The horror... the horror
October 10, 2008 2:27 PM   Subscribe

 
Now what will I eat on my yacht?

But really... they took our cookies away now? That's low.
posted by rokusan at 2:34 PM on October 10, 2008


So is Olsson's.
posted by Tehanu at 2:34 PM on October 10, 2008


Sad! They made those delightfully waxy circus-animal cookies, right? Crapola, those were a much more important feature of my childhood landscape than I'd realized. Sad face.
posted by Neofelis at 2:41 PM on October 10, 2008


That's crappy.

From the article:

Sixty people are out of work at the Battle Creek office, and Battle Creek City Attorney Eileen Wicklund said Wednesday that she had advised workers to explore a lawsuit against the company.

"Any loss of employment is a blow for any community," she said.


Of course she is. Doesn't sound like there are any winners here, but nice to see some lawyers getting work.
posted by cjorgensen at 2:43 PM on October 10, 2008 [1 favorite]


Gee, work until Friday, get notified just as you leave. Is this one of the companies socialists admire? Seems capitalistic to me.
posted by Mblue at 2:44 PM on October 10, 2008


it's a sad day here in Oakland :(
posted by supermedusa at 2:45 PM on October 10, 2008


If this news means that I can't get my pink and white Circus Animal cookies in a timely fashion, this world will burn.

Consider yourselves warned.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 2:45 PM on October 10, 2008 [4 favorites]


Yeah, I'll be stopping at the store on the way home to stock up on those lovely animal cookies. They're so uniquely wonderful.
posted by JT at 2:47 PM on October 10, 2008


Nabisco's "Barnum" animal cracker's are better, but Mother's "Taffy" cookies .. I'll miss those, and I'll really miss Archway's Molasses cookies.

I guess I'll have to drown my sorrows in fig newtons now.
posted by aubilenon at 2:51 PM on October 10, 2008


Gee, work until Friday, get notified just as you leave.

People don't work well after they know they're fired.
posted by smackfu at 2:53 PM on October 10, 2008


Oh man, the frosted animal cookies are gone? Forever?

*weeps*

The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers were fond of saying, "Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope."

Mother's horrible, waxy animal crackers trump both money and dope.
posted by lekvar at 2:56 PM on October 10, 2008 [5 favorites]


People don't work well after they know they're fired soaped.
posted by Mblue at 3:00 PM on October 10, 2008


The company may be gone, but those waxy circus animals will stay fresh... for ever.
posted by Auden at 3:05 PM on October 10, 2008 [4 favorites]


Indeed - pink and white animal cookies are were one of the sweets of mysterious origins that held their own against memories. Twinkies, those are cursed liars and never as good as you desperately want them to be.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:10 PM on October 10, 2008 [1 favorite]


I told her not to get into those morsel derivative swaps but Mom always did things her own way...
posted by nanojath at 3:12 PM on October 10, 2008 [1 favorite]


I am going to miss those pink and white animal cookies. I think I'll stop and get some tonight on the way home.
posted by SirOmega at 3:15 PM on October 10, 2008


My great grandmother kept Mother's oatmeal cookies on her refrigerator. They were always a source of comfort and had a very distinct taste to them. I later discovered the frosted version, and the pink and white circus animals as well. This is a dark day.
posted by disillusioned at 3:16 PM on October 10, 2008


I am now tempted to buy a bunch of Mothers cookies and compile a list of suitable substitutes, even tempting to do it myself, though some recipes look better than others. Those pinks need to be a shade or two under neon pink, or I'm swept into some uncanny valley of distrust and fear.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:17 PM on October 10, 2008 [1 favorite]


I just bought a peanut butter Mother's cookie yesterday.

I hope they didn't shut down because of an incipient poisoning scare or something.
posted by spiderwire at 3:24 PM on October 10, 2008


I just returned from a supermarket where I got the last bag of Circus Animals on the shelf, and the last package of Taffy sandwich cookies. The Flaky Flix (similar but superior to Keebler's Fudge Sticks, IMO) were gone. But they still had a lot of Oatmeal (plain and iced), English Tea, Iced Raisin, Peanut Butter Gaucho, Coconut Cocadas (which still sounded like a breed of insect to me) and big Cookie Parade bags. Weird names, yummy cookies.
posted by wendell at 3:27 PM on October 10, 2008


This made me feel the same way as when I heard Polaroid would stop making instant film. I don't actually eat those pink and white abominations anymore than I snap Polaroids, but yet another staple of my youth has slipped away. My grandmother always had a jar of pink and white circus cookies. :(
posted by cj_ at 3:36 PM on October 10, 2008


Damn wendell, I haven't been able to find Flaky Flix in forever, and just YESTERDAY googled them. Found a few sites that said they were not making them but they might come back soon. I loved those things.
posted by peep at 3:47 PM on October 10, 2008


I just returned from a supermarket where I got the last bag of Circus Animals on the shelf, and the last package of Taffy sandwich cookies.

