Alma Chocolate
140 NE 28th Ave – Portland
$1.25
OMG Chocolate Chip Cookie: This is what the bakery calls it. I didn’t just throw that in there ‘cuz I think it’s a slammin’ cookie (I do think it’s a slamming cookie, BTW). Or, because I like to use cute abbreviations for stuff, FYI. Or because I buy them for my BFF’s, who love CCC’s, and live in PDX.
Like I was sayin’, this is a great chocolate chip cookie and I should have mentioned it sooner. Portland Monthly Magazine, in fact, just gave it a nod in their recent cc cookie roundup – and although I am not on board with a few that they singled out, I could not agree more about this (kind of) hidden gem at Alma. It’s a small cookie, maybe 2-2.5 inches in diameter. And thin. You probably will not find a cookie in town containing chocolate of this quality – so with that in mind, I declare it fairly priced. I don’t know the exact source of the chocolate (I’m sure if you ask they will let you know), but I can tell you that it is deep, dark and slightly smokey.
As you can see in the cross section, the chocolate pieces are sort of flat shards as opposed to traditional chips, not occupying more than their share of cookie real estate. I know this is is a divisive issue – and one I’ve mentioned in the past – but it bears repeating: a chocolate chip cookie that doesn’t taste great in the non-chipped area is a chocolate chip cookie that is not up to snuff. The non-chipped area must be buttery, must have adequate amount of brown sugar, and must be at least slightly salted. It only follows, then, that if the cookie dough is this great, it should not be upstaged by too much chocolate. Because you want to be able to actually taste all that brown sugary, buttery and salty awesomeness. When I want nothing but chocolate in my mouth, I buy a damn chocolate bar.
Other qualities (chewy vs. cakey, size, girth, etc.) are subject to personal taste. I will tell you that this one is slightly crisp around the edge while remaining thin and pliable- without being doughy. (It’s too thin to be doughy, really).
The main thing to know is that it’s pretty delicious. If you ask me, it packs twice the flavor of a similar-sized yet totally overrated salted chocolate chip cookie in town (see #4 on the list).
It’s a lot of bang for your buck (and a quarter).