Orange County Girl Scouts scrap popular cookie names

January 14th, 2008, 3:00 am · 19 Comments · posted by Nancy Luna, Staff Writer

Call it Cookiegate.

It’s that time of year again, where cute brown- or green-uniformed girls approach you to buy Girl Scout Cookies. But I was shocked last week when my 7-year-old Brownie came home with order forms that had scrapped most of the cool cookies names we’ve come to love such as Trefoils and Samoas. The new cookie names are downright boring.

Samoas are now called Caramel deLites. Tagalongs are Peanut Butter Patties.

And, Trefoils? Just call them Shortbread. Do Si Dos are Peanut Butter Sandwich. And, Thanks-A-Lot is the new name for All Abouts.

Thankfully, they didn’t mess around with Thin Mints, the most popular cookie of them all. They remain Thin Mints.

Turns out that the Girl Scout Council of Orange County has gone with a new baker this year: ABC Smart Cookies.

ABC , one of two licensed Girl Scout Cookie bakers, has been baking these cookies for 70 years. The Orange County Girl Scouts web page maintains that the cookies are the same, but renamed.

Must be a licensing issue.

So come Jan. 19 — the official cookie-selling start date — don’t be confused if you see different names on the Girl Scout order form. You will also find two new cookie additions to the bunch, including a low-calorie offering.

CLICK HERE to find out more.

Tuesday, Jan. 15 Update: Girl Scout official responds to Cookiegate outcry

Jan. 29: Click here to read a Girl Scout cookie history, and interactive map

Tell us:

Does the cookie name make a difference to you?

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Posted in: Uncategorized • Girl Scout cookies

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Nicole says:

January 14, 2008 at 8:37 am

You know if they wanted to re-name the cookies they should’ve had the little Girl Scouts themselves name them, and the winner would get their picture on the box. How much fun would that be!? The kids would get a kick out of it and it wouldn’t cost them that much or anything, and the names would have been far more creative.

Post Reply

Marcus says:

January 14, 2008 at 10:04 am

A Thin Mint by any other name …

AEWork says:

January 14, 2008 at 10:09 am

As a former scout, I have to interject here. The “new” names are not new names at all. When I started scouting in third grade, these were the original names!

CaseClosed says:

January 14, 2008 at 10:23 am

ABC ———girl scout cookies
A=already B=been C=chewed

Nancy Luna says:

January 14, 2008 at 1:32 pm

To Cookie Lover: Thanks for the Wiki research. Unfortunately, I have not heard back from OC Girl Scouts, or ABC on this matter. But, as I stated before, and underscored by your research, I suspect ABC does not own the rights to use those names.

To AEWork: I was hoping someone with a bit more history like yourself would weigh in. So, thanks. Though, the names are not new to you, I suspect they will be too many OC-area GS Cookie lovers.

Stephanie says:

January 14, 2008 at 3:04 pm

Boring names. I’m still going to call them for what they are when I was selling these cookies over 20 years ago

January 14, 2008 at 3:30 pm

Everyone keeps arguing with me on this one, but I seem to remember that Thin Mints had a layer of mint creme in them at one time. This would have been around 86-87 because that is when I became a scout.

Maggie says:

January 14, 2008 at 4:25 pm

as a former girl Orange County Girl SCouts, I can say that the names didn’t really change these names have always been the names of the cookies for ABC Bakers. I guess changiing bakers means the names change. Personally I think that the cookies made by Little Brownie Bakers are better than those made by ABC Bakers and I am sad that they changed.

Jill says:

January 14, 2008 at 5:44 pm

Ok, this is too much change for me! First Rancho Santa Margarita Hallmark loses it’s lease after 15 years in business, and now this! I love my Do-Si-Do’s….a new name will feel weird. I would have thought that Girl Scouts would have copyrighted those cookie names, as there are different bakers across the country, thus the reason for the price difference nation wide. I guess the real test will be if the cookies taste the same or better, with a new baker? Besides, how can anyone say no to a little Girl Scout? We’ll still eat them, we just won’t look at the box.

Girl Scout Council of Orange County says:

January 14, 2008 at 5:48 pm

We’re very excited to see so much interest in Girl Scout cookies! Based on blind taste tests conducted right here in Orange County, everyone is going to love this year’s cookies even more than in past years, no matter what their names are. And the researchers found that although most people could recall the Thin Mint name, only half could recall Samoas, and even less could recall the other cookie varieties to any significant degree. The decision to change bakers wasn’t made easily, but the reasons for changing were pretty simple: to give our customers a better product and to provide better educational tools for the girls and resources for their parents and our volunteers. Cookie lovers are going to get tastier, healthier and more natural ingredients: Thin Mints are mintier tasting with peppermint oil, the shortbread cookies are a true shortbread, the peanut butter cookies have real peanut butter in them, and there are no transfats. There’s also two new flavors – a zingy lemonade cookie and the Cinna-spins in handy 100 calorie packs. You can preorder cookies from a Girl Scout neighbor or friend starting on January 19 and the store front sales begin on February 29. Visit the OC Girl Scout website for a cookie sale locater, later in February.

Heather says:

January 15, 2008 at 3:05 pm

I remember the cookies changing names over the years too. I’m pretty sure when I started scouting in 3rd grade, peanut butter patties were called hoedowns and the peanut butter sandwiches were called savannahs. But that was a while ago & my memory is not what it used to be

And I agree that ABC Baker is better. Ahh well. It’s still for a good cause!

January 15, 2008 at 3:06 pm

Oops. I meant to say Little Brownie Baker is better!

Kathy says:

March 6, 2008 at 2:11 pm

Well the new cookies are in and I am VERY disappointed in the flavor. They are just not as good as Little Brownie Baker. I can’t get my kids to eat them. I took the 10 boxes I brought into work Monday and they are still sitting on the counter. Pretty Sad when you wait all year and then the big let down. Not one of the flavors we love are good….. I won’t be buying any next year.

fullerton says:

March 6, 2008 at 11:40 pm

kathy- you have got to be kidding me! you’re kids won’t eat cookies? i’ve never heard of that! i have only tried the carmel delites so far, previously samoas, and they taste the same to me! where do you work- i will come get those cookies.

March 7, 2008 at 9:05 am

wow. the last two comments make me think it’s time for Cookiegate, Part 3. Come back to the blog on Monday.
Nancy

March 7, 2008 at 9:59 pm

today i tried the peanut butter patties, formerly tagalongs, and they were great!