Girl Scout Cookies: What’s In A Name?

by Vanessa Williams

OKLAHOMA CITY – They are the door-to-door deliverers of the cookies whose very names can turn on the sweet tooth in all of us.  But when shopping for your favorite Girl Scout Cookie you may be surprised if your favorite one isn’t listed by the name you know it by.

“We know them by different names because there are two different bakeries,” Girl Scout Katie Francis said.  

Katie knows a thing or two about cookies.  She currently holds the record for selling the most Girl Scout Cookies and her lifetime total keeps growing.  Francis ended last year’s sale season with a record 135,800 boxes sold and hopes her final season as a Girl Scout will see her hitting the 150,000 boxes mark.

Francis’ record will not be easy to beat, but the old record (set in the 1980s) took hard work to overtake.  She sold her record-breaking box of cookies to late-night TV host Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show where she performed one of her infamous “Cookie Songs.”  The Tonight Show audience was entertained with the sales song of all the best selling cookie names set to the tune of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

But do you recall the most famous cookie of all?

Thin Mints are a universal favor according to poll after poll and Francis’ own experience.  And Thin Mints are the universal name no matter where you buy your cookies.  

Girl Scout troops choose between two different bakeries for cookie season.  ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers both make the cookies and they are almost identical except when it comes to the names.  

In Oklahoma, Girl Scouts sell cookies by Little Brownie Bakers.  That is why you will see Samoas for sale here while in other parts of the country the ABC Baker supplied version is known as Caramel deLites.

While the taste may be similar, or identical, sometimes there are bigger differences.

This year’s newest cookie is the S’More cookie.

“The S’more is a sandwich cookie it has two plain cookies with chocolate,” Francis said of the Little Brownie Baker version.  “With the ABC Bakery they have a chocolate coating on them, so it is chocolate all around on the outside.”

Here is a list of the differences in cookie names:

  • Lemon-Ups (LBB) vs Lemonades (ABC)
  • Samoas (LBB) vs. Caramel deLites (ABC)
  • Tagalongs (LBB) vs. Peanut Butter Patties (ABC)
  • Do-si-dos (LBB) vs. Peanut Butter Sandwich (ABC)
  • Trefoils (LBB) vs. Shortbread (ABC)

“There’s more to cookies than what’s in the box,” Francis said, “And it’s really true.”

Cookie sales account for 60-70 percent of the operating expenses of the Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma according to Angela Brooks, the marketing and events specialist for the Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma.  Brooks said the $3.5 million brought in by cookies helps the organization serve girls with programs throughout the year.

Francis calls the selling experience “empowering.”

“There are skills I’ve learned that I use every day,” Francis said.  “It really empowers girls to go for higher goals in every aspect of their life.”

Related Articles