Dec. 11, 2021

Downtown’s newest addition features “mountain-sized” cookies that are mixed and baked daily on-site.

And fittingly for a business with “mountain” in the name, Mary’s Mountain Cookies opened in Friday’s storm that dumped almost a foot of snow on Sioux Falls.

“Our main cookie size is a 5-ounce cookie,” said Becky McElroy, who owns the franchise with her husband, Dave. “They were created that size because Mary originally – she’s here right now helping train us and get us off and going – she worked at a dude ranch as their head cook, and they wanted cookies and they wanted them to go with the pack saddles when they would take out trail rides, so they needed to be big so they wouldn’t fall apart. And so that’s the reason we have big, monster-sized, 5-ounce cookies.”

Founder Mary Johns started the cookie company in Colorado almost 30 years ago, and Sioux Falls is only the baker’s dozen – No. 13 – in the chain.

The bakery, which is on the boardwalk of The Cascade on North Phillips Avenue, next to Severance Brewing Co., will carry eight standard flavors throughout the year. Adding to that are seasonal flavors that will change every couple of months.

Each day, customers will find about 18 cookie options, and when they buy a half-dozen, they get to add two more for free.

Mary’s Mountain Cookies also makes Avalanches, which are two 2-ounce cookies with frosting in the middle, and Tornadoes, which are ice cream blended with edible cookie dough and flavoring.

Blue Bunny ice cream is available by the scoop, with room in the case for up to eight flavors.

In the coming weeks, the bakery will have ice cream cookie sandwiches stocked in the freezer and will add gluten-free cookies and baked treats for dogs.

The bakery makes big celebration cookies, and custom orders also can be placed with enough notice, McElroy said.

Eventually, the shop will offer catering for events such as weddings.

While bakeries in the chain use the original recipes and feature the eight standard flavors, each location can choose which seasonal options to bake and can create signature flavors, McElroy said.

Monster cookies aren’t popular at some of the stores in Colorado, for example, but McElroy knows they will be here.

“It must be more of a Midwest cookie, and we all grew up with them in the church basements, right?” she said, laughing. “So that’s probably one that we’ll always carry. It’s my favorite too.”

The bakery doesn’t have seating, but McElroy said they’ll likely add a couple of benches along the boardwalk once warmer weather returns.

They’ve decorated the shop with a mountain theme – there are rolling pins hung on the wall in the shape of mountains and thermoses on shelves framed by a sled. Custom-designed light fixtures by Steve Bormes include one that incorporates cross-country skis and poles.

“We’ve very excited about this location,” McElroy said. “This was our No. 1 choice when we were looking around Sioux Falls.”

The store at 701 N. Phillips Ave. is closed on Mondays, and open from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Those hours could change with the seasons.