Jordan Myrick
Ariana Losch
Thin Mints are not the best Girl Scout cookies. I’m sorry, but it’s true. But they’re still incredible, I’ll give you that—in fact, I don’t know what it is, but Girl Scout cookies just taste better than most cookies on the market. Maybe it’s the fact that they’re only available during a brief window of time. Maybe it’s the fact that most of us know these familiar flavors from our childhoods. Maybe it’s the fact that small children peer pressure us into purchasing them. Whatever it is, they are so dang tasty.
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How we actually ranked the Girl Scout cookies
So, here’s the deal: You probably already know that Girl Scout cookies aren’t all baked in one place. Two licensed bakeries, ABC Bakers in the Midwest and Little Brownie Bakers in the South, produce the entire lineup, and each regional Girl Scout council chooses the bakery they want to distribute with. (A Girl Scout “council” sounds badass as hell, by the way. Am I allowed to say that?)
Anyways, that’s why some of the same cookies go by different names: Caramel deLites vs. Samoas, Peanut Butter Patties vs. Tagalongs, Peanut Butter Sandwiches vs. Do-Si-Dos. But I use the word “same” loosely. For this ranking, we actually tried cookies from both bakeries to see if we could taste a noticeable difference. And spoiler: We definitely could!
Here’s our current ranking of the best Girl Scout cookies. In the spirit of Girl Scouts, let’s all try to be civil in the comments.
- Caramel Chocolate Chip
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These aren’t bad, but they certainly do not feel like Girl Scout cookies. As my colleague Justine Sterling said, “If someone told me they had Girl Scout Cookies and then brought out these? I would be disappointed.” There is absolutely nothing that excites me about them. They’re small and have a weird, amorphous shape. The flavor is extremely low-key. They are mildly sweet, a little salty, and they are gluten-free, so they are perfect for people who can’t tolerate gluten and also don’t like toffee (very specific Venn diagram, but sure). That said, if you do like toffee: Do yourself a favor and get Toffee-tastics, instead. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Ryan Martin
- Lemon-Ups
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These things are huge. And while the flavor is good, I wish there was more of it! The layer of icing is so thin and the lemon isn’t very bright. They do have a nice crunch, though. My favorite part? The extremely corny inspirational words of encouragement that come embossed on each cookie. You don’t get those with Lemonades, which is the ABC Baker’s version of Lemon-Ups. (We still like Lemonades better, though.) —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Ryan Martin
- Lemonades
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Ariana here. I probably have no business ranking the best Girl Scout cookies, because Lemonades and Trefoils are my favorites. It’s true that I prefer just about any other cookie flavor to chocolate, so that plays a part. But I think these are pretty great lemon cookies overall, even if that layer of lemon icing could be a little more tart. The soft, fluffy shortbread has a very satisfying bite—and it’s definitely superior to the more crunchy Lemon-Ups, in my opinion. They’re the perfect tea cookies and I won’t be taking any further questions or comments on the subject, thank you very much! —Ariana Losch
- Exploremores
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Are these new Girl Scout cookies for me personally? Not really. They might be the sweetest cookies these entrepreneurial gals have sold yet. Not necessarily in a bad way. I actually love how marshmallowy the cream center is, both in its gooey, melty texture and toasted sugary flavor. Also, I don’t know why, but I thought these sandwich cookies would be some kind of Oreo dupe, but that’s not the case at all. Exploremores are definitely their own thing. The cookie is crisp and fudgy at the same time. The center is creamier than your typical sandwich cookie icing. These might be the best Girl Scout cookies for sweet tooths, honestly! —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett
- Do-Si-Dos
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Do-Si-Dos (aka Little Brownie Baker’s version of Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies) have a layer of peanut butter stuffed between two oatmeal cookies. They have a strong peanut flavor and are pleasantly salty. To no one’s surprise, a creamy filling paired with a crunchy cookie is perfection. While I found them a tad dry, they were a hit with the nut butter lovers around our office. I think you could easily add a little moisture by dunking these in a glass of cold milk and they’d be great. The hottest tip in the Girl Scout cookie was brought to us by Justine: “The mom I bought these from said to microwave them for ten seconds.” —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Ryan Martin
- Trefoils
