Accept no imitations — Mother’s vs. the Keebler elf

When Mother’s Cookies announced a few weeks ago that they were closing for good, I was saddened at the loss of a long-lived cookie institution. Not because I was fond of the cookies — they aren’t the best cookies I’ve ever tasted — but for the retro factor of it all.

Mother’s Cookies to me reminds me of a simpler time in my life where I didn’t have to balance my finances or worry about the state of the economy. That was left to my parents. All I had to worry about was what to bring to show-and-tell the next day.

Since the news broke, I’ve been looking for bags of Mother’s Cookies that I can freeze and stow away. What stopped me in my tracks during a recent shopping venture was a bag of Keebler Frosted Animal cookies right next to Mother’s Circus Animals. Confounded, I of course had to buy a bag of them with a hoard of Mother’s.

The Keebler animal cookies were frosted pink and white with sprinkles. Just like Mother’s. But a closer look has quite a few differences.

Both bags were in my car for the afternoon and while the frosting on the Keebler variety melted, Mother’s stayed intact. But not even the afternoon heat could affect the general color differences between the cookies.

The bright, pink hue of the Mother’s Cookies outshone Keebler and their muted pastels. The white-frosted counterpart of each brand showed almost no color differences. Even the cookie shapes of Mother’s seemed to be more clearly defined. Albeit the animal shapes, much like the constellation leave much to your imagination. I think I pulled a meerkat out of the Keebler bag while the Mother’s cookies stayed with the traditional circus animals (elephant, bear and the bearded fat lady).

In a blind taste test, Mother’s was a hands-down winner. The difference was in the frosting. While both cookies were of a nondescript taste, the frosting on the Keebler cookie was thickly coated and had an almost waxy taste. One thing that both cookies had in common is that it’s easy to overdo the cookies. A few pieces are all you need to get a sugar rush. I think once the Mother’s cookies are gone for good, I’ll remember it by wearing this t-shirt.