McDonaldland Cookies and why the Happy Meal favorite was discontinued

Introduced in 1974, McDonaldland Cookies became a regular addition to McDonald’s Happy Meals when they debuted nationwide in 1979, but the beloved menu item was discontinued in the early 2000s, to the disappointment of many fans.

The small, crunchy, cookies were baked for McDonald’s by Keebler, had a subtle lemon flavor and featured the faces of beloved McDonald’s characters like Grimace, Ronald McDonald, Birdie, and Hamburglar.

McDonald’s used to sell cookies that featured the faces of Ronald McDonald and other characters. (Getty Images)

Customers described them as a cross between shortbread and animal crackers, and McDonaldland Cookies came in either a little plastic bag or a brightly colored cardboard box that also showed the faces of McDonald’s characters.

The fast food chain altered its Happy Meals to include healthier items such as apple slices in the early 2000s.

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Between 2003 and 2004, McDonaldland Cookies were discontinued at all U.S. locations.

Chocolate chip cookies, however, remained on the menu.

A McDonald’s Big Mac meal in 1994 (right) next to a British McDonald’s menu in 1993 (left). (Harry Prosser/Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty Images; King/Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)

McDonald’s has been serving some variation of chocolate chip cookies since the early 1970s, with today’s chewy, soft-baked version introduced in 2012.

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Although McDonaldland Cookies are no longer available in the United States, select McDonald’s locations in Australia still offer them, and certain New Zealand restaurants serve the treat under the name “McHappy Cookies.”

Fans have also shared on Reddit that a cookie with a flavor and texture similar to the original McDonaldland cookies is available at Aldi supermarkets.

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One Reddit user commented: “I am eating the Benton’s animal crackers from Aldi right now and they taste exactly like the McDonaldland cookies.”

McDonaldland Cookies might be gone in the U.S., but the characters have not been totally forgotten.

The original McDonald’s franchise, opened by Ray Kroc on April 15, 1955, now serves as a museum in Des Plaines, Ill. (Getty Images)

The viral Grimace Shake, a purple-hued milkshake with a vanilla soft serve base and mixed berry flavoring, came out in 2023 as a limited-time treat to celebrate the beloved character’s birthday.

Beginning in 2022, McDonald’s sporadically released various limited-edition Adult Happy Meals, allowing grownups to enjoy the nostalgia of Happy Meals — which, depending on their age, might have included McDonaldland Cookies.

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Fox News Digital reached out to McDonald’s for comment.