can find much better.  Like this place. Or this place. To name only a few.

So as I was driving by Common Grounds the other day on one of my rare trips down that section of Hawthorne Blvd., I pulled a Rosco, jumped out of the car and went to check out the allegedly noteworthy goods.  Apparently they bake everything on site (something I didn’t know) so no middle man lets the price remain almost shockingly reasonable: $1 for a more than decent sized disc. Which wouldn’t mean much if the cookie were shit, but happily this was not the case.  Instead, what appeared to be a possibly dry and over-baked lump turned out to be ONE OF THE VERY BEST OATMEAL COOKIES I’VE EVER HAD (that wasn’t actually homemade.  And better than most homemade ones I’ve eaten, for that fact.)

If I were to publish a revised edition of my 2007 oatmeal cookie roundup,  this guy would absolutely be included. Having enjoyed this flavor of cookie perhaps more than any other, I can tell you with a good amount of certainty that a: the brown sugar was dark (as opposed to golden),  and b:  that salt and real butter were used (thank you). The currants and cranberries in lieu of the typical raisins (not that I’m a raisin hater – I totally am not) provided a pleasing tartness. This helped to  balance the  buttery sweetness of the cookie, whose moist and slightly doughy center was surrounded by a slightly crispy and sugary exterior.

It’s a keeper.  Check it out.