Mallomars, our favorite cookie, are seasonal. They’re available only from September through March. In the days when there were no refrigerated trucks, the chocolate would melt, so shipping stopped in March. And for some reason, even though that is no longer an issue, the company continues that tradition.
Mallomars, by the way, are chocolate covered marshmallow cookies, with a little crust on the bottom. They are heavenly.
The other day we were in our local grocery store and, to our dismay, the space normally occupied by Mallomars was empty. We were quickly jolted into the realization that it was March. Oh no! Not deterred by this bit of news, we went on a reconnaissance mission yesterday and found some.
Don grabbed two boxes off the shelf. I quickly urged him to get four.
Here, he scans the immediate area, looking for any nefarious interlopers.
By the way, they were on sale.
On to egg cups:
Wooden egg cups, from left to right:
1. Don and Scout bought this for me for my birthday. I’ve tried to track down some information on this one and am still searching. It’s marked Made in Japan and we think it’s from the forties. Edited to add: I just saw one like this on eBay – in its original packaging. Made for Woolworth’s (40s -50s) and it came with an egg warmer that was a white felt sailor cap! Wish I had the cap.
2. A lovely single egg cup with a wood base and porcelain top. A gift from my mom. Stamped on bottom: Japan.
3. A set of two wooden egg cups – a gift from Sandra, a dear reader of this blog. She found them at an estate sale. The eggs are salt and pepper shakers. Adorable.
1. A bunny rabbit egg cup. This one is a special love of mine because it reminds me of Scout. The look in the eyes, the big pink ears, the adorableness.
2. My very first egg cup. In fact, this egg cup is the one that inspired me to start collecting. It was a gift from my godparents when I was a little girl. Made for the Fannie Farmer chocolate company, this is one in a series of seasonal egg cups that were sold, usually with chocolates, at Easter time. Uh….we won’t say how old this one is. But it’s definitely vintage! And priceless.
3. Two chicks on a seesaw. Marked Made in Japan.
4. A rabbit standing outside his little house, complete with window and door. He’s smoking a pipe. Lustreware. Unmarked.
1. A dog. Marked Made in Japan. Porcelain. (At any minute, I expect this guy to pull out a cigar to smoke.)
2. A little girl in a bunny costume holding a polka dotted egg cup. Unmarked. Absolutely adorable.
3. A bunny peeking around an egg cup house with window. This window motif shows up in a lot of figural egg cups. Made in Japan.
4. One of my favorites. Two rabbits holding up an egg cup. Made in Japan. I distinctly remember sneaking out of our bedroom to bid on this one in the middle of the night.
Remember this one from yesterday?
The egg cup that is second from the end on the right – the brown transferware cup marked Mason’s Vista? As I looked at this photo yesterday I was struck by how lopsided it appeared, something I’d never noticed before.
Today I was looking in my egg cup reference book and saw this (in reference to Masons):
Many of their older cups may seem slightly lopsided, thus the old saying “If it rocks, it’s Masons.”
Aha! That explains it! I wasn’t seeing things.
I find this particular collecting passion of mine to be endlessly fascinating!
More tomorrow.
Happy Thursday.
I’ve heard of the ” Cookie Monster”. LOL
Judy
He lives at our house!
Loved, loved, loved the pictures of Don and his ever expanding armload of boxes of cookies! LOL! Your egg cups are wonderful. I am going to look and see if any of mine have marks.
That Don loves some intrigue!
I spent a goodly amount of time last night perusing etsy for egg cups. Even bookmarked some…should I be worried? Love the pics of Don…you are such an enabler! ;)
Yes, you should be worried! Actually, it’s a very fun hobby and I think you’d like it. Also, fairly affordable. And they’re tiny, so no worries about size!
Love the maneuvers in the cookie aisle. We do what we must do in the quest for deliciousness!
When I came to the last photo, I noticed the way the brown transferware sort of listed “off toward Ferguson’s” as my mother in law used to say…. but then I felt maybe the other one in red was also a leaner. I think instead that it is a bit of an optical illusion. Always something new to discover when visiting old friends!! :-)
The only leaner is the brown cup. And it really leans! I’m always discovering new things about these cups!
I’ve never eaten a Mallomar, though I like the individual components. The egg cups are so varied. Do you have them in one place or all over the house?
All over the house. Increasingly so, as I acquire more. I have three shelf units holding them: the mantel, which you see in the pictures, a Victorian 3 shelf unit in the bedroom, and a small shelf in the den. They are also in the china cabinets and on the bookshelves.
I loved the egg cups. I recently started a collection of only white bunny egg cups. I have to put a restrictive on it, other wise I will go into my full blown collecting addiction. The hunt is the fun. Your collection is beautiful.
The great cookie acquisition was hilarious.
Good idea to limit yourself to one category of egg cup. Very wise decision, Jude!
The panic of a life without Mallomars LOL
Been there done that!
And it is indeed a sort of panic, Tracy!
Too funny!
I’ve never tried a Mallomar, but I’m betting they’re worth the hunt.
I love seeing your collection of egg cups, especially the bunny ones.
They are very worth the hunt, Barbara!
“The Great Mallomars Cookie Caper of 2015”, starring the wildly talented Don Sparks! :)
We should make a movie, Debbie!
The pictures of Don made me laugh! I’m enjoying the egg cup parade!
Thank you, Kathy! That Don is a card!
Hi Claudia, I Love that about life,never knowing when you get up in the morning,what bits (interesting bits) of information you might learn that day!
Lovely post LOVE the Egg Cups! -Judy A-
Thank you, Judy! I hope you’re well!
