Girl Scout Cookies 101: Yummy New Flavor And Where To Find Them Near You

One week into Girl Scout Cookie season, chances are your shelves are already lined with boxes of delicious treats.

Girl Scouts, Daisies and Brownies man cookie stands at nearly every grocery store entryway; they tote wagons with cartons full at local sporting events; and more than a handful of “cookie moms” drive across town with car windows declaring “Cookies Inside!” And yes, they still go door to door.

There are 2.3 million boxes of cookies for sale in OC alone, according to Nancy Nygren, CEO of Girl Scouts of Orange County. Cookies are available for $5 a box, and all but a fraction of the cookie sale goes directly to the troops and council.

Any way you slice it, that’s a lot of dough.

“At the heart of the cookie sale is the program where the girls learn skills and leadership techniques,” Nygren said, adding that cookie sales do provide the majority of funding for troops and for girl scout council.

“We are helping girls develop their best lives,” she said. “Learning money management, people skills and the ever-important business ethics.”

This year, on the 100th anniversary of Girl Scout cookie sales, the Girl Scouts of America have combined two iconic traditions of S’mores and Girl Scouts who love them in their brand-new cookie release: Girl Scout S’mores cookies.

This newest flavor, sold across the country, has two great looks: chocolate dipped or crunchy graham cracker sandwich. Both are delicious and sweet, but you might not be able to find both types in your area.

“Our new crispy graham cookie by ABC Bakers is double dipped in yummy crème icing and finished with a scrumptious chocolatey coating,” the Girl Scouts of America said.

The S’mores cookie made by Little Brownie Bakers is a crunchy graham sandwich cookie with a creamy chocolate and marshmallow-y filling.

“Each cookie features an embossed image of one of five Girls’ Choice Outdoor Badges,” Little Brownie Bakers said in a release.

Two different looks, one great cookie for 2017.

Why Do Cookies Have Different Names?

You say Caramel deLites, I say Samoas. Two different licensed bakers manufacture the Girl Scout cookies, and recipes and ingredients may differ slightly, according to the Girl Scouts website.

“Here in Orange County, there are nine varieties of cookies,” Nygren said. “Thin mints are the number one cookie in the nation.”

According to Nygren, millennials love caramel delights, while Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers still love the thin mints.

It is up to individual Girl Scouts councils to decide which baker they want to partner with, according to ABC Bakers, who became the “Official Girl Scout Cookie Baker” in 1937.

Little Brownie Bakers began baking Girl Scout Cookies in 1973.

Both bakeries can offer up to eight varieties, but the main cookie recipes must be sold every year: Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwich, Shortbread, Caramel deLites and Peanut Butter Patties.

How Much Money Goes To The Girl Scouts?

According to ABC Bakers and Nygren, less than one-third of the price you pay goes to the baker, which means that most of the money goes to your local Girl Scouts troops.

“All the net proceeds from a local council’s cookie activities remain in the area where the cookies are sold,” ABC Bakery said.

How Long Will Cookies Be Available?

Girl Scout Cookies are available for sale from Jan. 30 until March 12.

Where Can I Find Girl Scout Cookies?

In San Francisco, one Girl Scout was savvy enough to set up her cookie wagon nearby a Green Cross Marijuana Dispensary, selling hundreds of boxes in just a few days. While that sort of ingenuity was frowned upon by some troop leaders, you can’t blame a girl for trying.

Still, Girl Scouts have rules for when and where they can sell their cookies.

The new Girl Scouts Cookie Finder App for iPhone or Android will make your search a little easier, though it still won’t help you locate the more difficult-to-find types of cookies sold by either bakery.

For that, you’ll have to compare notes with friends.

Photo, courtesy Autumn Johnson, Patch