Erin Elizabeth
If you’ve lived anywhere in the US during the past hundred years, you’ve probably looked forward to Girl Scout cookie season.
Not only are Girl Scout cookies some of the most delicious packaged cookies on the planet, but they are a century-old tradition with a worthy cause.
Since its inception, the Girl Scouts has espoused women’s empowerment through numerous avenues. A core tenet of female empowerment comes from teaching women entrepreneurship and financial independence.
The sale of Girl Scout Cookies encompassed both of these values and started only five years after the founding of the Girl Scouts in 1912.
I have compiled a list of the best Girl Scout Cookies for you to explore below.
Best Girl Scout Cookies
We all have strong opinions about our favorite varieties of Girl Scout cookies, and most of us choose the two or three tried-and-true flavors. However, there are 12 varieties sold each year, and these our some of our all-time favorites.
Thin Mints
I’ll start with everyone’s favorite. Thin Mints are by far the most popular flavor of Girl Scout cookies, outselling every other variety by the millions.
They account for 25% of all Girl Scout cookie sales and are one of the original flavors.
Thin Mints are chocolate cookies dipped in a chocolate mint coating. They’re crisp, cool, and chocolatey.
Everyone knows they taste the best frozen. I guess it just heightens the cool mint taste and adds an extra crispy crunch to each bite.
Eating them frozen also keeps me from eating the entire box in one sitting!
Tagalongs/Peanut Butter Patties
When you see two names for a cookie, it’s because there are two main Girl Scout Cookie producers: Little Brownie Baker and ABC Bakers Company. Despite different names, these cookies taste exactly the same.
Tagalongs, also known as Peanut Butter Patties, are another tried-and-true classic and a strong case for the ongoing rivalry between chocolate-mint and chocolate-peanut butter camps.
Peanut Butter Patties have a crunchy vanilla cookie base with a fluffy cookie layered on top.
Then it receives a layer of creamy peanut butter before being dipped in a thick milk-chocolate coating.
They’re a lot heartier than the thin mints, in my opinion. You’ll definitely need a cold glass of milk to wash these down.
Do-si-dos/Peanut Butter Sandwich
Another classic Girl Scout cookie flavor, Do-si-dos or Peanut Butter Sandwiches, consists of two thick oatmeal cookies with a sweet and creamy peanut butter filling.
Peanut butter is a popular cookie flavor for good reason, which is why there are two peanut butter varieties on our list!
I like the flavor balance of these cookies, as the oatmeal delivers a tame and wholesome foundation for the sweet and nutty peanut butter.
I also like the texture of these hard and hearty oatmeal cookies. I’d liken them to a healthier version of Nutter Butters. They hold up well for milk-dipping purposes.
These sandwich cookies are among the first three varieties of girl scout cookies sold before there was an expansion of flavors in the 60s and 70s.
Samoas/Caramel deLites
Many people consider Samoas or Caramel deLites the best Girl Scout cookie.
They’re always the variety I buy the most boxes of, personally. They cover all the flavor and texture bases.
Even as a child, I could appreciate the sophistication and complexity of this perfect cookie.
They start with a donut-shaped sugar cookie topped with a thick layer of chewy caramel with toasted coconut. Lastly, these yummy cookies get a perfectly spaced drizzle of dark chocolate.
The chewiness of the caramel softens the toasted coconut creating a sort of ganache-type texture, which then cedes into a soft buttery cookie.
Lemonades
Lemonades are a newer variety that will soon be your favorite for all you lemon lovers.
Lemonades are round shortbread cookies cut to look like a lemon slice topped with a bright, tangy lemon icing.
They are practically the same as Lemon-ups, differing more in shape than anything else.
They remind me of the cookie form of a lemon pie or key lime pie, with fluffy and light cream and a buttery crust.
They’re delightfully refreshing cookies. They are also made with 100% plant-based ingredients so you can bring them along to a vegan picnic.
While lemon isn’t my favorite dessert flavor, Lemonades are freakishly addictive.
