The last time I went to Trader Joe’s, I found myself standing in front of a display of cookie butter cookies. These are like recursive cookies. I wonder if they’re any good.
A woman reached past my shoulder to grab a box, as you do at Trader Joe’s, because Trader Joe’s is all about catering to people who just want that one thing, whatever it is, that they want and can’t really get anywhere else. I go to Trader Joe’s for the palak paneer frozen dinners; they’re cheaper, spicier, and taste better than you can get anywhere else. I get like five at a time.
“Are those any good?” I asked the woman.
“Yes, they’re wonderful! I just got a box here last week because I was curious and,” she laughed kind of giddily, “I’m back already!”
“Thanks, I was wondering. The fates must have brought you here,” I joked.
“Oh, good!” she said, with disturbing sincerity, and walked off, teenaged son in tow. He was looking at me strangely. I couldn’t blame him.
Got ’em home, opened up the box and bag inside, and…
The filling shouldn’t have surprised me but it did.
It didn’t taste like anything. It wasn’t sweeter than the surrounding cookie or anything, either. Just the same, only greasier.
I sat down this morning and ate some while I was journaling, trying to work out how I wanted to approach a story that’s going to come due soon, and ate like four of them. Damned recursive cookies, the most useless things ever. Why not just buy a cookie with no filling? I wish I’d picked the ones with Nutella instead. Why would anyone want to eat this stuff? Go out of their way to get this, and no other thing? There were entire jars of just cookie butter for sale. An entire display of it. Voila…cookie butter!
I bet Trader Joe’s knows more about more people’s secret dreams and desires than any of us would like to admit.