A single recipe has kept this Toronto company in business for over 40 years
Yes, there really was a Mary Macleod. Today, her cookies pretty up the shelves at myriad retailers, finding their way into gift baskets and the mouths of the sweet-toothed masses. Founded in Toronto more than four decades ago, her company is a testament to the power of family, loyalty and, clearly, really good cookies.
Of all the possessions that Mary Macleod brought to Canada when she arrived here from Scotland in 1957, her grandmother's shortbread recipe would end up being one of the most valuable.
In 1981, that recipe became the backbone of Canada's first shortbread-only cookie shop, a company she named simply, Mary Macleod's Shortbread.
"She needed to support herself and her two sons," explains Sharon Grewal-Macleod, President of Mary Macleod's Shortbread and Macleod's daughter-in-law. "She was a great baker. That's what she did best."
Adapted to work with Canadian butter and flour, the Macleod family shortbread recipe was soon the basis for every cookie baked on-site at the tiny shop at Yonge & Eglinton.
"She became known for her shortbread," says Grewal-Macleod. "It's an all-butter recipe. We cream our butter first, add the sugar to the butter, then the other ingredients. They're very simple."
What drew customers then, as it does now, was the indelible quality of cookies that taste as if they were baked at home.
"We are an artisan, small-batch bakery," affirms Grewal-Macleod. The company's longevity, she adds, can be chalked up to that classic shortbread recipe and the team's reluctance to ever cut corners.
"It is about our quality and our consistency. It's the quality of the cookie but also we have the quality of the packaging to match. Our mission, our vision, is to have it be so worth it to our customers—worth it in terms of the enjoyment they get from having the shortbread, and the enjoyment they get from giving the shortbread."
Today, Mary Macleod's Shortbread counts Holt Renfrew, Indigo and Whole Foods as retail partners. The cookies can be found in specialty food stores, and enthusiasts can get their fix via an online shop that ships all manner of decorative boxes, jars and tins across the country.
True shortbread buffs also know to pop into the One Of A Kind show for a chance to sample sweets from the Toronto-based brand as they peruse the company's newest seasonal offerings.
Though in Mary's day, the company churned out a total of 13 buttery flavours—from cranberry almond to mint chocolate—today, the team focuses on a core menu of six flavours, including two gluten-free options.
The company has relocated from its brick-and-mortar shop and now operates out of a larger facility on Galaxy Blvd. in Etobicoke. "A lot of local customers weren't happy," admits Grewal-Macleod. Still, the team's commitment to quality, family and customer satisfaction remains unchanged.
Recently, Mary Macleod's granddaughter, Jasmine, joined the company full-time. "Mary was my grandmother and Sharon is my mom," she says. "I grew up in the business."
As a third Macleod generation learns the ins and outs of the cookie trade, preparing to eventually take the reins, the team reflects on the company's growth.
"Mary would be really proud, just how we are growing and changing. She was very confident that we were going in the right direction and proud of how we were going. I think she would be over the moon that Jasmine joined us," says Grewal-Macleod.
To this day, Mary Macleod's Shortbread is women-owned and run by family. And the cookies? They still taste as if Mary herself were donning an apron, rolling up her sleeves, and checking every batch for consistency and flavour.
As Grewal-Macleod says, "we're not chasing after the latest fad or changing things. It's really about keeping it true to our roots."
Mary Macleod's Shortbread