Toffee-tastic
Yet another newer variety with modern dietary preferences in mind, Toffee-tastic are gluten-free butter cookies with chunks of sweet and crunchy toffee.
Instead of wheat flour, Toffee-tastic cookies use rice flour and tapioca starch. They have a sandy, crumbly texture punctuated by the firm, super-sweet crunch of the toffee.
If you’re a fan of these cookies, you’ll want to buy them in bulk, as they just come with one sleeve of cookies per box.
Since these cookies crumble easily, I crumble them with chopped pecans and sprinkle the topping over a bowl of vanilla ice cream.
Trefoils
I had never heard of the term “Trefoils” before, but apparently, they’re the official name of the iconic and original shortbread cookie.
They are old-school butter cookies at their best and have been staple cookies since the onset of Girl Scout cookie sales.
Shortbread is an underappreciated cookie, in my opinion. It has a rich buttery taste and crunchy yet slightly sandy texture.
They aren’t overly sweet and thus combine well with bold flavors. There’s also something about the shape of Trefoils that’s comforting and fun to eat.
These cookies taste lovely with coffee, hot chocolate, tea, or as a dipping cookie for chocolate fondue.
Adventurefuls
Inspired by a gooey brownie, Adventurefuls are thick, cake-like chocolate cookies with a dollop of salted-caramel creme on top and a drizzle of milk chocolate to finish everything off.
I wish there were more of the salted caramel creme, which tends to dry out and flake off.
The taste of these cookies is reminiscent of the brownie in taste but has a dry, crumbly texture.
They’re more like the packaged snack cakes from Little Debbie than a cookie. I like to submerge them in milk to add moisture, bringing them closer to the gooey brownie texture we all love.
Caramel Chocolate Chip
I was waiting for the Girl Scout’s answer to a chocolate chip cookie. I would have never guessed that it’s also gluten-free!
This indulgent cookie uses oat flour infused with caramel, brown sugar, and sea salt to make a well-balanced foundation for the hearty sprinkle of semi-sweet chocolate chips.
The nuttiness inherent in oat flour goes so well with the sweet, milky caramel flavor.
Chocolate chip cookies are the most popular kind of cookie, and the Caramel Chocolate Chip cookies are on par with Famous Amos. The best part about them, in my opinion, is the chewy texture.
Girl Scout S’mores
There’s nothing more nostalgic than a S’more to spark fond memories of childhood campouts and spooky stories around a bonfire.
Girl Scout S’mores perfectly encapsulate the make-it-yourself campfire cookie in a perfectly compact sandwich cookie.
The thick oval-shaped graham cookies have stamped edges and words for a fun texture. Sandwiched between them are a thin layer of marshmallow fluff and a thicker layer of milk chocolate.
My only critique is that the layer of marshmallow is scant and lacks the bounciness and gooeyness of a toasted marshmallow round.
That said, it’s a creative and comforting new addition to the Girl Scout cookie lineup.
Best Girl Scout Cookies
- Thin Mints
- Tagalongs/Peanut Butter Patties
- Do-si-dos/Peanut Butter Sandwich
- Samoas/Caramel deLites
- Lemonades
- Toffee-tastic
- Trefoils
- Adventurefuls
- Caramel Chocolate Chip
- Girl Scout S’mores
Final Thoughts
Girl Scout cookies began at a friendly bake sale in 1917 and have grown into a national sensation, selling millions of boxes yearly. Not only do Girl Scouts sell the cookies, but they also dictate who makes the cookies and how to spend their percentage of the profits.
Young girls learn how to manage finances and become entrepreneurs, while the rest of us get to gorge on delicious cookies. It sounds like a win-win situation to me!
While Girl Scout cookies started with a small variety of flavors, they’ve since expanded to include multiple flavors that rotate or change each year.
My list of the best Girl Scout cookies covers the classics and the hot new favorites.
Check out other popular types of cookies we love, like our favorite Crumbl Cookies or popular Insomnia Cookies!
