I can’t be the only one that gets ridiculously excited when I see the pint-sized Girl Scouts outside my local grocery store or right in the entryway to the cafeteria (lucky for me). Especially as college students without the luxury of homemade baked goods very often, there’s something simply sweet and sentimental about the Scouts and their homey feel. They look as sweet as the boxes of cookies they’re selling, and I’m all in favor of their selling season never ending.
So while the Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys are in their prime time of cookie sales, I thought I would write a ranking of my least- to most-favorite sweet treats!
12. Trios: These cookies are oatmeal and peanut butter with chocolate chips, hence the emphasis on three main ingredients with the name Trio. I have actually never had these cookies, but peanut butter is a hard flavor to make into a good cookie, in my opinion. It’s mainly at the bottom of my list because I haven’t had the opportunity to try it! HOWEVER, they are gluten free (although the box is $5 instead of $4).
11. Thanks-a-Lot: I also have not had these shortbread cookies with a fudge coating on the bottom, but they seem to be a pretty good seller for people with a taste for simply good cookies without the fuss of fancy additives.
10. Savannah Smiles: Citrusy cookies, at least for me, are not among my favorite flavor palates. These are rather messy with the powdered sugar but are a tasty, tart treat with a sunny disposition, for those into that type of dessert.
9. Lemonades: Along the lines of the Savannah Smiles, these lemony cookies are good for those with taste buds that like to be bursting with a tangy sensation that’s reminiscent of summer lemonade stands, but not so much to my liking.
8. Shortbreads/Trefoils: Another staple cookie for fans of Girl Scouts are Trefoils. To me, they’re a little too basic and dry out my mouth after a couple bites. However, because they’re not overpowered with chocolate, caramel or anything else like that, they’re one of the cookies with the highest serving (a whole FOUR cookies)–although who really listens to that suggestion?
7. Girl Scout S’mores (part one): The first s’mores cookie on this list is the tried and true version. The chocolate is a bit too sweet in my opinion and the marshmallow has a bit of an odd feeling, almost gummy if you chew it too long, but the saving grace is the solid graham cracker cookie–a staple component to any good s’more.
6. Girl Scouts S’mores (part two): This is the new s’mores cookie which is a revamped version and is now covered in fudge, so how can you go wrong? Both s’mores cookies sound good, but if I had a choice between the two, you better FUDGING believe I’d pick the chocolate-coated ones.
5. Toffee-Tastic: Even though I have never tried this cookie, I am amped to. Butter cookies are totally my jam, and adding toffee pieces can only improve the awesomeness of this sweet snack. PLUS, they’re also gluten free!
4. Do-si-dos/Peanut Butter Sandwiches: Peanut butter is such a good filling for cookies, but these fall a little short in comparison to the next in the list. They’re a classic cookie but lack an extra little something to push it further up the list.
3. Peanut Butter Patties/Tagalongs: The only way to improve a peanut butter-filled cookie is to cover aforementioned cookie in fudge, which is exactly what these do. Although I can’t eat too many of these in one sitting, they are such an unexpected fan-favorite in my book, and you should consider adding it to yours too!
2. Thin Mints: Okay, this might be a controversial opinion, but Thin Mints are my runner-up favorite cookie (I know, I gasped too). They are minty, chocolatey, and such a snappy little sweet treat. Pop them in the freezer, crumble them on top of ice cream, or eat a whole sleeve as is – whatever your preferred method of eating is is an iconic one with this OG cookie.
1. Samoas/Caramel deLites: We’ve made it–my ALL-time favorite Girl Scout cookie, no contest. I usually do not like coconut, but their combination of coconut, caramel, and the chocolate drizzle/coated bottom is to die for and drool over. Fight me on this all you want, but I’ll still consider them as the deLites that are deserving of #1 on my list!
Well, that’s how the cookie crumbles! Hope my opinions left you with only sweetness and a hankering for a box or two of Girl Scouts cookies! For other information about where to find Girl Scout sales going on around you, visit http://www.girlscouts.org/!
Also, as a PSA to Winona State students, the Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys will be selling cookies in Kryzsko Commons on the following Thursdays: 2/22, 3/1, and 3/15 from 3-5:30.
Sources: cover photo