Jackson's Vanilla Wafers - Missed But Not Forgotten.

Jackson's Old Fashioned Vanilla Wafers, crispy vanilla-flavored round cookies first produced at a North Little Rock baking facility in 1933, have left store shelves.

The popular cookies were discontinued by Murray Foods, a division of Ferrero Roche, ending the history of an Arkansas company's famed line of sweet fare.

Jackson's Cookie Company began in downtown North Little Rock in 1933. Over the years, it produced a number of popular cookies, from peanut butter and oatmeal varieties to chocolate and chocolate fudge. It became best known for its Jackson Jumbles, a soft yet crisp lemon cookie with a small hole in the center.

The company produced its baked goods in North Little Rock until after its acquisition by Murray Foods and the closing of its second North Little Rock plant in January 2004. The brand was absorbed into the Kellogg's Family of Foods. Over time, different Jackson's cookie lines were discontinued, with Jackson Jumbles disappearing in 2013. 

The popular vanilla wafers are a necessary component for banana pudding for many Arkansas families. Variations on the recipe found in cookbooks from across the 20th century in Arkansas specifically call for Jackson's Vanilla Wafers instead of other brands. The crispness and size of the cookie is noted for its ability to both stand up in consistency and absorb the flavors of the pudding. The cookies are also used in many pie crust recipes.

Representatives for Ferrero Roche confirmed the company ceased manufacture of the cookies at the beginning of December 2022.  Despite requests to continue the product or sell the recipe to another company, a representative said Ferrero Roche's decision is final.

For North Little Rock residents and people who traveled through the area, the scent of baking cookies was ever present before the facility's closing. You could smell the cookies being baked when you traveled I-30 in the area. 

Here's a recipe for Jackson's Vanilla Wafer Fruit Cake from GramsRecipeBox.com.

And here's the recipe for Banana Pudding Pie from my 2023 book, The Great Arkansas Pie Book.

To get the closest you can with the flavor, make the following:

1 box Nilla Wafers

1 teaspoon real vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 Tablespoons butter

Melt butter. Add vanilla and salt. 

Heat oven to 350. Spread wafers on buttered cookie sheet. Brush on melted butter mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cookies are crisp. Remove to rack and allow to cool completely before using in recipe.