This past week, Girl Scouts and their troop leaders from local troops 29, 72, 1009 and 882 set up shop in the JRC lobby to sell Girl Scout cookies. On Monday, the Girl Scouts were even able to sell cookies without missing school.

“It was a teacher in-service day, so it worked out well,” said troop leader Jennifer Gnau. On Tuesday and Wednesday, however, only the troop leaders were able to make it.
During that time, they were able to observe cookie-buying patterns and determine some clear fan favorites.

“Thin Mints are definitely more popular, and the Caramel deLites,” Gnau said. Others seem to agree.

“When I was little, [my favorite] was definitely Thin Mints, but now it’s between the Tagalongs and the Samoas (now called Caramel deLights,” said Lillie Westbrook ’21.

Likewise, Angella Brown, a third grader from Girl Scout Troop 29, thinks that Thin Mints are the best cookie.

The cookie season lasts a month and a half, from Feb. 1 to March 18.

Veronica Thomas ’21 said Girl Scout cookie season is “really well timed, because it’s right after big dessert seasons, like Christmas and the holidays. Valentine’s Day is gone, and you’re like, when’s the next time I’m going to get a steady dessert? Girl Scout cookies.”

Behind the scenes, Girl Scout cookie season is about much more than the joy of devouring sugary treats. Troop leaders Gnau and Deb Brown said that they hope that Girl Scout season teaches the Girl Scouts skills such as math, personal communication, honesty and organization. For the Girl Scouts themselves, cookie season is presented as a challenge that highlights these skills.

“I like going door to door and asking people … and I like selling cookies and reaching my goal,” Brown said. Her goal is to sell 300 boxes, and when she reaches it, she’ll receive “a color changing cup and lots of cookie dough money.”

Kierra Orndorff, a first grader from Daisy Troop 882, exclaimed that when she reaches her goal of 605 boxes, “I get my hoodie, and cookie dough! I love cookie dough.”

At four dollars a box (five dollars for gluten-free cookies), Girl Scout cookies are far from cheap. A box of Coconut Dreams from Walmart, replicas of Caramel deLite Girl Scout cookies, sells for two dollars. However, plenty of buyers appear to be under the belief that the price is not unreasonable.

“I understand that it’s expensive … but I feel like the Girl Scouts do a lot of good, and I would totally pay four dollars to make a girl happy,” Westbrook said.

“I was a girl scout, so I almost feel a sense of, like, moral duty to buy them,” Thomas added.