Jay Lake: Writer

samoas ftw (a samosa is a different kind of snack food btw).

I would note however that I have been singularly unimpressed with GSC produced in the last decade or more. definitely inferior to those of our youth.

This is a subject on which I have some special knowledge, as the mother of a four-time Hall of Fame seller (1000+ boxes) and the Cookie Cupboard Manager for three years.

My own personal favorite wanders between Thin Mints, Samoas (NO interstitial S–it’s supposed to sound like “Some-more.”) and whatever the recent incarnation of a lemon cookie is. But Thin Mints are the hands-down bestseller, making up something like 50% of the cookie sales during a sale.

There is nothing quite so mind-boggling as having a truck back up to your garage and drop off 3200 boxes of cookies at 7am. They cease to be nummy treats, and become Product.

Oh by the way the online Girl Scout poll has Samoas leading with 33%. http://www.girlscoutcookies.org/favorite_cookie.asp

But from the FAQ the bestsellers break down like this-

Q: What are the best-selling Girl Scout Cookies?
A: The biggest sellers are:

25% Thin Mints®
19% Samoas®/Caramel deLites®
13% Peanut Butter Patties®/Tagalongs®
11% Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos®
9% Shortbread/Trefoils®

The other varieties combined account for the remaining 23%.

Although my personal favorite is Caramel Delite, I vote for Thin Mints because that is the mental image I’ve always gotten anytime somebody says “Girl Scout Cookie”. You can mess with the flavor mix all you want, but if Thin Mints aren’t there, you’re just selling the supermarket shelves (deviant supermarket, perhaps, but.)

Trefoils are the One True Girl Scout Cookie.

Thin Mints are the Girl Scout Cookie that we most treasured in my youth.

I prefer the “Thanks-A-Lot” which the Wisconsin troops sold but Illinois troops have never heard of. It’s bizarre and I never found out the reason why.

“A shortbread cookie with a layer of fudge on the bottom and the words “Thank you” in English, French, Chinese, Swahili, or Spanish embossed on top. Thanks-A-LotTM have been made by ABC Bakers since 2006; they come in a turquoise box.”