http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-maurice-lenell-cookies-met-20150811-story.html
For lifelong Chicagoan Ron Hall, a bite into a Maurice Lenell cookie brings flashbacks to his younger days — from grade school field trips to the former cookie factory on Harlem Avenue in Norridge to walking his beat as a police officer while snacking on the sweets.

But soon, Hall and other Maurice Lenell fans will have to find other ways to satisfy their nostalgic cookie cravings. The company that has been producing a limited supply of the cookies since the Maurice Lenell Cooky Company went bankrupt in 2008 has pulled the plug on pinwheels, jelly stars and other sentimental favorites.

"We don't want to be the bad guy that discontinued the tradition and legacy," said Roy Jasper, vice president of sales and marketing for private labels at Ohio-based Consolidated Biscuit, which took over production seven years ago. "It just didn't make sense for us anymore."
Cookies
The Cookie Store and More, which in 2010 opened a few blocks from the shuttered cookie factory on Harlem Avenue in Norridge, still has a few shelves with the popular Maurice Lenell cookies on Aug. 5, 2015. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

The company, which produced about 275,000 packages of Maurice Lenell cookies annually, discontinued the line shortly after the new year, when it also took down its website offering holiday gift tins. Antiquated equipment, slow sales and recipes that included controversial trans fats all led to the decision to stop making the cookies, Jasper said.

Today, all that remains of the old-fashioned treats are what's left in stores, including The Cookie Store and More, which opened in 2010 blocks away from the shuttered factory to serve as the unofficial local outlet for the brand. The store now has a "Last Chance for Maurice Lenell" countdown sign hanging in the front window. As of Thursday, the sign said 18 days until supply runs out, said Jeff Bach, the store's owner.

"People drive an hour or more to get these cookies," said Bach, who plans to close his nostalgic Chicago snack business after the Maurice Lenell cookies — his most popular item — run out. "I have a whole bunch of people that I need to disappoint."