WASHINGTON — If your Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs taste different than you remembered, there’s a good reason: Girl Scouts cookies ARE different, depending on where you buy them.
Many fans of Girl Scout cookies already know they are made by two different bakeries — ABC Bakers in Richmond, and Little Brownie Bakers in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Girl Scout website makes that clear, in its “Meet the Cookies” section.
Around the nation’s capital, cookies are made at Little Brownie Bakers. Yet, as close as Skyline Drive, cookies come from ABC Bakers.
Many of the cookies have different names, depending on where they’re baked.
So while we have Samoas around here, others have Caramel deLites. What we know as Tagalongs are called Peanut Butter Patties elsewhere. Our Trefoils are called Shortbread in other parts of the country. We order Do-si-dos, while others choose Peanut Butter Sandwich.
Thin Mints are Thin Mints, even though each baker makes a different version.
The Girl Scout website says regardless of the cookie’s name, “it’s the delicious cookie you’ve grown to love.”
Some cookie aficiaonados beg to differ.
The Central Track blog says the cookies look and taste very different, in some cases.
They lined up both versions of five cookies, and detailed the differences.
Thin Mints: The Thin Mints in our area, baked by Little Brownie Bakers, are less dense and are crunchier than ones baked by ABC. Our Thin Mints are less minty, and haved a smoother layer of chocolate.
Tagalongs versus Peanut Butter Patties: Our Tagalongs are thinner and have a less-milky chocolate than the version sold in other parts of the country.
Samoas versus Caramel deLites: Samoas use dark chocolate for their stripes, while Caramel deLites use milk chocolate. And, according to the study, Samoas have more caramel.
Trefoils versus Shortbread: The cookies look very different — Trefoils have a bunch of little holes that Shortbread cookies don’t. Despite the visible difference, the Central Track study found these two cookies tasted almost identical.
Do-si-dos versus Peanut Butter Sandwich: The peanut butter tastes different in each cookie, and is more squished in the Do-si-dos.
