Just when you thought Girl Scout cookies were the one thing in life that you could count on to always be the same no matter where you were or what year it was, we all found out the ugly truth today that that is not the case. We've all been living a lie.
You probably didn't know this, but Girl Scout cookies come from two different bakers, ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers. The baker your cookies come from depends on where you live, and there is really no rhyme or reason to which baker serves which region of the country. Though it may seem like Girl Scout cookies would follow a standard recipe, they unfortunately do not.
The Los Angeles Times recently compared the Girl Scout cookies made by ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers, and let's just say, you may be missing out on some awesomeness depending on where you live. People in Seattle, Austin and Miami all get Little Brownie Bakers' creations while those in Sacramento, Orlando and Philadelphia get to munch on ABC Bakers' goods. You can type in your address or city into the Los Angeles Times' interactive map to see which baker makes your Girl Scout cookies.
Cookies can vary in appearance, taste, nutritional value and even name depending on which baker they come from. For instance, both bakers make the beloved Thin Mint, but the ABC Bakers version is smaller, mintier and crunchier than the larger, smoother version from Little Brownie Bakers that has 0.2 grams more total fat. How? Why? Who would do such a thing?
When you and your friend talk about your favorite Girl Scout cookies, you might not even be speaking the same language. For example, New Yorkers and Bostonians may argue over whether Samoas or Caramel deLites are the best cookie, respectively, when in fact they will be speaking about a very similar treat. I guess they just have to continue fighting about the Yankees and Red Sox instead.
So why would the Girl Scouts license two commercial bakers anyway? The answer is a bit unclear, but each Girl Scout council chooses which baker to work with.
However, perhaps Inglewood Calif. resident Keith Young said it best in a video included with the story where the Los Angeles Times had people on the street taste test a Thin Mint from ABC Bakers versus one from Little Brownie Bakers. "I really can't tell the difference," he said. Maybe we should all just be glad we have Girl Scout cookies in our lives at all.
Be sure to follow T-Lounge on Twitter and visit our Facebook page
