Oh, Happy Day! Girl Scout Cookies have arrived!

Roxanne and I stopped by Starbucks and met up with these darling business girls. They were well prepared, organized and ready to meet our every cookie wish. We cleaned them out of Thin Mints and purchased several boxes of the other varieties.

I have wonderful Girl Scout memories but selling cookies was not one of them. I really didn’t like going door to door and trying to persuade people to buy cookies. Most of the homes in our neighborhood housed other girl scouts and I didn’t like going to homes of people I didn’t know. I think it is better for groups of girls to sell together in front of shops with an adult nearby. Cookies can be purchased online but it is much more fun to buy them from a scout.

Girl Scouts began selling cookies to fund activities in 1917, five years after Juliette Low founded the organization. In 1922, American Girl Magazine printed a recipe that girls made with their mothers, wrapped in wax paper bags and sold for 25 to 30 cents a dozen.

The Girl Scouts in Philadelphia were very innovative. They sold their cookies in the city’s gas and electric company windows.

By 1935, the cookies were baked commercially and sold by girl scouts nationwide. During World War II, there was a sugar shortage so the Girl Scouts sold calendars. What a relief it was when they could get back to selling cookies!

Today there are only two bakers licensed to sell Girl Scout Cookies – ABC Smart Cookies and Little Brownie Bakers. Three types are mandatory – Thin Mints, Trefoils/Shortbread, and Do-Si-Dos/Peanut Butter Sandwiches. Other varieties come and go but everyone seems to have a favorite.

This year I discovered Thanks-A-Lots.They are shortbread cookies with fudge on the bottom and have Thank you written in five languages stamped into the cookies. Wouldn’t they make great thank you gifts?

I’ve found dozens of recipes using Girl Scout cookies. Check out this post from Anna Luther who blogs at My Life and Kids.

 

On Pinterest I even learned about wine and Girl Scout cookie pairings:

 

Life is certainly better when Girl Scout cookies are in season.

Now is a good time to read about and appreciate the founder of the Girl Scouts:

 

 

First Girl Scout, the Life of Juliette Gordon Low by Ginger Wadsworth is a fascinating biography about the spunky woman who created the Girl Scout organization. After Juliette Gordon Low took part in Girl Guide activities in England, she wanted American girls from all backgrounds to have similar experiences. Juliette, also called Daisy, wanted to prepare girls  not only for traditional roles but for professional careers as well. The first official meeting was held in Savannah, Georigia on March 12, 1912. This well researched book includes photos, diary exerts, and letters that document the life of Juliette Gordon low and the history of the Girl Scouts in the United States.

 

Do you have any special Girl Scout cookie memories?

 

 

This post is linked to Ruth Ayres Writes blog where she provides a place for writers to share the celebrations in their lives each week.