1 day Ago
When you stroll by to hunt for those delicious cookies with caramel, coconut and chocolaty stripes, do you ask for Samoas? Or Caramel deLites? As it turns out, both names are correct depending on which part of the country you’re in ...
but the cookies themselves aren’t totally identical. Name and recipe differences are just some of the “quirks” of the century-old Girl Scout Cookie sale program, says Girl Scouts of the USA Chief Revenue Officer Wendy Lou. Those quirks exist because two different bakers — Virginia’s ABC Bakers and Kentucky’s Little Brownie Bakers — create the cookies.
The bakers are completely separate entities and “each facility might have their own individual production capabilities that that they were leveraging at a certain time,” Lou tells TODAY.com. Confused? So were we.
Let’s break it down: After analyzing the nutritional data on the organization’s ” webpage, TODAY.com determined that none of the similar types of cookies have the composition. But an extremely unscientific taste test from our local Girl Scout troops confirms that the cookies do taste very similar.
Lou refers to the flavors of these almost identical cookies as “harmonized.” She says, “There might be slight differences if you were to sit side by side and taste them for a refined palate, perhaps, but I think generally, they’re interchangeable.” Cookies have been “a big part of our legacy,” Lou says.
“We hope that the names don’t create confusion for our cookie lovers.” These two types of cookies are extremely similar ..
. but not completely identical. Samoas (from Little Brownie Bakers) have slightly more calories, potassium and sodium than ABC Bakers’ Caramel deLites.
Tagalongs from Little Brownie Bakers have more calories and protein (and less sugar and carbohydrates) than Peanut Butter Patties from ABC Bakers. While peanut butter is the first ingredient listed for Tagalongs, sugar is the first ingredient listed for Peanut Butter Patties. Both of these cookies are oatmeal sandwich cookies with peanut butter filling, but Little Brownie Bakers’ Do-si-dos have more sodium and sugar than ABC Bakers’ Peanut Butter Sandwiches.
Unlike the previous examples, Lemonades and Lemon-Ups are two distinctly different cookies, but they’re both designed to appeal to a citrus lover. ABC Bakers’ Lemonades are shortbread cookies topped with tangy lemon-flavored icing while Little Brownie Bakers’ Lemon-Ups are lemon cookies that are stamped with inspiring messages. Thin Mints, the top-selling type of Girl Scout cookie, taste extremely similar across bakers, and the nutritional information is also a close match.
Trefoils, the iconic shortbread cookie inspired by the very first type of cookie sold by Girl Scouts, are extremely similar in flavor and composition across bakers. Lou calls Trefoils “the sleeper cookie.” They’re not the flashiest, but they are perfect with tea or coffee.
Both bakers make this brownie-inspired cookie topped with caramel crème. The ABC Bakers’ version has more calories and sugar but less sodium than Little Brownie Bakers. Caramel Chocolate Chip cookies are the gluten-free cookie option from ABC Bakers while Toffee-tastics are Little Brownie Bakers’ gluten-free offering.
If you like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, you’ll love Toast-Yay! French toast-flavored iced cookies. But you’ll have to grab them from ABC Bakers fast because they’re being Lou says they made the announcement at the start of cookie season because “we want to make sure all of the fans had ample time to be prepared.” Only Little Brownie Bakers is making S’mores cookies this year .
.. for the last time.
They are also being . Lou laughs because the girls in her daughter’s Brownie troop use this cookie discontinuation as a “sales tool” to convince customers to “stock up.” Rosie Colosi lives in New Jersey and is a reporter for TODAY Parents.
She has bylines in The Atlantic, The Week, MSNBC, and PureWow, and she has written 33 nonfiction children's books for Scholastic, Klutz, and Nat Geo Kids. Once upon a time, she played Mrs. Claus in "The Rockettes' Radio City Christmas Spectacular," but now she mostly sings songs from "Annie" to her two daughters .
.. while they beg her to play Kidz Bop.
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