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Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Famous Amos Cookies

I'm a sucker for trying anything new, so when we were in the area of Famous Amos recently, I couldn't resist indulging in some edible research.

famous amos store

Famous Amos cookies are a huge American cookie company now making its way to Australia. The story goes that when Wally Amos worked as a talent agent with the William Morris Agency, he would bake and send little choc-chip cookies to celebrities he was hoping to sign. The treats turned into a business when he opened his own Famous Amos cookie restaurant in 1975 with considerable success. Today Famous Amos biscuits are readily available as packaged biscuits in US supermarkets.

Unfortunately Wally had sold his company in 1985 amidst mounting debts. In 2001, after a series of fleeting owners, Famous Amos was bought out by Kelloggs and now Famous Amos has reached Australia. At the moment there are three Melbourne outlets, one in Perth and one in Sydney's Chatswood Westfield.

famous amos cookies

Famous Amos cookies are bite-sized morsels, scooped like nuts into a bag as requested, and sold by weight. There was something a little unsettling about cookies being shovelled like so, as though this predicted the manner in which they would be eaten. Luckily we were distracted by the variety of cookie flavours which included:

No nut chocolate chip
Chocolate chip with pecan nuts
Chocolate chip with macadamia
Oatmeal, raisins and cinnamon
Double chocolate chips with pecan nuts
Macadamia
Butterscotch chip with pecan nuts.

butterscotch chip cookies

We tried the butterscotch chip with pecan nuts, and the chocolate chip with macadamias. We weren't much interested in the muffins or brownies.

famous amos cookie bag

Verdict? Buttery and very sweet. It's a good thing these cookies are small as each mouthful packs a sugary punch. There's not much flour in these, and I managed only three before I started to feel queasy.

If sugary cookies are your thing though, then you may have found your new Maker.

And Wally? He's moved on to fat-free muffins called Uncle Wally's Muffins (the sale of Famous Amos prevents Amos from re-using this name or his visual likeness in future ventures). You can read more about the journey of Famous Amos Cookies here.

famous amos sign

Famous Amos
SYDNEY
Westfield Chatswood
K225 Level 2, 1 Anderson Street, Chatswood
(in front of Coles)
Tel: +61 (02) 9904 7517

MELBOURNE
Chadstone shopping centre
Shop K351341 Dandenong road
Chadstone Shopping Centre
Tel: +61 (03) 9568 6264

Target Centre
Shop 16, 236 Bourke Street
Target Centre
Tel: +61 (03) 9662 1996

Melbourne Central
Shop GDOK, Melbourne Shopping Centre
Tel: +61 (03) 9639 0164

PERTH
Carillon City
Shop M14B 207 Murray Street Perth
(opposite Emporio Shoes)
Tel: +61 (08) 9322 9785
14 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Anonymous on 9/19/2006 11:58:00 pm


14 Comments:

  • At 9/20/2006 2:44 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    How could you ever pick with so many choices? I hate that he lost his business, but maybe his new venture will do well.

     
  • At 9/20/2006 7:40 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    i had to read back a few posts because i missed a couple. that super sized food thing... O_O!!!

    i'm not into famous amos cookies... i like mine chewy/soft :) but ick, that much butter.. bleh! those crazy americans ;)

     
  • At 9/20/2006 7:59 am, Blogger BEVERLY! said…

    Egads! This was your first Famous Amos? I'm addicted to the stuff.. the best cookies IMHO, i love how they're like sugar drops ;)

    Beverly
    http://beverly.livejournal.com

     
  • At 9/20/2006 8:15 am, Blogger Reb said…

    Wow - given what a great sweet tooth you have, if you could only eat three they must REALLY pack a punch! Looks like you're going to be busy the next frew weeks with markets and festivals too. Thanks for the summary - make planning so much easier!

     
  • At 9/20/2006 11:44 am, Blogger Veruca Salt said…

    Overated. They were ok but I would not drive over the bridge for them.

    For some reason I was expecting huge american style cookies.

     
  • At 9/20/2006 2:07 pm, Blogger Kat said…

    What a coincidence - I had one of these last week! It looked and tasted like Mrs Fields cookies to me. Just slightly less sweet.

     
  • At 9/20/2006 3:51 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    'in the area' huh? lol did ya pick up any beard papas too?

     
  • At 9/20/2006 6:59 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    hmm i didnt like them that much
    i like my cookies soft and warmm witht he melt in ur mouth chocolate chippies ^^!
    nothing beats home baked cookies!!

     
  • At 9/20/2006 11:20 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Sounds interesting, but my sweet tooth can't handle anything crazy sweet so probably not my caper. How strange though - imagine not being able to use your own name!

     
  • At 9/21/2006 4:33 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hi, I just wanted to mention Wally Amos lives in Hawaii. I used to work at a natural health food store on Oahu and he would come in all the time with his wacky suits and hats. He would always spend time talking to little children. He really has personality!

     
  • At 9/21/2006 3:51 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    lol no not spying on ya but im starting to recognise backgrounds in fotos haha

     
  • At 4/29/2007 11:24 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    its weird to me that australians are not familiar with amos cookies since they are evrywhere in asia.


    all the shops have this huge aroma coming from it which is totally absent from the chatswood one.


    its unfortunate that aussie cannot have the full amos experience

     
  • At 11/15/2012 7:59 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I agree, Famous Amos is the best. I first tried it in 1981in Singapore and have been
    hooked! Unfortunately there's none in Sydney city, and none in Queensland. Hurry and open in Qld already!

     
  • At 8/23/2013 10:56 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Just went to the last Famous Amos store in Melbourne Central. Saw signs saying "closing down sale, buy 200g get 100g free".They are closing this Sunday ! (25th Aug). So sad. That's the last store in Australia. Now I'll have to fly back to Singapore to enjoy them.

     

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