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Trefoils aren’t for a child (or even a child at heart). They are well-made shortbread cookies. They’re the type of cookie your grandma eats with tea. They’re mildly sweet, a little buttery, and have a delicate crunch. Fellow taste-tester Gwynedd Stuart loved these. I, along with Justine, don’t buy these because they are a little too mature. We all agreed that we hated these as kids, even if we like them now. Fans of shortbread will love these, though, because they are a very good take on a shortbread cookie. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Ryan Martin
- Toffee-tastic
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These cookies were much crunchier than we anticipated. However, it didn’t take long for all of us to completely hop onboard because they have such a nice cooked-sugar flavor. While I stand by the fact that these are a little too crunchy, they taste pretty great. Also, these are among just a few gluten free GS cookies! They’re the perfect balance of sweetness and saltiness, just make sure to break them up before biting into them. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Ryan Martin
- Adventurefuls
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Adventurefuls are just repurposed Thin Mints. They are the caramel cousin of the Thin Mint. They are 2022’s Thin Mint 2.0. I didn’t think we needed a new Thin Mint, but I was wrong! Adventurefuls are crunchy, chocolaty, and caramely with a hint of sea salt. They have that same eat-a-whole-box-without-even-noticing quality that Thin Mints have. Try them! —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Ryan Martin
- Peanut Butter Patties
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Is there really a difference between Peanut Butter Patties (ABC Bakers) and Tagalongs (Little Brownie Bakers)? You better believe it, man. With Tagalongs, the chocolate is meltier, the cookie is a tad thinner, and you get a little bit more peanut butter in the middle. Still, Peanut Butter Patties have a slightly more noticeable toastiness to them compared to Tagalongs, and I think that’s a plus. “Tagalongs” sound cooler, too, and I think that counts for something. In all seriousness, the difference is not that stark and both are delicious, so don’t worry too much about whether you’re missing out. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Caramel deLites
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Some of y’all are about to come for my throat, but I stand by ranking Caramel deLites (ABC Bakers) lower than Samoas (Little Brownie Bakers). We tried both side-by-side, and both had pros and cons. I’ll say this in favor of Caramel deLites: The crunch is more satisfying, because the coconut flakes are more chewy instead of crisp. But these skimp a little on the chocolate and caramel compared to Samoas. And you know what—the name is definitely not as cool, either. Samoas over Caramel deLites, end of discussion. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Ryan Martin
- Thin Mints
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Oh, boy. Thin Mints in third place? This is going to piss people off. If it helps, we have nothing really negative to say about them—we just don’t think they’re the absolute best Girl Scout cookies to buy. Thin Mints are light and crispy and crunchy. They’re just minty enough without being reminiscent of toothpaste like some other mint-based products. The chocolate is sweet without being too sweet. And, obviously, to make them next level, you absolutely must put them in the freezer (but you already knew that). To quote me, “Eating a sleeve of cold Thin Mints feels easier and more natural to me than breathing air.” —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Ryan Martin
- Tagalongs
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Tagalongs are some of the most popular Girl Scout cookies for a reason. You simply cannot go wrong when you combine peanut butter, chocolate, and a crunchy cookie. Justine Sterling, Sporked editor-in-chief, believes that “these are the only reason you buy Girl Scout cookies.” The main question when it comes to these is whether you prefer Peanut Butter Patties or Tagalongs? My coworkers swear they’re different. In our tasting, we had Peanut Butter Patties. Gwynedd noted that Tagalongs have a deeper peanut butter “well” in the center of the cookie, so she prefers those. It probably comes down to nostalgia and personal preference, but Tagalongs do have a meltier chocolate that’s a little more indulgent than PBP. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Ryan Martin
- Samoas
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Samoas are the best Girl Scout cookies. They are the most interesting, unique, and tasty of the entire GS cookie bunch. The caramel is soft, the coconut is delicate, and the chocolate is rich. It has a complex flavor without being overwhelming or cloyingly sweet. Not to mention that they’re aesthetically beautiful! The only downside to Samoas is that they will break your teeth in half if you put them in the freezer, which is typically how I like to consume my Girl Scout cookies. Other than that, absolutely zero flaws. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Ryan Martin
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Runner Up
Best of the Best
Read about Girl Scout Cookies vs. their store-brand counterparts.
Griffin Parker
Hebba Gouda
Justine Sterling
I wish I could taste the Raspberry Rally cookie that was only available in 2023 and sold out really fast. I never got the chance.
