(Header Photo: Girl Scout Troop 2630's Booth Sale)
Girl Scout Cookie® Season Has Always Been Pretty Sweet
By Jenna Kierstedt, Creative Director at Girl Scouts of Suffolk County
February 10, 2023
Girl Scouts have sold cookies to help support troop adventures for over 100 years. Originally the cookies were home-baked by Girl Scouts, with help from mothers in the troop. By the 1930s, the national organization began looking for commercial bakers to produce cookies nationwide. And today, Girl Scout Cookies® are an American cultural icon and part of the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world!
Troop 1037's Cookie Booth Sale
As a Girl Scout Alum, I remember my time selling cookies. When my living room and garage were filled with the sweet smell of cookies, we couldn’t eat. I remember Booth Sales at supermarkets and railroad stations. I remember learning that we could always keep going and try again. For me, cookie season was a time of togetherness and fun. I was not a top seller, but I remember how excited we were after achieving our goals, no matter how big or small.
Since the original shortbread cookie recipe was shared by Girl Scouts of USA’s The American Girl magazine in 1922, the Girl Scout Cookie lineup has gone through many changes. Last year we started a new adventure with Adventurefuls™, a brownie-inspired cookie topped with caramel crème and a hint of sea salt (and a new favorite at my home). This year’s Raspberry Rally™ will be available exclusively online for direct shipment. The Raspberry Rally™ is a thin, crispy sister cookie to the beloved Thin Mints®, infused with raspberry flavor instead of mint and dipped in the same delicious coating. Girl Scouts in Suffolk County will sell these delicious cookies online using the Digital Cookie® App, with boxes shipped to customers directly from the baker. The rest of this year’s delightful cookie lineup is available from your favorite Girl Scout at booth sales and stand-a-bouts all over Suffolk County.
Girl Scout Brownie from Troop 308
Each year Girl Scouts learn essential business skills like money
management and people skills as they set goals and plan their cookie
sales. Girl Scouts can still go door to door to sell to friends and
family, but as the cookie program has expanded through the years, so has
the customer reach. Girl Scouts can create personalized storefronts
using the Digital Cookie® app that allow them to sell cookies online and
deliver them to customers or, starting Feb. 27th, have the orders
shipped directly to the customers from the baker. Girl Scouts are
learning about inventory and supply chain (maybe a little bit earlier
than we would like them to), but setbacks have led to a greater
understanding of business and the world around them. And lessons learned
as part of the Girl Scout Cookie Program® give girls an entrepreneurial
edge. In fact, 79% of Girl Scouts say they have an entrepreneurial
mindset vs. only 52% of non-Girl Scouts.
Jenna as a Girl Scout Brownie
My memories as a Girl Scout have a link to selling cookies; it’s by no
means the only thing I remember, but it is part of my story. I remember
the fear of failure and talking to new people, but I also remember how
my leader was right there to support me. And once I tried and failed and
tried again, it stopped being something to fear. I learned to handle
money, and the importance of business ethics by running after a customer
who left with incorrect change. Did I know it was business ethics? Not
at the time; it was just the right thing to do. And “right is right,
even if no one else does it,” a favorite quote by Juliette Low. I
learned how to stand up for myself, open my mind, and see what was
possible, though I didn’t attribute the skills to my time as Girl Scout
until I returned to work for this council almost 20 years later. But
that understanding is one of my favorite aspects of the movement. I was
learning strength, and it just was part of the message in all the
lessons. Courage, confidence, and character were ingredients built into
the recipe, and I didn’t think about it. I just ate the cookie with joy.
I had to bring it back; we’re going full circle here.
Multi-level Troop 904's Booth Sale
So, whether you are still a part of the Girl Scout movement with your own Girl Scout or by volunteering—trick statement because we all know “Once a Girl Scout, Always a Girl Scout!”—I hope you can find some time to enjoy this sweet season. Girl Scout troops have started selling at booth sales all over Suffolk County. And while the time of All-Abouts™ and Chalet Cremes™ have come and gone, I’ll bet you can find a new favorite in the Girl Scout S’mores™ or Lemon Ups®. And that box may help a Girl Scout meet her goal and expand her horizon, even if she doesn’t know it yet.
Do you remember what cookies were part of your Girl Scout Cookie® lineup? Little Brownie Bakers®, one of the two licensed Girl Scout Cookie® bakers, has a Cookie Timeline on their website where you can look at their cookie flavors by decade from the 1970s to today. I remember my time selling Thin Mints® and Samoas®, but I distinctly remember the flavor Chocolate Chunks™ which, according to their timeline, ran from 1979-81, so it was part of my very first cookie sale. How many do you remember selling or tasting? While you are still wrapped up in sweet nostalgia, try heading over to the girlscouts.org page for some Cookie History and learn all about the history of this sweet treat. You can even watch a vintage Girl Scout Cookie® commercial. Then feel free to impress your friends with all your new knowledge on this iconic treat. More reasons why Girl Scout Cookie season is always pretty sweet.
Share with us your favorite memories and photos from Girl Scout Cookie season and we may feature them online and on social media.
