Are you ready to have your whole world turned upside down? Okay, here we go. The ABC Baking Company versus Little Brownie Girl Scout Cookie discussion is well-known. It’s the reason you grew up eating Caramel deLites, but your roommate in college kept calling the chewy coconut cookies Samoas for some irritating reason. Different bakeries, different names.
For years, we’ve all been operating under the assumption that the name difference was the only disparity between bakeries. For years, we’ve been wrong.
Thanks to a bit of clever reporting from the LA Times, the truth has been revealed: not all Girl Scout Cookies are created equal. The cookies actually have slightly different nutritional profiles, and look and taste different, as well. ABC Bakers’ Thin Mints, for example, don’t have as thick of a chocolate coating as Little Brownie Bakers’ Thin Mints. ABC’s are noticeably thinner, with pockmarked tops from the cookie underneath the chocolate coating. (Those are the Thin Mints I grew up with. And dare I say they’re the correct Thin Mints?)
If your mind hasn’t been appropriately blown yet, get ready for the second whammy. Did you think those bakeries were regional? East versus west? Because they’re not. They’re chosen by area Girl Scout Associations themselves. Which means that the division with in the U.S. looks more like a spotted cow than anything else—just check out the map.
It means that I — growing up in the Northern Indiana jurisdiction — was in an ABC island among Little Brownie sellers. (And I wouldn’t have it any other way. #ABCFOREVA)
Haven’t been able to track down a Girl Scout yet? No worries—they’ve moved into the digital age and have started offering online ordering. And don’t forget to check out our highly scientific ranking of the cookies. Just in case you happen to be torn between trying out Rah-Rah Raisins or just giving in and going for another box of Thin Mints.
