The Girls and Their Cookies Return

Start making space in your freezers, it’s once again time to start stocking up on Girl Scout Cookies! For $3.50 a package, you can place your orders starting on Jan. 15 for your classic favorites, such as Thin Mints, and new flavors, such as Lemonades. Orders will be taken until Jan. 30, and cookies will be delivered beginning Feb. 23.

Sales this year will proceed as they usually do, but you can expect a few changes. For instance, the Girl Scouts Council in the St. Louis area will be using a different baker than in years past. So what does that mean for the St. Louis area? It’s as simple as a name change.

Thin Mints are still Thin Mints, but what happens to the rest of the Girl Scout cookie lineup? Well, Samoas, a donut-shaped cookie covered in coconut and drizzled in caramel and chocolate, are now Caramel deLites. Do-Si-Dos are now simply Peanut Butter Sandwiches, and Peanut Butter Patties more accurately describes the popular chocolate-covered and peanut-butter-smothered Tagalong.

This year, there are three exciting recipes new to the menu. First, there is the Thanks-A-Lot, a fudge-covered shortbread cookie printed with a “Thank You.” Next, there is the Lemonade, also a shortbread cookie, but coated with lemon icing. If you’re a fan of Biscoff, a type of spice cookie, you’ll love Shout-Outs, which are emblazoned by motivational phrases like “Inspire” and “Lead.”

Now, the Girl Scouts goal isn’t just to tempt your taste buds with cookie sales. They want to reach cookie customers with the Girl Scout message; that is, that Girl Scouts supports activities encouraging leadership among girls.

“Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place,” said Janet Vigen-Levy, marketing and communications manager of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri.

By buying cookies, you support this message yourself. In fact, proceeds are split among the troops that sold them and their local councils. The money you spend on cookies in Florissant, then stays in Florissant.

Also new for Girl Scout Cookies this year is the packaging. Have you seen the commercial for bagged cereal, explaining that all cereals are really packaged the same? The Girl Scouts has adopted that idea for their cookies in an effort to “go green” this time around. Think Chips Ahoy! sealed bags – that’s what you’ll be seeing come delivery time.

Last, Girl Scouts has brought cookie orders into the digital age. Troop members and council staff can log into Snap, an application specifically designed for managing cookie sales. No longer will you regret not adding an extra box of Caramel deLites to your order; the online cookie database allows order editing for your convenience, as well as messaging and data reports for the convenience of the troops.

So what if you miss the cutoff date for orders – January 30 – and you just can’t make it more than a year without your beloved Thin Mints? No worries! Girl Scouts troops will be out in full force by the end of March at booths in front of your grocery stores.

You can find out where starting Feb. 23 by visiting the “Cookie Booth Locator” at www.girlscoutsem.org and entering your zip code to find a site near you. Cookie Booths will be set up at area businesses from Feb. 23 to March 13.