Dag nabit! Now I'll be forced to turn to eBay for my new-found cookie craving!
posted by filthy light thief at 3:48 PM on October 10, 2008


My husband went to the store last night and came back with two bags full of Mother's cookies, but sadly no Iced Raisin.

We both grew up on these cookies, and had recently introduced our daughter to the joys of Circus Animal cookies. They even had special Halloween packaging, with orange and white cookies instead of pink and white.
posted by mogget at 4:00 PM on October 10, 2008


Nooooo! You beat me to it! Argh. No more 2lb bags of gingersnaps!

I'm looking at Safeway's website and at least in my area, Archway seems to make 1/2 the cookies, with Keebler and Nabisco making the rest. What's going to happen?
posted by fiercekitten at 4:06 PM on October 10, 2008


.
posted by homeless Visigoth at 4:15 PM on October 10, 2008


o
posted by troy at 4:23 PM on October 10, 2008


filthy light thief thanks for the links. Next time I'm down on the Central Coast I'll buy you a beer.
posted by lekvar at 4:23 PM on October 10, 2008


I think Mother's also used to make the most amazing Oreo knockoffs with Pop-Rocks in the cream. Pop-Rocks! They were so much more than the sum of their parts...

I don't remember seeing any Mother's cookies since moving to NYC. Does anyone know if any stores carry them this far east?
posted by doift at 4:26 PM on October 10, 2008


So does this mean Archway is going down? I've never heard of Mother's, but I see Archway was involved with their operations. Their molasses cookies are among the best supermarket cookies I've ever had.
posted by notashroom at 4:29 PM on October 10, 2008


doift >> pop-rocks in the cream? Weird and fantastic! Where did you see these magical creations? Google told me nothing! NOTHING!

But it did show me a recipe for Pop Rocks No Bake Strawberry Lime Cheesecake, which now has me quite intrigued.
posted by filthy light thief at 4:46 PM on October 10, 2008 [1 favorite]


   __      _.---. 
( )_.-" . `;
) . . . |
( . . . /
`--', . ,'
)_|--')_|
R.I.P.

Oh man, I hope I formatted this right...
posted by lekvar at 4:47 PM on October 10, 2008 [2 favorites]


I'm not sure if you did or not, but it looks like a Circus Animal cookie to me. Of course, since I heard the news, EVERYTHING has looked like a Circus Animal to me, so...
posted by BaxterG4 at 4:51 PM on October 10, 2008


Another trans fat purveyor bites the dust. Good riddance. And yes, I've eaten a lot of Circus Animals in my day.
posted by mrgrimm at 4:59 PM on October 10, 2008


So... no more Archway cookies?

No iced oatmeal cookies?

No chewy molasses cookies?

No ginger snaps?

OMG. OMFG.

I buy Archway cookies ALMOST EVERY SINGLE TIME I GO GROCERY SHOPPING. I cannot think of a time in my life where there have not been Archway iced oatmeal cookies in the cookie jar. Or those lovely crisp ginger snaps, perfect for dunking in a cup of coffee.

What will I eat at the end of the day with a cold glass of milk? This is a MAJOR FUCKING TRAGEDY.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 5:09 PM on October 10, 2008 [1 favorite]


What the living fuck am I supposed to get from hospital vending machines now? I suppose next someone's going to tell me that they will be discontinuing happiness.
posted by Stunt at 5:13 PM on October 10, 2008 [1 favorite]


Admit it. You'd be saying something completely different if your name was mrhappy.
posted by lekvar at 5:13 PM on October 10, 2008


I kept thinking since I lived in a city that doesn't have a Main Street that I would be immune from the economic meltdown on Wall Street. FUCK. Mother's cookies were a staple of my youth. Although I've gone on to find other cookies, seeing them on the shelf in the grocery store would take me back to my carefree days of childhood.
posted by birdherder at 5:44 PM on October 10, 2008


filthylightthief- I only remember seeing the Pop Rocks cookies in the western U.S. for a brief period around late 2002-early 2003. They were a staple in my college apartment that year. I suspect they were discontinued because of poor sales due to people being cowards.

Next time I make this recipe I'm throwing in some Pop Rocks. For Mother.
posted by doift at 5:47 PM on October 10, 2008


I've never heard of Mother's — are they purely a West Coast thing? I have heard of Archway, though, but I didn't quite understand from the article whether they were effectively the same company and are gone now, too.
posted by Kadin2048 at 6:25 PM on October 10, 2008


I have a half-eaten bag of Mother's iced animal cookies in the fridge -- Fourth of July colors (red/white/blue).

I'll start the bidding at $20.
posted by dw at 6:53 PM on October 10, 2008


As sad as I am to see the Circus Animals and the Iced Raisin cookies go (sad! SAD!), I can't help but think of their poor employees. What a shitty way to get dumped by your company. I don't think any amount of waxy, sugary goodness can make up for that.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 6:55 PM on October 10, 2008


Nothing brightened my childhood more than eating ice cream with a refrigerated iced oatmeal.