There are two different bakers for Girl Scout cookies, little brownie bakers and abc bakers. They make Tagalongs differently. I don’t know which you tried for the taste test (most of them you can order online) but there’s one of the versions that make them with tempered chocolate, and the snap of the chocolate (especially after being frozen) that makes it so wonderful.
I am allergic to coconut, and I still agree that Samoas are the best! (Thin Mints are mid, honestly. A good dupe for them are Keebler Grasshoppers, though!)
imagine be allergic to cocnut lmaooooooo. thin mint forzen are literaly the best two bad your simpleton taste bud cant handle that!
Love your review on GS cookies! Ever notice, though, that the majority of Girl Scout cookie discussions center around the Little Brownie Bakers cookies? I guess most of the country gets LBB rather than ABC? In any case, it’s too bad there isn’t more on ABC because imo their mint cookies are hands down better than those of the “other” baker a/k/a Keebler. I would say the same is true for the peanut butter sandwich cookies; LBB’s are too sweet and taste exactly like the Back to Nature brand peanut butter creme cookies. That lovely texture some people describe in LBB’s DoSiDo cookies is granulated sugar!
Keeping thin mints and trefoils in the freezer take them to the next level for me. Those are definitely my top two picks! I don’t know if they still have these, but the Thanks A Lots were also one of my favorites.
Do-si-dos are far superior to Patties. The former are hearty and satisfying, while the latter have an odd, artificial taste that reminds me of health foods.
Keebler has basically ripped off all of the top selling Girl Scout cookie flavors. There should be a straight up comparison for each of these top rated flavors.
Best New should be the S’mores, not the Toast Yays. The Toast Yays are straight garbage when you pay in gold for a box of cookies.
FYI: The bakeries that make Girl Scout Cookies are owned by Keebler.
who starts with the #1? You start with last place so people stay longer on the article. Have you seen the internet?
Your rankings are corrwct, but you could have stopped at 3. Why would anyone get anything else when they could get carmel Delights, Thin Mints, and Tagalongs?
Because sometimes, they are sold out and you have to buy something else….this year there was a massive cookie shortage and some girls were manning booths outside of stores with just 2-3 flavors on their tables. Those girls were the real heroes! Working without the holy trinity, trying to reach super high sales goals! My daughter worked several booths with just Toast Yays and Lemonades on the table. She managed to sell over 5800 boxes this year through sheer determination!
This ranking mirrors mine!
It says something about all the other girl scout cookies when I haven’t even heard of half of them.
#teamSamoas
You totally missed the Lemonade which is worlds above the LemonUp. The LemonUp is a washed out Wannabe a Lemonade! The lemonade has way better frosting like the Toast Yay which are my favorite! Oh to have a Toast Yay with coffee for breakfast! Be still my heart!
best cookie in history(including discontinued) thanks-a-lots!
Loved the addition of adventurefuls this year, they are so delish!
Hey amazing post. I love all your posts and I think there should be an added feature to this website to subscribe to certain writers and have like a section for followed writers
Are these all of the flavors available?
I’ve never had a girl scout cookie in my life. The girl scouts scare me because I was a boy scout so that makes us rivals I don’t want them to attack me or anything.
Does anyone remember those Cranberry cookies called “Thank U Berry Munch” from like 2012?????
Petition to bring those back ASAP!!!!!
I remember selling the Cranberry Citrus Crisps. Not sure if that’s what you’re talking about.
Yes on all of this, but a bit disappointed there’s no S’mores on this list! I’d probably only give it an 8/10 but i think it should definitely make the list!
I loved these too, but it appears that they don’t sell them anymore!
I just picked up a pack a week or so ago. Unless I got a really old package, I believe they still sell them!
I’m actually eating the S’mores cookies while posting this, I always thought Tagalongs were my favorite but these are next level
The Smores sandwich cookie from LBB bakery is still being sold, while the graham cracker covered with vanilla creme, dipped in chocolate cookie from ABC Bakery was discontinued to make room for the Adventureful.
I have always enjoyed when R&L dive into Girl Scout cookies! Love this article! So fun and insightful!
Thank you for correctly putting Samoas at the top of the list. I wonder if you can do a comparison between the two Girl Scout cookie bakers in the future? It might be a good idea for a GMM show honestly…
Why not add in episode links to the lists?
Will add this ep in ASAP! Thanks for flagging!
The top three here basically form a holy trinity of god-tier cookies. I love that about this list.