Gingerbread Cookie Cups with Orange Cream

I grew up in the South, where cities tend to amble out into haphazard suburbs. Public transportation in an awkward, gangly armed city just doesn’t work the same. Bus routes are segmented such that it can take hours to get from A to B. Tons of public funds can sink into a project like a light rail only to find that the train doesn’t go anywhere, really. Cars are crucial for getting from place to place.

Maybe that explains why I grew up thinking of public transportation as a last resort. I imagined grimy busses ferrying people who had no other choice but to languish for hours to get where they were going. As an adult, however, I started using the bus system to travel on field trips with my students. I also traveled to cities that introduced me to the metro: San Francisco; Washington, D.C.; and Paris. Turns out public transportation is accessible, convenient, and exciting! It was a huge perspective shift.

I’m pondering this because at ALDI headquarters, Sensory Expert Gail Vance Civille taught us about the “screen of expectation.” There are three parts to shopping: the product itself, the screen of expectation, and the customer response to the product. The screen of expectation is how things like a product’s packaging or a store environment give a customer the expectation of finding a product satisfying. Think of it like a coffee shop that creates a cozy space with hip music and big ceramic mugs. The coffee itself certainly matters, but that environment gives you the expectation of enjoyment.

My screen of expectation for public transportation was such that, if I hadn’t been forced by my circumstances to experience it several times, I might have avoided it my entire life. Now I find it the absolute highlight of a city: who rides their trains? how do people interact there? what’s the culture?

I had the same experience at ALDI stores, actually. Some fancier grocery stores put a lot of money into crafting that sensory expectation. They’ll have bistros, gourmet food bars, carefully appointed decor, a dude in the seafood section employed specifically to discuss grouper with you. It’s nice. It certainly creates the expectation of quality food. But ALDI folks made a good point: none of that is complimentary. You pay for the bags they put your food in, the fancy borderless freezer doors, the food samples, the fish dude. The company incorporates those costs into the products you buy.

Making this screen of expectation transparent for yourself allows you to really think about what you want to pay for. Personally, while I love me some borderless freezer doors, I’d rather pay less and forgo some of the fluff.

Well, the store fluff. I don’t want to forgo other important fluffs. Like orange cream fluff.

There’s probably no need to alter your screen of expectation to sell you these Gingerbread Cookie Cups with Orange Cream. I adapted some amazing gingerbread bars from Averie Cooks into cute gingerbread cookie cups that are crunchy outside, gooey inside. I then piped on a huge pile of gorgeous orange whipped cream. These were so festive and addictive. Enjoy!

What times can you think of where your “screen of expectation” has colored how you see reality?

One year ago: Brown Butter Pecan Gooey Butter Cake with Spiked Whipped Cream
Two years ago: Rosemary Thumbprints with Clementine Curd
Three years ago: Salted Caramel Chocolate Trifle
Four years ago: Browned Butter Pumpkin Croquemcake with White Chocolate Chai Mousse
Five years ago: Cannoli