I think I LOVE that Mason’s Company. Clever people “thinking outside the box” to make their creations memorable forever and in a fun way too. I bet most “non-collectors” who have their cups are just thinking they got one with a manufacturing flaw. Today’s favorite for me is the one you got up in the middle of the night to bid on [very cute]. Enjoy your day!
PS – never had a Mallomar, can you believe it? I told that to someone once who was so flabbergasted it inspired me to add a question to my Big Quiz [list of questions I keep, 241 and counting so far]: “Name something you’ve never had or done that most people probably have.” The questions are used mostly when the family is sitting around, enjoying the fireplace in my brother’s backyard, 3 seasons of the year. Lots of fun to hear everyone’s replies. But in the last few years my niece and nephew have begun asking for “Big Quiz” while we’re waiting for a ball game to start, standing in line somewhere, even at Thanksgiving, Christmas etc. We “played” the other night at Starbucks…
Love the Big Quiz idea, Janet. Your family sounds like a lot of fun!
I love the picture of Don grabbing the cookies! Were you driving the get-away car? SO funny! Enjoy your treats!
I was ready to grab the wheel but Don managed to make a clean getaway!
Claudia, Your Don, the cookie man , made me laugh. I like those cookies too, it’s like some candy and a cookie. I am so glad you described your egg cups. It’s very interesting. You have some very unusual ones. I will mail that cup to you this weekend. Blessings, oxox,Susie
You are very thoughtful, Susie. Thank you! Don makes me laugh all the time, so I thought I should spread the laughter around!
I’ve never had a Mallomar. Have I ever seen them in my local grocery store? Not coming to mind. Are they an east coast thing then, like egg creams et al? I’m ‘out west’ in SoCal. What I could use at the moment is a popsicle, as it’s 95 degrees (F) in my backyard…in the shade…since the clock struck noon. I have errands to do and there’s no way I’m going out in that heat now. I don’t like it when ‘weather’ curtails outdoor activity. Just have to turn it into a positive and do something quiet inside, keeping cool.
Your collection of egg cups is pretty extensive. It’s all new to me. Just never have known anything about egg cups. I guess I’m from another planet(!). Maybe too because I don’t have an awareness of eating eggs in a cup, although I think it must be a refined and lovely way to partake. It strikes me as a fun item to collect because there’s so much variety and they don’t take up a lot of space. Have enjoyed seeing them; thanks! They’re delightful.
I don’t think you’d see them in California. I never did. It gets too hot there. Since the company doesn’t even ship here on the East Coast in the spring and summer, I think anything in a hotter climate would be a no no.
I will add this to my list entitled, “Why I Need To Move To The East Coast.”
Enjoyed the post about the mallomars today. I remember enjoying those when I was a kid, loved the marshmallow with chocolate. By all means get four, especially when they are on sale. Sometimes we have to make an extra trip to get that special something that we are craving.
I could tell Don was very intent on his mission as well. Cute photos!
Also love your egg cups, they are adorable. It’s so nice that so many of them have a special meaning for you and they look like they would be such fun to collect too!
We were both determined to find those darned Mallomars. We had a couple each last night!
I love all of your sweet little egg cups, Claudia. Can you freeze those cookies so that you can sneak some in the off months? xo Laura
I’ll have to research that. I don’t think so – I don’t know how that fluffy marshmallow center would do if frozen.
Don is such an actor!! :) I don’t think I’ve ever had a Mallomar…oh no! Love the egg cups today. I think my favorite is the little girl in the bunny outfit with the polka dotted cup. So so cute and makes me think of my soon to be born Grandgirl!
hugs,
Linda
Isn’t that the cutest? When is the baby due, Linda?
She is due April 13th but could come anytime now. Still Scout as a middle name, no first name decided yet! We are all getting very excited and anxious! :)
Popping in to see these cups! I really like that little Dog…haha! about the cigar!
They’re all special…as with any collection, the information grows as you collect I think!
Interesting about the Mallowmars too… didn’t know that they only shipped Sept- March… and I guess I’ve not ever had one, because as you told me on IG… they’re not like moonpies!
Thanks for the birthday wishes…
and one last thing… Love the pictures of Don…
must tell you, The Honey was watching Cheers last night when I walked into the room, I caught a glimpse of Don…and said, ‘Hey! that’s Don Sparks!” …
Having shown his picture to Honey– and watching the Poisoners Handbook together…he said , “Oh, yeah… that’s who that was!” …
He doesn’t know y’all like I do! LOL….;)
have a great evening.
Yep! He was on Cheers. Maybe twice, but I can’t remember!
. . . . . and when pray tell are you two going to devour these 4 boxes of sugary chocolatey delights? I bet on movie nights, right? I can’t say I’ve ever had one of those but have tried similar with other names – I think they’re still on my hips!!! Oh go ahead enjoy – life’s too short for giving up everything good isn’t it?
BTW, Don looks so guilty caught in the act. But was he acting? Was there a grocery store audience? Sorry, couldn’t resist asking, ha ha!
Adore these egg cups today – my favorite is the little girl with the bunny ears – love polka dots!
Hugs – Mary
In researching Mallomars, I found that they aren’t that many calories per serving – and a serving is two Mallomars. The other pretenders to the throne, can’t remember their names, but I know Canada has an equivalent – are apparently more fattening. So it’s almost like we’re eating air, you know? Ha!
Love your collection. I collect LuRay pastels.
I will keep an eye out for the seven dwarf egg cups. The one you have is so sweet.
I love LuRay pastels – they’re so pretty!
Mallomars are yummy but I haven’t had one in quite a while..I never realized they were only made Sept-Mar..Never try to come between a man and his cookies..especially during the “dry” season..lol..
I’ve never had a Mallomar, but I absolutely love Don’s crazed expression as he clutches his precious!
I love egg cup time on your blog. So fun.