While the Kellogg company continues to manufacture and sell the Famous Amos® brand of chocolate chip cookies, Wally Amos – the Godfather and namesake behind that brand – is back in the business once again with a new product line called Chip & Cookie™.
There are currently two brick ‘n mortar Chip & Cookie stores on Oahu where you can get them: in Waikiki in the Royal Hawaiian Center, and in Kailua, where Wally Amos calls home. So there’s probably a likelihood you’ll meet Wally in person if you visit that Windward Oahu shop.
In fact, I had the chance to say hello to him once when he was promoting his Muffin line at the Hawaii Kai Costco. Super nice guy. I’m not sure if the Chip & Cookie product line is available in Costco (yet), but if it’s not, he surely must be working on it.
Speaking of which, offering a product for sale at a membership warehouse retailer means packaging a product in bulk, which is already addressed at Chips & Cookie, where you can get all five cookie varieties they currently offer to go in one neat carry box…
I like the logo. Simple, yet unique font style, with the usual coconut tree to signify it’s a Hawaii product.
It says right on the package that they’re handmade, although surely not all by Wally himself. While that’d be nice, If it were the case, after just two months of sales in Costco, he’d probably have to retire due to carpal tunnel syndrome. lol
Actually, his name isn’t emblazoned on the label at all, except for just a signature following this description of the product on the side of each package:
You are about to enjoy America’s Best Tasting Cookies. At least, that’s what people tell me My Chip & Cookie handmade cookies remind me of my Aunt Della’s homemade cookies; made with lots of love, using the best ingredients.
I hope you enjoy them often. Share with your family and friends. Or, share with a stranger and make a new friend!
Please send your comment and suggestions to: wallyamos <at> chipsandcookie.com
Thanks a lot,
Wally Amos, The Cookie Man
Wow, that’s quite a statement to call your product “America’s Best”; especially by cookie bakers all across this great nation who think the same of their own wares.
What is emblazed on the label are two tag lines: “Delicious” and “All Natural*”, along with “O grams Trans Fat”.
Well let’s have a taste for ourselves and find out if all this holds true, starting with the “base model” Chocolate Chip…
Mmmm. Crispety-crunchety. Very fresh-tasting. And there’s no shortage of chocolate chips in it. I’m not a chocolate chip cookie enthusiast per se, but FWIW, I’d say this one is way better than a Chips Ahoy.
While I don’t have a Kellogg’s-manufactured Famous Amos cookie on-hand to compare it with at the moment, to the best of my memory eating them (which was within the past year), I do think this recipe is a bit different.
Moving on, we have Oatmeal Raisin…
As expected, it’s, well, very “oatmeally-rasiny”. lol The oatmeal causes this one to be less crisp than the chocolate chip version. I have an idea where I think this could really work… Chip & Cookie™ Ice Cream Sliderwich™! Basically a miniaturized ice cream cookie sandwich. Miniaturized due to the size of these cookies, which are no more than an inch-and-a-quarter to an inch-and-a-half in diameter. Perhaps I’ll email wally with my suggestion.
Next up, we have the Chocolate Chip with Pecans…
This one returns to being very crispy-crunchy, yet the Chocolate Chips overpower the Pecans. It either needs more of the latter or less of the former to be in balance. Still ono though!
Next we have the Butterscotch Chip with Pecans…
Ding ding ding ding ding! We got the winnah right here. I prefer the butterscotch chips over the chocolate, which really help punch out the flavor of the pecans – not overpower them. My only problem with this one was it wasn’t as crispy as the chocolate chip models. Not a problem though. A quick dunk in some cold milk and it’s all good. All good. Yup, if I go back and get more Chip & Cookie™ cookies, the Butterscotch with Pecans will be the first one in my shopping basket.
Finally we have the Chocolate Chip with Macadamia Nuts…
This one had the same issue as the pecan version, with the chocolate chips overpowering the rather tiny chopped pieces of nuts mixed in it. If he makes the Macadamia nut pieces bigger, that would really help. I’d be willing to pay extra for that. Also, this particular bag tasted almost stale. I think there’s some packaging issues that need to be addressed. But that was only for this particular one, which might just be an isolated incident.
Again, my favorite is by far the Butterscotch Pecan. Ono.
If there’s two suggestions I would make should I decide to email Wally, one will be to offer a Butterscotch Chip with Macadamia Nuts (with bigger Macadamia nut pieces) and, as said earlier, make the Chip & Cookie™ Ice Cream Slidewich™. Man, I should go into the product development field. Well, I sorta’ do that with my day job already.
Anyway, stop by the Waikiki or Kailua Chip & Cookie store and pick a few up to try for yourself, then come on back and comment what you think. Wally Amos’ Chip & Cookie cookies are also available online at their website at:
www.chipandcookie.com
P.S. Mahalo to Shannon and gang for this tasty holiday omiyage!
6 comments
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December 25, 2008 at 11:44 pm
johmbolaya
I tried these two weeks ago and almost ate them all, then gave some to relatives in Virginia. Anyone who remembers the original Famous Amos cookies from the 70’s and early 80’s or the short-lived Uncle Noname cookies will love these again. Buy them, buy them, buy them (and no I am not an employee).
December 25, 2008 at 11:44 pm
johmbolaya
Sorry, I meant two years ago.
December 25, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Kelike
Oh Boy, will get some. Wonder if Amos ever going to make Hawaiian Coffee Cookies? We will have see.
December 26, 2008 at 7:40 pm
pomai
johmbolaya, 2 years ago you tried these? I must say, there’s very little, if not any advertising being made locally for the Chip & Cookie company. This is the first time we heard of it, thanks to being brought to us as a gift from one of our vendors.
Kelike, Kona coffee sounds like a great idea… especially in combination with the butterscotch chips and Mac’ nuts!
January 2, 2009 at 8:34 am
johmbolaya
It was definitely two years ago. Before Chip & Cookie, Wally Amos had brought the cookie back as Aunt Della’s, which was distributed throughout the south. They even had a website, but no way to buy via mail order so I had asked an auntie in Virginia to get it. Unfortunately she didn’t. A few months later, the website was down.
I had hoped Amos would revive the cookie, and that’s when I had found the Chip & Cookie site, when the main focus was the children’s book and the then-new store in Kailua. I wasn’t interested in the book, I wanted “da cookie” and ordered some. It wasn’t in the nice packaging that it’s in now, it was simple brown bags (not unlike the original size of the old style bag from the 70’s) with a sticker featuring the Chip & Cookie logo and what variety of cookie it was. It also came with a letter talking about why they did the book, which was to promote literacy to children.
To make a long story short, it was luck that I found out he had a new cookie line, as I know he wasn’t hyping it up in anyway (especially here in Washington State). Again, I didn’t get a chance to try Aunt Della’s Cookies, but I figured if he revived the old recipe, he would no doubt revive it again and he did.
I guess in 2006 the sale of the cookies were in the beta stage, as I haven’t tried them in the new, more hi-pro packaging. But I will very soon.
BTW – I’ve been a lurker for your blog for about a year and it always makes me homesick for the good food on O’ahu. I hope to return home sometime this year.
January 6, 2009 at 8:05 am
kaleonani
lol everytime i come to o’ahu i look up your blog to see the latest “eats” and last week while i was up there i made my boyfriend take me to chip in cookie (the one in kailua town). . . and i bought those small bags, one of each flavor to bring home to kaua’i . . . and i too favor the butterscottch over the rest! coming in a close second was the oatmeal rasin
oh yeah another place we made a stop was in aina hina ( on the way to kailua) and i tried those cake coture cup cakes . . . mmm ONO!