Junior Chef Cookie Factory from Argo Industries Corp. (1965)

Company: Argo Industries Corp. | Release date: 1965 | Where to purchase: eBay

In 1965, amateur bakers were able to make cookies on their own, thanks to the Junior Chef Cookie Factory released by Argo Industries. The toy factory’s “magic moving” production line stood 8-inches tall by 21-inches long. The oven had a shielded metal heating element, was powered by electricity, and was enclosed in a decorative plastic “brick oven” casing.

The cookie-baking process began by adding water to one of the provided mixes and filling a cookie press with dough. The press was used to extrude various shapes, like hearts and stars, onto small metal baking pans placed onto a chain-driven conveyor belt. Turning the toy’s timer wheel a half-turn manually advanced pans through the oven and out into the cooling area, which was protected by a plastic shield.

Each rotation of the timer took approximately 3 minutes, and fully baked cookies emerged in about 12 minutes (or four timer rotations). Cooled cookies could be pushed into the decoration table area for icing.

In addition to the cookie factory itself, the set came with 4 boxes of cookie mix, 2 boxes of decorator mix, 15 utensils, and a Junior Chef Recipe Book.

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