For years and years now (seriously, like ten years) I’ve been wandering grocery store aisles looking for my favourite old cookie that I remember from childhood. Every now and then it would hit me and I’d think, "boy, I wish I knew where to get some of those cookies with raisins in them", and I’d ask someone if they could remember them as well.
Problem was, almost nobody could. Except my husband. I’ll give the guy credit, he totally remembered them and would sit and scratch his head in nostalgic frustration along with me as we tried to pick our way through the accumulated minutiae of a lifetime’s worth of thoughts and memories, pulling at the cobwebs like so many fishing lines, only to have them come away in our hands empty, no name attached.
I’d labouriously explain to people: "they were like crackers, sort of, with raisins baked right inside. No. Not Fig Newtons. Nope, not French Cremes, and no, not those Cinnamon Danish cookies either."
Frustrated, I began to feel like maybe I’d imagined those cracker-like cookies, kind of like a stoned wheat thin, minus the wheat and salt, but with raisins baked right in. You could snap off the pieces just like a stoned wheat thin.
I gave up hope of ever finding them again, although I couldn’t help tossing a half-hopeful, half-wistful glance up at the shelves in the cookie aisle on grocery day. But I never found them.
So what prompted me to be scanning the contents of the shelves in the Asian snack food section of our local Real Canadian Superstore I’ll never know. Now, it’s not like I don’t like Asia in general or Asian food in particular, but I do find Asian snack food, well, peculiar. Troubling, even. To wit:
These fruit puddings look more like little tubs of paint, to me, and they are, disturbingly, not refrigerated.
And then there’s this weird treat from Japan that my daughter got in a birthday party loot bag once:
They’re kind of like pretzels, dipped in (what I think is) strawberry yogurt. The things you can buy at the dollar store, I tell ya!
Anyway, so there I am gazing at the neon fruit puddings and Hello Kitty fruit pretzels when I see it…staring me in the face!
And it hits me. SULTANAS. That’s what they were called! But I don’t think the ones we snacked on in Oakville, Ontario in the 70s were made by KHONG GUAN and imported from Singapore. (But seriously, if you remember who made the ones we ate back in the 70s, please let me know. I have googled repeatedly and can’t find them…was it Peek Freans? Or Dare? Mr. Christie?)
Of course I bought them. And tried them. And – YES! EUREKA! They are the same (or at least a close enough facsimile)! Although I have to admit, at 3 points per 5 biscuits (one full row) they’re maybe not going to top my treat list while I’m still on Weight Watchers. Oh. And my kids hate them. And so do their friends.
Still. It was so great to find them again, and if the kids hate them, well, so much the better, because it just means MORE FOR ME!
OMG! I just read your write up and I too have been looking for these cookies for a dog’s age. I have searched hi and low and then I forget for a while and then it comes back to me – where can I find those cookies? I remember as a tot when my mom would go to the hairdresser she would always bring the Sultana’s and give me a few when I got bored. I think I hated them back in the day but that’s all I ever got! I want them…..now! I’m going to check out the Asian food store in my area today – I hope I can find them in Montreal.
You’re a smart cookie!
Sue
does christie make sultana biscuits if they Do how can i get them?
Thank you
Wayne McKinnon
Hi, these biscuits were called SULTANAS and were made by Christies.
Ooh….I LOVED Sultanas!!! I’ve been looking for them for ages, too. I found a close substitute in a grocery store in London, England last spring—bought a whole little package of them, and munched away on the plane ride back to Toronto. I wish I’d bought more than one package!
Hi Kath,
– My wife and I have been on a similar quest for years now(when memory has moved us). I ran across your article when Google(ing) Christie Sultanas and it makes me wonder just how many others are currently wandering store ailses looking for those delicious biscuit/cookies? I almost feel like doing a t-shirt with ‘Where are the Sultanas?’ printed on the front.
– I seem to recall that they were made by ‘Mr. Christie’ (who apparently decided to stop making some really good cookies).
Best of luck to all searchers,
Don
Hi there,
I , like many others here have been searching for Sultanas… Someone mentioned Christies having made them but I’m sure it was Nabisco… which is now owed by Kraft… mega corp…
I loved those cookies and I have many fond memories of them , also a fav of my dad but especially the name we had for them … fly cemetaries … a little crispy on the outside and soft/chewy in the middle…. THE BEST !
I’ll have to look for the knockoff at the superstore or maybe the T and T supermarket
I have found Sultana’s by Verkade in Holland only, boy were they good ! I also found the Sultana’s by Khong Guan in Vancouver in the chineese food section of the Market, will be checking out the chineese section here in ontario
I remembered the Sunshine biscuits, but I found the Crawfords Garibaldi version at “Jungle Jims International Foods” in Ohio, US. I don’t remember EXACTLY what the Sunshine’s tasted like but the Garibaldi hit the spot. I’ll look for the Sultana’s when I can, I didn’t think there were any on the east coast…
Sunshine was bought out by Keebler which kept making them for about a year, but decided they weren’t worth the $. Unfortunately there’s no good way to gripe at Keebler about it either.
Sultana biscuits in the 70s were made by Mr Christie. I worked in Marketing in the mid 90s when they were discontinued. They were great biscuits. Soft, chewy and very healthy.
