Mother's Cookies Goes Bankrupt; Hipster Shirt Memorializes the Animal Cookies
"You don't love us anymore?" the circus animals wonder. Photograph from Food Librarian
Mother’s Cookies (responsible for the frosted animal cookies covered in rainbow sprinkles) won't be around for future children. The company, founded in 1914 in Oakland, California, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, which inspired a halt on all cookie production.
Could this be one of the worst ramifications of the economic meltdown yet? The private equity firm that owned Mother's didn't even give employees the federally required 60-day notice, due to "unforeseeable business circumstances."
As someone raised on the West Coast, I opened my brown bag to find these often. Non–West Coasters may not understand the joy of little pink and white blobs (supposedly rhinos and camels), but this is bad. Very bad. I really didn't want to raise my children in a world without Circus Animal cookies.
Artsy T-shirt creators are equally upset and created this "Goodbye, Mothers" T-shirt, available for $25 from ClothMoth, which says: "Lights down, little cookies."
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16 Comments:
I once ate half a bag of these cookies before I realized that they had like 3 grams of trans fat per serving.
Then I finished the bag.
jonny509 at 1:56PM on 10/14/08
Did anyone else think the white ones tasted better than the pink ones? In my head I knew it was only a difference in food coloring...but still.
iaspire at 2:53PM on 10/14/08
oh no. this is terrible.
i just smiled the other day at the grocery store (Dallas, TX) after seeing my favorite childhood cookies on the shelf.
what will our posterity do?
natemcguire at 3:35PM on 10/14/08
i forgot about those amazing cookies - do you think i can find them in new york before it's too late?
emoelely at 4:25PM on 10/14/08
I can't imagine the company won't be forced to sell their recipes to someone sooner or later. But yes, woe.
I had heard people were hoarding these things but they were still in ample supply (and on sale) at my local megamart in the Bay Area, CA.
I had a brief moment of panic that Mother's might have been the source of the animal crackers I use for cheesecake recipes, but it turns out I use the Nabisco ones, thank goodness.
mschlock at 4:41PM on 10/14/08
I was able to find a few bags of Mother's macaroons at, of all places, Berkeley Bowl, but my husband had to go to Long's to get his favorite, the English toffee (or is it taffy in this case.) And the Long's clerk said yes, people have been stocking up.
My macaroons are well hidden.
maered at 5:31PM on 10/14/08
Awww, that seriously makes me sad. Poor little guys. :( I hate it when good food like this has to go away forever.
JigsawJones at 7:40PM on 10/14/08
Looks like I've missed out on a possible substitute for Arnotts' Hundreds and Thousands.
zamboni at 1:00AM on 10/15/08
And we just got Flaxy Flix back, now they are gone again! My dad loves the Taffy ones - I'll have to tell him to go and stock up now.
jmoilanen at 7:32PM on 10/17/08
Man, a world without Mother's Cookies?? What's next? Is milk gonna go out of business too?! So sad...
Yeti9000 at 4:04AM on 10/21/08
I totally agree with you, isapire! I've always liked the white ones better too!
These are my favorite cookies and I'm very sad to see them go!! :(
silverjwlz at 7:28PM on 10/31/08
Today I tried the ones that the company, Franz, makes. They look just about identical and at first they taste quite a bit the same, but after eating two, I realized that they're not the same at all. These cookies will surely be missed.
silverjwlz at 7:31PM on 10/31/08
I loved the Angel Chocolate Chip, like no others, and they hve never been available in Texas, they were one of the highlights of my visits to California, now California will never seem the same
tfilter at 12:48AM on 11/18/08
Please! They're elephants and dogs!
kazoinker at 11:46AM on 12/06/08
Who could resist these cute cookies. I didn't acquire a taste for them until my mid-30's but I've always loved the look of them. SO CUTE!
ddvierra68 at 2:05PM on 12/08/08
I just found out Mothers Cookies went under - I live in Georgia and had to go to Mississippi to get the english tea cookies - Does anyone know if there will be sold again - I am just heartbroken - I did try the Archway brand but they taste nothing like Mothers - Is there a recipe around??? Please help as I am having english tea withdrawal symptoms!!!
CASSANDRA at 12:01PM on 01/02/09