Upon the vibrant shelves and shelves of snacks at your local grocery store, there’s an endless variety of the sweet dessert everyone loves: cookies. From Oreos to Chips Ahoy, crunchy to chewy, sugary to a subtle sweetness, the choice is yours. Will you stick with the classics, or will you bet on the ultimate underdog, the oatmeal raisin cookie?

   Behind the negative stigma around oatmeal raisin cookies lies a taste and feeling only some are lucky to have discovered. After all, the real gem is usually hidden under all the gold.

   Of course, you could never go wrong with the classic chocolate chip cookie. The combination of butter, brown sugar, and chocolate chips provides a feeling so nostalgic and satisfactory, you could practically smell it in the oven from here. But if oatmeal raisin cookies can do the exact same thing (and maybe even do it better), then why hate them?

   It may not sound as appetizing, but nothing truly compares to the unique flavor of oatmeal raisin. There’s a perfect balance of sugar, sweet surprises of raisin, and that special quality the oats give that makes the cookie not too hard, not too soft, but just right. Sophomore Natalie Tsung dives into the cookie’s individual ingredients, explaining how “the oatmeal gives the cookie the best chewy texture, especially when it’s fresh. The raisins are also the perfect level of sweet that’s unique from other things, like chocolate chips.”

   You may not even realize it, but oatmeal raisin cookies are healthier than most others. There’s no regret in choosing to eat this snack because at the end of the day, you stopped yourself from having more sugar than necessary. For the ones with a big sweet tooth, like me, this helps draw the line between what makes a dessert a guilty pleasure and what makes it something I can find comfort in eating 24/7.

   Take a look at Crumbl Cookies, for example. While they have a variety of uncommon flavors for their gourmet cookies, they tend to deliver an overwhelming sweetness that quickly makes you feel like you’ve had enough. With oatmeal raisin cookies, however, this is never the case.

   Soft pillowy goodness and healthy components aside, oatmeal raisin cookies hold much more in a bite than you think. For freshman Annabelle Acevedo, it’s not just about the taste but the fact that “they hold a lot of sentimental value, as they remind [her] of [her] Grandma.” 

   Whether it be its taste that never gets old or the warm feeling it fires up, it can safely be said that oatmeal raisin cookies hit the spot. Seeing how most people ignore the cookies before giving them a chance is both a blessing and a curse — as sophomore Mia Olmedo puts it, “They are always the ones no one eats, so more for me!” 

   To each their own, I say, but you’ve really only gotten a tiny glimpse of the sweet life if you’ve never stuck with the oatmeal raisin cookie.