Raise your hand if you bit the animals head off first, so as to haste their demise and save them the pain of eventually digestion.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 7:29 PM on October 10, 2008


Sixty people are out of work at the Battle Creek office, and Battle Creek City Attorney Eileen Wicklund said Wednesday that she had advised workers to explore a lawsuit against the company.

i advise them to get a job out of town and move out as soon as possible and forget about the lawsuit and the battle creek city government's weird sense of entitlement as civic boosterism

a local news article about it

true, there is a question of legality here - but my advice stands

i'm not telling them to do anything i didn't do myself

when i was a kid in the 60s, i actually got to go through a tour of that plant - bunch of overweight starch uniformed matrony women with hairnets and masks packing cookies with plastic gloved hands while everything stank like cookie - it was alright at first, but i imagine that an 8 hour shift of that smell would be a bit much

for a few years in the 70s and the 80s it was closed down and i don't know when it reopened

battle creek's city government often neglects to develop and keep business unless of course that business is kellogg's - they've dropped the ball several times and this response is unfortunately too typical - it's a plantation town with a plantation town mentality and they don't do a very good job of keeping contact with their employers or negotiating with them - and then they finger point when it goes bad

there's a reason why calhoun county is the only county in the area that has failed to grow population in the last 30 years - and after all the economic screw ups and complaining, they still vote republican
posted by pyramid termite at 8:46 PM on October 10, 2008


This depression sucks.
posted by dirigibleman at 8:50 PM on October 10, 2008


OK, how many of you used to eat only the blue-iced cookies so you would have bright green poo? Plus snarf down pine nuts so it would be pine-scented as well and you could leave it in a public toilet to freak the next guy out? Anyone else? Anyone? Hello? Never mind -- I didn't do that, either.
posted by joaquim at 9:37 PM on October 10, 2008 [1 favorite]


Does no one else remember Mother's Apple Filled Oatmeal cookies? They were the best. They were staple of mine in the days that I really carried a black metal dome topped lunch box to work. Hard manual labor and sitting on the ground on top of a ridge; finishing lunch with a cup of coffee from a thermos and some Mother's apple filled oatmeal cookies. Ah, those were the days.
posted by X4ster at 9:59 PM on October 10, 2008


Raise your hand if you bit the animals head off first, so as to haste their demise and save them the pain of eventually digestion.

Well, I do always bite the heads off first, but I've never tried to rationalize it like that.
posted by contraption at 10:12 PM on October 10, 2008


I would think that cookie companies would do well in a depression...unemployed workers sitting on their couches at home, munching on bag after bag...especially since Mother's cookies were so wonderfully cheap compared to the other brands.

I mean, it really isn't clear to me how a cooke company would become unprofitable. The demand is relatively inelastic in terms of income, especially cheap cookies. I'm guessing that people might no longer be buying the fancy prepared items at the supermarket, but before they head out for sure they're buying a bag of cheap cookies to comfort themselves.
posted by Deathalicious at 12:49 AM on October 11, 2008


I mean, it really isn't clear to me how a cooke company would become unprofitable. The demand is relatively inelastic in terms of income, especially cheap cookies.

Soaring flour prices, for one.
posted by Tehanu at 7:56 AM on October 11, 2008


The harbinger of this was the noticeably rapid decline in the amount of icing they were putting on their cookies.
posted by yoyoceramic at 11:17 AM on October 11, 2008


The company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which is what companies do when they want to re-organize and re-start their business. (As opposed to Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which results in liquidation). Even if the current company does not come back, it is quite possible that another bakery company could purchase the rights to the various cookie names and recipes and continue their production.
posted by thewittyname at 11:44 AM on October 11, 2008


As if my mother wasn't having a bad enough week, now I have to tell her this! Sigh.
posted by Casuistry at 1:54 PM on October 11, 2008


...doom doom doom-doom doom doom doom doom-doom-doom DOOM COOKIE doom doom doom doom-dooooom doom...
posted by loquacious at 2:49 PM on October 11, 2008


I just got back from Safeway with $26 worth of Mothers... 2 iced oatmeals, 2 circus animals, 1 regular oatmeal and a lemonade iced pack.

There was a sign saying "as of October 7th, we will no longer be selling Mother's Cookies."

Sigh.
posted by disillusioned at 3:00 PM on October 11, 2008


I always hoped they'd merge with a particular jam purveyor, and make some tasty MotherSmuckers.
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:18 AM on October 12, 2008


If It's-It goes down the tubes I'lll shed a tear though.
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:18 AM on October 12, 2008 [1 favorite]


LA MeFites, there is still a large stack of all sorts of Mother's Cookies at the Vallarta near Burbank Airport.
posted by infinitewindow at 6:27 PM on October 12, 2008


Just dropping back in to say that Archway cookies seem to still be in production. I am munching on an iced oatmeal cookie even as I type. They are fresh. They are delicious. They are spoiling my dinner.

*brushes crumbs off keyboard*
posted by BitterOldPunk at 4:40 PM on October 26, 2008 [2 favorites]


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