Girl Scout Cookie Sales Begin the New Year with a Different Cookie

Christmas is over. No more distractions like holiday cookies, candies and chocolates. But just when you thought you could start your proper diet and exercising, you find that you are sabotaged, as you are every year, by the Girl Scouts.

Though not all councils are selling cookies just yet, many have been up and at 'em since the end of December. It's very likely you'll soon be seeing some enthusiastic little girls showing up at your door, eager to supply you with $3.50 cookies in hopes that they can achieve their council's goals.

Along with some old favorites (Oh Thin Mints, how I've missed you,) the Girl Scouts have a variety of cookies to offer this year.

The flower-shaped Daisy Go Rounds not only have a sweet, cinnamon flavor, but are also reduced fat and perfect for snacking. Additionally, the Sugar Free Chocolate Chip cookies are a good choice for weight watchers or for those who can only have sugar free snacks.

The Thanks-A-Lot cookie was first introduced in 2006. They are made of shortbread and have a layer of fudge on the bottom. The words "Thank You" are embossed on the tops of the cookies in English, French, Chinese, Swahili or Spanish.

Another favorite introduced in 2006 is the Lemonade cookie. The shortbread cookies, stamped in the shape of a sliced lemon and accented by tangy lemon icing will hopefully stick around for a while.

The brand new cookie for 2009 is the Dulce de Leche cookie. Inspired by the Latin American sweets of the same name, these cookies are filled with milk caramel chips and are covered in stripes of caramel.

According to the Girl Scout Cookies official website, these are the best-selling cookies:

25% Thin Mints

19% Samoas/Caramel deLites

13% Peanut Butter Patties/Tagalongs

11% Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos

9% Shortbread/Trefoils

The other varieties combined account for the remaining 23%.

The Girl Scouts first began selling cookies as a way to finance troop activities in 1917, five years after the Girl Scouts were founded. According to the Girl Scout Cookie History website, the cookies were first made in the kitchens of the Girl Scouts, with their mothers supervising. In the 1920s and 1930s, Girl Scouts across the country baked sugar cookies and sold them door to door for 25 to 35 cents per dozen.

If you don't know where to purchase Girl Scout Cookies, you can find your local Girl Scout council by looking up "Girl Scouts" in your white pages or by visiting GirlScoutCookies.org.

Girl Scout Cookies.org

History of the Girl Scout Cookies Program