Girl Scout cookies have been a tradition of the Girl Scouts almost since the organization was founded, in 1912. The first Girl Scout cookies were simply cookies made and sold by Girl Scouts to benefit their local troops. One of the earliest reports details a troop selling cookies in their school cafeteria. As more troops began to make and sell cookies, the sales moved door-to-door in local neighborhoods. The cookies, which were fairly plain sugar cookies in the beginning, were sold for 25-35 cents per dozen. In 1936, the Girl Scout Council licensed the first commercial baker to mass produce cookies for all Girl Scouts to sell, and it was at that point that the real tradition of Girl Scout Cookie sales began. The same types of cookies were offered again and again, giving consumers something to look forward to.
While several types of cookies are the same every year, new cookies come and go on an annual basis. The current lineup includes: Trefoils (Shortbread Cookies), Thin Mints, Do-si-dos (Peanut Butter Sandwiches), Tagalongs (Peanut Butter Patties), Samoas (Caramel deLites), All Abouts (a.k.a. Animal Treasures, Thanks-A-Lots; Shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate), Lemon Chalet Cremes (sandwich cookies with lemon creme filling), Daisy Go Rounds (Low Fat and cinnamon flavored), Sugar Free Chocolate Chips, Dulce De Leche (Latin caramel cookies) and Lemonades (shortbread cookie with lemon icing).
While Thin Mints, Samoas, Trefoils, Tagalongs and Do-si-dos are staples (and the most popular flavors), there have been lots of tasty cookies that have come and gone over the years.
There is no comprehensive list of all the now-retired Girl Scout cookies, so I’d like to hear about what cookies you remember from sales past. Here are a few names I’ve been able to come up with, dating from the 1970s to the 1990s – Lemon Coolers, Ice Berry Piñatas, Golden Nut Clusters, Trail Mix, Cabana Cremes, Country Hearth Chocolate Chip, Echo, Chocolate Chunk, Pecan Shortees, Medallions, Van’chos, Forget-Me-Nots and Granola cookies – and I’ve heard reference to things like Golden Yangles from even earlier sales!
Post any that you remember – names or descriptions – in the comments. I don’t want to miss out on any good cookies just because they aren’t being included in this year’s cookie sale.
Kristin
March 11, 2014Just in the last 5 years or so, there was a lemon sandwich cookie which was marketed as low fat. They were lower calorie than most of the others, but still a great little cookie. My teenaged son and I loved them. About 2 years ago, they disappeared. Sigh….
Lauren
March 12, 2014I remember when the Juliettes/Golden Nut Clusters: Milk chocolate, caramel, and pecans (named after the San Diego county town of Julian where a Girl Scout Summer camp is held, i was there the year they came out and we had a big party :)) came out and then were gone after only a couple seasons. they was in a pretty blue box and so good.
Anna
March 13, 2014I remember the Savannahs that were what the peanut butter sandwich cookies were called in the ’70s. They were my second-best seller next to Thin Mints, of course.
Rick F
March 14, 2014I’m from Canada & when I was a child I remember maple flavoured cookies.
Brenda
March 17, 2014Like Gina, I remember the vanilla cookie-based Thin Mints–since I do not like chocolate cookies, I REALLY miss them and cannot remember the last time I bought a box 🙁
Mindy
April 15, 2014What was the name of the cookies that were in a blue box and one sleeve was chocolate cookies with vanilla creme and the other sleeve was vanilla cookie w/ vanilla creme
Allison
June 20, 2014I remember one from either the early 70’s or late 60’s but I don’t know the name of it. It was a vanilla shortbread sandwich cookie with fudge in the middle. It has a little open area in the middle with the creme filling. It was solo good.
Kimberlye
October 24, 2014Golden yangles were the 80s they were like a cheezit only lighter.
Just before I was in girl scouts my sister was selling cucaburros like a twix only better. Better than the chocolate caramel COCONUT ones we have now. Not everyone likes coconut.
I too miss the white centered thin mints they were better. There is also something they changed about the Savanahs or dos i does. Peanut butter chocolate. Those were my fav afyer the cucaburros dissappeared but sometime in the 90s the recipe changed. I always buy a box and I always regret it.
Wish they would do a retro comeback WITH original recipes. Dont try and change it up or improve it.
Melissa
January 4, 2015My favorite growing up (and selling them) in the 70’s were the Scotties. They came in a red box and were pretty much the shortbread but topped with coarse sugar. Yum!
Cindy
January 10, 2015My favorite was also the scot-ti’s or scotties. The chocolate and vanilla sandwich cookies were also great. But the scotties were great to dip in milk. I too liked the thin mints with the vanilla center. I still buy the chocolate ones but they are not high on my list. I wish they would do a retro year one time and sell the original ones. I also remember the scotties and the savannah’s came in 4 individual packs to a box. the scotties I think were so thin there were like 10 to a pack and the savannah’s had 5 to a pack. My mom used to buy $100.00 or more at a time and freeze them.
Kelley Patterson
February 22, 2015I sold gs cookies in the late 60s early 70s. It seems like I remember a cookie called frosties. Not sure of the correct spelling. If I remember right we only had them for 1 year and then did not sell them again. I can’t remember even what kind of cookie they were. Just wondering if anyone else remembers these cookies.
Mary
March 14, 2015I sold Girl Scout cookies in the 50’s and early 60’s in Western New York. The mint cookies were a white vanilla cookie embossed with the pixie inside the trefoil and then covered with a layer of chocolate mint. We would lick the chocolate off the top of the cookie until the embossed brownie symbol came through the chocolate. These were a much more substantial cookie than the current light, thin chocolate cookie – and so much better! I think Burry may have made them. I’ve seen a few pictures on pinterest pages of vintage girl scout posters, wish they would bring them back!
JEFF
January 2, 2017Does anyone remember Moon Drops? They were only available for a year or two. They were white and tasted like snackwells devils food cookies.
Gia
March 9, 2017Thank you Anna. I was going crazy about the name Do-Si-Dos KNOWING they were called something else when I sold them. SAVANNAHS…yes!
And Cindy, thank you for taking me down memory lane. I think it would be a great idea to have a retro year. I too miss the cookies you wrote about and I love that you reminded me of the packaging. Too bad they don’t do that anymore.
Laura
March 12, 2018I would love to find Scotties again – they were so thin & had that coarse sugar on top – yumm!
Robyn Baylor
April 10, 2018Why is it that I seem to be THE ONLY ONE WHO REMEMBERS THE SANDWICH COOKIES!!!!!! They were like the GSC version of Oreos (original chocolate and vanilla). My family and I used to be a box of each… the chocolate cookie with white icing in the middle and the vanilla cookie with the white icing the middle, and the cookies were shaped like the GSC logo! If those came back, I would buy every box I could afford! I can’t be the only one who remembers these… can I? I surely can’t. They were just too good!
Lynn
April 25, 2018I agree with Robyn Baylor…….The vanilla and chocolate sandwich cookies were the best! Please bring them back!