Girl Scout cookie economics: Samoas most expensive, Oreos cheapest

March 4, 2015 2:24 PM PT

We know that different parts of the country eat different Girl Scout cookies -- L.A. gets a Thin Mint with a smooth chocolate coating, San Francisco does not; Dallas gets Do-Si-Dos; Fort Worth do-si-doesn't. But how do some of the Girl Scouts annual cookie offerings compare when it comes to cost and calories? Check out the graphic below comparing Girl Scout cookies with Oreos and a couple of other major brands (in bold). Scroll down to get a side-by-side cookie comparison and click on your favorite to vote.

.11

.13

.16

.20

.24

.25

.27

.28

.31

.36

$.36

Samoas

Tagalongs

Peanut Butter Patties

Rah-Rah Raisins

Lemonades

Thanks-A-Lot

Caramel deLites

Do-si-dos

Milano milk chocolate

Cranberry Citrus Crisps

Peanut Butter Sandwich

Mother's taffy cookies

Savannah Smiles

Thin Mints (ABC)

Thin Mints (LBB)

Chips Ahoy!

Trefoils

Shortbread

Oreo

Cost* per cookie

100

(Based on
nutrition facts)

Mother's taffy cookies

Lemonades

Thanks-A-Lot

Samoas

Tagalongs

Peanut Butter Patties

Caramel deLites

Rah-Rah Raisins

Milano milk chocolate

Do-si-dos

Peanut Butter Sandwich

Chips Ahoy!

Oreo

Thin Mints (ABC)

Thin Mints (LBB)

Cranberry Citrus Crisps

Trefoils

Shortbread

Savannah Smiles

Calories per cookie

How do Girl Scout cookies compare?

Our interactive graphic looks at the differences between the cookies and which parts of the United States get which cookies. The ABC Thin Mints are crunchier; Little Brownie Thin Mints have that richer coating. Caramel deLites have more cookie; Samoas, more coconut. Tagalongs are heavier on the peanut butter than the Patties. The Peanut Butter Sandwich is crispier than its counterpart. Trefoils taste more buttery and Shortbread goes more for vanilla. Savannah Smiles have a powdered-sugar dusting; Lemonades are iced. Which cookie would you prefer to sink your teeth into?

*Cost per cookie was determined based on $5 a box, which is the cost set by the Girl Scouts in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The number of actual cookies per box could vary and was determined by the number of servings listed on each box. Costs for non-Girl Scout cookies were calculated using price of a standard box at Ralphs in downtown Los Angeles. The Girl Scout council for each ZIP Code is based on the council finder search tool on www.girlscouts.org. Bakers for each local council were determined by what was listed on each council's website.
Sources: Times reporting, Girl Scouts of the United States of America, ABC Bakers, Little Brownie Bakers
Graphics reporting by Rong-Gong Lin II, Rosanna Xia and Jon Schleuss
Graphics by Jon Schleuss / Los Angeles Times

California

Rong-Gong Lin II

Rong-Gong Lin II is a Metro reporter based in San Francisco who specializes in covering statewide earthquake safety issues and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bay Area native is a graduate of UC Berkeley and started at the Los Angeles Times in 2004.

Rosanna Xia

Rosanna Xia is an environment reporter for the Los Angeles Times, where she specializes in stories about the coast and ocean. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2020 for explanatory reporting, and her first book, “California Against the Sea,” examines the future of our vanishing coastline in the face of rising water.

Jon Schleuss

Former graphics and data journalist Jon Schleuss left the Los Angeles Times in December 2019 when he was elected president of the NewsGuild, which represents about 20,000 journalists and other workers in the United States and Canada. Schleuss previously taught journalism students how to code at the University of Southern California. An Arkansas native, he graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2013.

Girl Scout cookie economics: Samoas most expensive, Oreos cheapest

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