CHARLESTON, W.Va. — After the holiday season, comes Girl Scout cookie season. Beginning Friday, the nearly 12,000 girls who make up the Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council will be taking orders for Girl Scout cookie favorites along with some new additions.
Thin Mints, Trefoils, Do-Si-Dos, Samoas, Tagalongs and Savannah Smiles are back this year. Two other varieties, Rah-Rah Raisin and Toffee-tastic, are the latest additions to the Girl Scout cookie menu.
“The Rah-Rah Raisin is an oatmeal cookie with plump raisins and the Toffee-tastic (with toffee bits) is a gluten free cookie,” explained Beth Casey, CEO for the Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council.
For the first time this year, cookie orders can be placed through a Digital Cookie app available for Apple and Android devices. Local Girl Scouts who opt for the Digital Cookie option will be setting up personalized cookie websites to accept orders with credit cards. Cookies will then be shipped directly to customers.
Casey said there are many lessons learned during the annual cookie sale which is a fundraiser for local Girl Scout programs. Cookie proceeds help defray the costs of troop activities, including trips.
“The Girl Scout cookie sale program is the largest entrepreneurial program for girls in the nation,” she said. “It allows girls to learn skills like money management, business ethics and people skills.”
Last year, members of the Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council sold nearly 1.1 million boxes of cookies, averaging out to about 179 boxes of cookies per girl. The Council includes 61 counties in West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio and Maryland.
Nina Woolridge, a Brownie from Kanawha County, said she usually sells a lot of cookies. Her personal favorites are Samoas. Her reason is simple — “They’re really good,” she told MetroNews.
Each year, Samoas are the top-selling Girl Scout cookies in West Virginia followed by Thin Mints and Tagalongs. Nationally, Thin Mints lead the way.
“My favorite cookie has always been the Thin Mints,” Casey said. “Part of it’s just self-preservation. In my house, my husband doesn’t like mints and so I don’t have to share with him.”
The cookies are $4 per box with the Toffee-tastic cookies selling for $5 per box.
For those who do not order cookies during the pre-order period which starts on Jan. 9 and runs through Feb. 6, cookie booths will be showing up in communities starting in February and March and continuing into May.
This year, the Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council is partnering with the National Guard Foundation for the Gift of Caring program. People who do not want to buy cookies for themselves can still support the Girl Scouts by donating cookies for military members, veterans and their families.
For more information on where to buy cookies, beginning Friday, click here or call 1-800-756-7616.