POLL: What's your favorite Girl Scout cookie?
ASHEVILLE - Time is running out for customers to load up on their favorite Girl Scout cookies.
The cookie-selling season began on Jan. 19 and ends on March 3.
Nationwide bestsellers are Thin Mints followed by Peanut Butter Patties and Caramel deLites, according to Sarah Robinson, senior marketing manager for the Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont.
The regional Girl Scouts council includes more than 6,000 members from Cherokee to Asheville to the Piedmont Triad (Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point) areas.
Which cookie flavor is best? The answer is up for debate.
Vote for your favorite in the Asheville Citizen Times’ Girl Scouts cookies poll at citizen-times.com through Feb. 16. The winner will be announced the week of Feb. 19.
Check out these fun facts about one of America’s cherished organizations and its beloved desserts.
Cookie flavors
Select cookies may have different names or taste slightly different even though each facility uses the same recipes and ingredients because Girl Scout cookies are made by two licensed bakers, ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Baker.
Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont receives cookies from ABC Bakers.
This year’s regional flavor lineup features Adventurefuls, Toast-Yay!, Thin Mints, Caramel deLites, Peanut Butter Patties, Peanut Butter Sandwich, Trefoils, Caramel Chocolate Chip and Lemonades.
No new flavors were introduced this year. Raspberry Rally, introduced in 2022, was discontinued last year.
Cookie costs
The cost of a box of cookies may change depending on the customers’ location, as each council sets its price.
Regionally, the price for a box of cookies of any flavor is $5, which has been the going rate set by Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont for several years.
“All the money that girls earn from selling cookies from our council and all councils stays local to the community,” Robinson said. “It goes back to the troops and pays for troupe activities throughout the year, it helps pay for program activities, and it helps pay for summer camp for some girls. Everything that they earn goes back to their troupe and to our council.”
The Girl Scouts members and troops with the top sales will be announced in June with prizes including awards and experiences.
The troop members’ entrepreneurial endeavors are to instill the five key skills: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics.
Dietary restrictions
More people can indulge in Girl Scout cookies since certain varieties are made with dietary restrictions and allergies in mind.
Toffee-tastic and Caramel Chocolate Chip cookies are gluten-free.
Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties, Lemonades, and Toast-Yay! are vegan. And all flavors are kosher and halal certified.
Cookie locator
The Girl Scouts make it convenient for customers to find the closest cookie booth near them using the online cookie locator at girlscoutsp2p.org/en/cookies/find-cookies.html. Or text "cookies" to 59618 to receive cookie-purchasing details and other news from the Girl Scouts.
For information about Girl Scouts membership signup, visit beagirlscout.org.
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Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Girl Scouts cookie season is underway: What to know
