Girl Scouts have been selling cookie for more than 90 years. The first sale began as early as 1917, shortly after the founding of the organization in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low. Girl Scout cookies were baked by girls at home with their mothers as advisers.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Girl Scouts continued to bake simple sugar cookies, packaged in wax paper and sold door to door for $.25 -.35 per dozen. In 1934, the Greater Philadelphia Council became the first council to sell commercially baked cookies.
In 1935, the Girl Scout Federation of Greater New York bought its own mold in the shape of a trefoil for its commercial cookies. The box they used included the words Girl Scout Cookies. In 1936, the national organization began to license a commercial baker, and the following year more than 125 councils reported holding cookie sales.
Cookie sales were disbanded during World War II when basic ingredients were in short supply. After the war, cookie sales began again and have gone on every year since.
By 1951, there were four basic cookies sold including vanilla-based filled cookies, chocolate-based filled, shortbread and chocolate mint. During the 1960s, membership increased significantly and thousands of Girl Scouts participated in the annual cookie sale.
In the late 1970s, the contemporary Girl Scout logo began appearing on the boxes along with the stories and benefits of Girl Scouting. In the late 1990s, low fat and sugar free cookies were added to the varieties.
Today, there are two licensed Girl Scout cookie bakers, girls learn life-long skills like cooperation, goal setting and financial literacy through the participation in the cookie sale program and Girl Scout cookies are one of the most well-known brands throughout the world.
Did You Know? Cookie Trivia
- During the first quarter of the year, Girl Scout cookies are the #1 cookie purchased across the United States.
- Thin Mints, our top-seller, are produced at a rate of almost two million cookies per day in an oven as long as a football field.
- Approximately 200 million boxes of Girl Scout cookies are sold each year.