They were made by Christie Biscuits. I just loved them and one day they disappeared from the market.
People either love them or hate them. Thanks for the Khong Guang alternative.
There is a Dutch brand as an alternative… Sultana, but they cost a fortune.
Did you know they were affectionately referred to as squished fly cookies? Peter
AMEN! I thought I was alone combing the aisles of every store stocking cookies… in search of the elusive Sultana Cookies of my youth.
My Eureka moment came last week when I discovered a similar treat imported from the United Kingdom, at Pete’s Footique. They are called Garibaldi – golden crispy biscuits filled with currants and made by Crawford’s of England. They certainly are less exciting than the original Sultanas we all remember with longing… the biscuit is less rich and the currants less fleshy. But when paired with a freshly brewed pot of Earl Grey tea they did hit the spot rather nicely. My search for REAL SULTANA cookies will continue.
Undaunted,
Valerie
Check out this link for the Crawford’s brand of Garibaldi biscuits from the UK – available in Canada. the company is out of stock as of today’s date, but I presume they’ll be getting more in….
http://www.abitofhome.ca/page/C1/PROD/5041403
Good luck!
I have just been going through the same thing looking for those cookies…in every grocery store I could find. I just returned from finding the Aisan ones at Oakville Superstore and I thought they were a horrible imitation. The originals were soft almost chewy not crispy. These ones are more like crackers and they were very stingy with the raisons. I came home and did a shout out on face book and someone sent your story to me. Too funny. I will find them and when I do I will grab a package for you too!
You may be thinking of Sunshine Raisin Bisuits. They were a favorite of mine for many years. The Sunshine Baking Company was bought out my a large corporation which decided to stop producing them.
Another raisin cookie still produced today is called Garibaldi Raisin Biscuit and available from England.
http://www.britishdelights.com/detail.asp?product_id=e184
Hope this helps.
I so remember those cookies, my dad loved them and I always got to share them with him. I think they were also available at the Bulk Barn in the 80’s. Unfortunately I don’t remember getting them in packages or who made them. Now I’m going to have to go on a hunt and try to track some down.
I so remember those cookies, my dad loved them and I always got to share them with him. I think they were also available at the Bulk Barn in the 80’s. Unfortunately I don’t remember getting them in packages or who made them. Now I’m going to have to go on a hunt and try to track some down.
I have the same semi-obsession for something I think was called “Big Boys”. We had them in Winnipeg in the mid to late 70’s – one of the few packaged treats my mom bought. To the best of my vague recollection, they were like Wagon Wheels (which I still love and eat – 3 Points each!) – cookie base, marshmallow middle and ‘chocolate’ coating. They came with nuts in the chocolate and without. Maybe they still make them somewhere, but I’m afraid to Google that name!!
As soon as you started describing them, I knew exactly what you were talking about.
Speaking of vintage snacks… for our anniversary I bought my husband a box of Wagon Wheels. This was pretty much the only non-homemade treat we ever got in our lunches as kids. I don’t know if they just brought them back out, or if I haven’t noticed them for years, but they definitely seem vintage. And smaller.
I was so looking for these the other day. I’d walked past the fig newtons and thought hey what about those thin “cookies” with the raisins. First mistake was ask a teen stocking shelves, talk about feeling old, he just stared at me like i was nuts. So to see this blog now makes me feel sooo much better. Superstore here I come.
Verkade makes several varieties of Sultana cookies…they are a dutch company. I’m not too sure where you can buy them here but if you google Verkade Sultana you’ll be able to find a picture of the package 😉
Hey Amreen, I don’t think you’ll find them at Costco (although I too love it there) but try Superstore…that’s where I got them.
good for you! i’m intrigued by the biscuits. I’ll have to pick up a pack from Costco – which i love.
Sultanas are regularly available in US grocery stores (at least on the east coast… so don’t know what you’ll find closer to you) and made by one of those major cookie companies. My husband and I always bought them when we travelled — like they were some kind of health food (:-)), good for eating in the car.
Congratulations Kath. Chew and enjoy!
i did a similar thing searching for cookies from my childhood. i did manage to find them. oh, happy happy day.
only they don’t sell them in canada. boo!
POCKY! Those chocolatey pretzel sticks = pocky. My kids LOVE them more than almost anything else.
There are some special, special foods in the Chinese Grocery Store. I only wish I lived closer to one.
OMG Kath, I just about peed when I read this. The things that were treats to us as kids…totally crazy!!
I also love that you have a “treat” that your kids hate. My Mom was one of those Moms who really didn’t buy a lot of “packaged” treats. I was always insanely jealous of my best friend who lived across the street with her Tang, Chips Ahoy, & Frankenberry. My Mom used to buy these little rectangular, spiced cakes with icing that basically tasted like glue called Spanish Bar Cake (I don’t know if they were A&P brand, but I know they came from there). I vividly remember saying to my Mom “but I want a treat” & her response was “there’s Spanish Bar Cake” to which my response was usually “nevermind!” She admitted recently that she bought it because she knew we hated it!!
Ummm, yup. I remember these. I agree with your girls. They were gross.
Btw, don’t you love those really productive hours spent against trying to solve these kinds of mysteries? I can not tell you how many of these cases I have open on a regular basis.
I think they were made by Peak Frean.
Mom