Can I have a Panookie Please?

I confess to a love of dessert. I will eat it first if given the opportunity. Wednesday evenings all of our children are elsewhere for nearly two hours and while I dearly love my daughters, I cherish each fall when they become engaged outside of my presence those precious two hours a week. I typically take that time to go see a movie; meet with a friend; grab a Mocha Frappé and a glossy publication; or just enjoy the silence in my own home. Sometimes R and I will take advantage of no need for a sitter and get a quick bite to eat and enjoy the sound of each other's voices, or the sound of nothing together.

So, yesterday, I simply couldn't wait to eat. How could I when the makings of nachos were in my fridge and pantry? There is something irresistable about melted cheddar, guacamole, sour cream, fresh tomatoes, refried beans, and Romaine neatly layered across a crispy bed of tortilla chips. I made penance to R by supplying him with his own plate of nicely tiered nachos. We agreed that something sweet would be a delicious way to finish off our salty tasty dinner.

After securing the children in their activities at church, we headed over to a local ice-cream store. There is this concoction they make called...."Panookie." It is a word of mouth secret and not printed anywhere in the store. A woman at church suggested that we go there for dessert sometime and order the panookie. When she said the word, I inwardly startled and asked her to repeat herself. She did. I startled again thinking, Didn't the people who named this know that it sounds exactly like something else?

So when we first went there, I felt a bit embarrassed to say the word (and still have a bit of inhibition even now). It seemed like a yiddish word that a Jewish mother with a heavy Brooklyn accent would use to admonish her children with before they bathed: "Don't forget to wash ya Panookie."

What is this mysterious dessert? A chocolate chip cookie baked into the bottom of a metal dish with two scoops of ice-cream, hot fudge, whipped-cream, nuts, and a cherry. I have concluded that the intention of the inventors was to combine the words "pan" and "cookie." But, I think I would have called it.....something else.