16 hours Ago By Franki Rudnesky
Girl Scout Cookie season has returned with another robust lineup of sweet treats, but two flavors will be gone for good by the time it wraps up. And we can't help but think that the organization made the wrong choices about which to cut. Don't worry, fan favorites like Thin Mints and Caramel deLites/Samoas — which have two different names because they are baked by two separate licensed bakers — are sticking around.
It's the S'mores and Toast-Yay! that are bidding farewell when the 2025 season is said and done. MORE: At Sunday's playoff game, Eagles fans can munch on jumbo pretzels shaped like the team logo The Girl Scout Cookie season runs each year between January and April, although the timing may vary from troop to troop. The Girl Scouts tradition of selling cookies can be traced as far back as 1917 in Oklahoma, when a troop baked and sold cookies in a high school cafeteria as a service project.
But it was the Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia Council that was the first to sell commercially baked cookies in 1934. This year, you can nab some sweets by purchasing them from a local Girl Scout or ordering them online starting Feb. 21.
The 2025 roster features 12 flavors, including the two soon-to-be-retired varieties. S'mores is a crunchy graham cookie sandwich with chocolate and marshmallow filling, while the Toast-Yay! is dipped in icing and tastes like French toast. S'mores were introduced in 2017, while the Toast-Yay! joined the lineup in 2021.
They each had just a few short years to tickle the taste buds of Girl Scout Cookie lovers everywhere, but it seems they're getting the premature boot to potentially make way for some shiny new desserts. "We routinely reevaluate our cookie lineup to make room for new innovations," a Girl Scouts USA representative told Food Network . "Discontinuing Toast-Yay! and Girl Scout S’mores may lead to something new and delicious.
" That's all fine and dandy, but why did those flavors in particular have to fall by the wayside? In my humble opinion, there are some others more deserving of dismissal and I will lay out my reasoning below. This is all in good fun of course, as the cookies raise funds for young girls and teach them entrepreneurial skills. I would love to know which flavors you think should say bye-bye as well! Lemon-Ups This one really comes down to redundancy.
The Lemon-Ups are "crispy lemon cookies" that boast inspirational messages like "I am a leader." They were introduced in 2020, replacing the retired lemon-flavored Savannah Smiles variety. I'm all for empowerment and I think the little blurbs on the Lemon-Ups cookies are cute, but there's another cookie on the menu with lemon flavor.
The Lemonades cookies are shortbread topped with lemon-flavored icing. In a lineup with only 12 cookies, there's no need to have two options with such similar flavors. I could say something similar about the Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos and Peanut Butter Patties/Tagalongs, but I don't want to anger peanut butter fans.
Between the two lemon options, I'm going with Lemonades to stay. The icing just brings a bit more intrigue to the table. So, farewell Lemon-Ups, in my mind anyway.
I say the bakers come up with another cookie that has inspirational messages, but with a more innovative flavor. For example, the "wildly popular" Raspberry Rally cookie was nixed in 2023, so why not try another berry? There are so many other fruits that could flavor a cookie that aren't already on the menu. One lemon cookie is more than enough.
Trefoils Sorry if this offends anyone because I know this variety is described by the Girl Scouts as "iconic" and "inspired by the original Girl Scout Cookie recipe" that dates back to the '30s. But come on, can we give the Trefoils a rest, or at least a little innovation? Seriously, I'm wondering who buys these because the plain shortbread cookies have never come up in any conversation I've had about favorite Girl Scout Cookies. My main qualm with them is just that they're boring and look a little dry.
I'm sure they're OK when dipped in milk or chocolate or some other flavorful addition, but a cookie that can't stand on its own does not deserve such a long tenure. I said what I said. I'm guessing the Trefoils stick around due to the nostalgia of it all, but I personally think that they're taking up space on the menu — space that could have been better utilized by unique offerings like the S'mores and Toast-Yay! Follow Franki & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @wordsbyfranki | @thePhillyVoice Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Have a news tip ? Let us know.
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