What Does E.L. Fudge Mean From The Famous Keebler Cookies?

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You've probably told your kids, or heard it once or twice yourself, that it's impolite to play with your food, but when the chicken nuggets are dinosaur-shaped (like the highly ranked Jurassic World Dominion Dino-Shaped Nuggets) and the cookies are shaped like elves, how could anyone resist? Keebler's little elves have been working away in the Hollow Tree Factory since 1968, whipping up all sorts of whimsical treats — hello, Fudge Stripes. But E.L. Fudge Sandwich Cookies are one of the brand's most beloved snacks — and their name is more than an acronym of letters.

E.L. Fudge stands for "Everybody Loves" Fudge, since the Keebler elves are so well known for their fudgey mayhem. It's also a play-on word, with the first three capital letters spelling out the word "elf." Back in the day, Keebler used to run commercials where citizens of the Hollow Tree Factory would explain the acronym, and customers could plainly see an explanation on the packaging. These days, the messaging isn't as clear. A change in the container isn't the only thing that's changed about E.L. Fudge Sandwich Cookies over the years, though it still remains a sweet, nostalgic delight.

E.L. Fudge Cookies were released in 1986, years after Keebler started making a name for itself. At first, the cookies were only produced in the shape of the head elf, Ernie, and weren't sandwich-shaped at all. They were simply Ernie-shaped shortbread cookies with fudge coating the back side. That classic "elfwich" shape commonly associated with E.L. Fudge Sandwich Cookies didn't come about until 1987, after Keebler's success with Fudge Dominoes. Given the whimsical history and evolution of the Keebler elves, the various other elf lookalikes were introduced in the early 2000s.

Keebler changed ownership quite a lot over the last few decades, though now the brand that makes the famous E.L. Fudge Sandwich Cookies is owned by The Ferrero Group, which purchased the Hollow Tree Factory and all of its elves in 2019. Ferrero is responsible for Keebler's sweet treats, like the Graham Ready Pie Crusts, Keebler Ice Cream Cones, and cookies such as E.L. Fudge Sandwich Cookies and Chips Deluxe Original (which we placed fairly high on our ranking of chocolate chip cookie brands). Ernie and his buddies may look plumper these days, more likely to jump through the screen thanks to modern animation and technology, but he's still sure to tout that fudge never goes out of style.