How Famous Amos Created Its Iconic Cookie

The origin of Famous Amos stemmed from a young boy's simple love for his aunt's homemade cookies. Before the brand became a phenomenon and a household name, its namesake creator, Wallace "Wally" Amos Jr. started baking as a form of self-care and stress relief. What began as a hobby turned into a multimillion-dollar business for the entrepreneur, and it was his aunt's baking that inspired it all.

When his parents divorced, the 12-year-old moved with his mother to live at his aunt Della Bryant's in New York. Her home always smelled of delicious fresh baked goods, and she introduced him to his first chocolate chip cookie. Amos went on to become the first Black talent agent at William Morris where he signed major bands and stars, including Simon and Garfunkel and Dionne Warwick. After moving to L.A. in 1967 but not finding success in starting his own agency, he turned his passion for cookies into a reinvention of himself as well as a lucrative venture — and thus Famous Amos was born.

In 1975, Amos opened the first of his iconic cookie shops on Sunset Blvd. The concept took off, more shops were opened, and Famous Amos cookies became both a culinary as well as pop culture sensation. Behind it all was Aunt Della's original recipe that Amos made his own, baked fresh in-store, free of preservatives, and in just three flavors — chocolate chip with pecans, chocolate chip with peanut butter, and butterscotch chip with pecans.

Family tradition and love really were the secret ingredients that made Famous Amos cookies such a hit. In his book "The Power in You," Wally Amos wrote about how when his aunt gave away her cookies, "she was expressing her love for me and the rest of the family." He went on to write that baking cookies was "my way of healing myself, loving myself[,] and sharing my love with my friends."

Another aspect that makes Famous Amos cookies special is their size. Introduced at a time when bigger was considered better, Amos' cookies were the opposite — mini, bite-sized morsels perfect for snacking on. The other secret ingredient is the one that all chocolate chip cookies have in common ... chocolate. "The difference," Amos told Charlotte magazine, "is I put more chocolate in mine." Not only that but while the cookies are deliberately made small, they are made with full-sized chocolate chips.

People may be split between those who prefer soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies versus crispy cookies, but Famous Amos are 100% on team crispy. Crumbly, crisp, and nutty, they have a distinctly nostalgic flavor that makes them beloved by kids and adults alike to this day, nearly half a century since Wally Amos first introduced them to the world.

Starting in 1985, a series of unfortunate financial decisions caused Amos to sell off his company. The brand changed hands a number of times, notably being sold to Keebler, after which Keebler was purchased by Kellogg. In 2019, the Keebler division under Kellogg was bought by Ferrero, its current owner.

The Famous Amos stand-alone shops are long gone, but the shelf-stable packaged cookies are still sold in stores — though Amos was not a fan of what had become of them. In describing his recipe, which had been made with plenty of chocolate, real butter, and vanilla extract, he once opined to AP News that "You can't compare a machine-made cookie with [a] handmade cookie," and that "It's like comparing a Rolls Royce with a Volkswagen."

In 2021, new flavors called Wonders From the World were added to the Famous Amos lineup, these included Belgian chocolate chip, Mediterranean hazelnut and chocolate chip, and Philippine coconut and white chocolate chip. These were discontinued in 2024, along with an announcement that the company would be returning to Amos' original recipe, featuring semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Amos himself had gone on to become a motivational speaker and author, as well as a literacy advocate. He moved to Hawaii and opened a bakery, started several more cookie ventures, and even took his The Cookie Kahuna on "Shark Tank." He died at the age of 88 on August 13th, 2024, but the legacy of his truly famous cookies lives on.