It’s Girl Scout Cookie season, and almost all Wisconsin customers will have their chance to buy Caramel deLites, Lemonades and Peanut Butter Patties — except in one part of the state.
The Girls Scouts of Manitou, based in Sheboygan, use a different cookie supplier than the rest of the state. So their Thin Mints are crafted from a more chocolaty recipe, the Caramel deLites are called Samoas, and they still sell Girl Scout S’mores.
A variety of Girl Scout Cookies, including Adventurefuls, which are brownie-inspired cookies topped with caramel-flavored creme with a hint of sea salt, are pictured at a cookie stand.
Why are Girl Scout Cookies different in different parts of Wisconsin?
There are two national distributors of Girl Scout Cookies: ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers. Each Girl Scouts council chooses which bakery to get its cookies from.
ABC Bakers is the supplier for five of the state’s six councils.
Only the Girl Scouts of Manitou — which encompasses all of Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Fond du Lac counties, and reaches parts of Calumet, Dodge, Ozaukee and Washington counties — sell cookies from Little Brownie Bakers.
In a 2020 interview, Cassie Sterwalk, then the communications director for the Girl Scouts of Manitou, said that in 2018 the troop reviewed the different vendors and decided to go with Little Brownie Bakers — which they still use today.
That means Girl Scout Cookie fans in the eastern part of Wisconsin might have 18 cookie varieties to choose from between the two bakeries.
Depending on where you are in Wisconsin, you may be sold different Girl Scout Cookies.
What happened to Shortbread? Who sells S’mores?
To make things even more confusing, the bakeries sometimes change the names of their cookies or discontinue a brand while the other bakery keeps it.
For example, ABC Bakers got rid of its chocolate-covered S’mores cookies. Little Brownie Bakers kept its sandwich-style S’mores cookie, but it will be discontinued after 2025.
Little Brownie Bakers produces a sandwich-style S’mores Girl Scout cookie, left, while ABC Bakers produced a chocolate-covered version that has been discontinued.
In 2022, ABC Bakers renamed its Shortbread cookie to Trefoils. The Girl Scouts of America trademarked name can be used by both bakeries and already had been used by Little Brownie Bakers for its shortbread cookie.
Also in 2022, both bakeries added Adventurefuls, a brownie-inspired cookie with caramel.
Here are all the cookies, and how they are described by each vendor.
Little Brownie Bakers’ version of the Girl Scouts caramel cookie are called Samoas, while ABC Bakers has named its version Caramel deLites.
Samoas vs. Caramel deLites
The Girl Scouts of Manitou, Samoas: Crisp cookies with caramel, coconut and dark chocolaty stripes
Rest of Wisconsin, Caramel deLites: Crispy cookies topped with caramel, toasted coconut and fudge stripes
Both Girl Scout Cookie bakers call their minty cookies Thin Mints.
Thin Mints vs. Thin Mints
The Girl Scouts of Manitou, Thin Mints: Crisp, chocolaty cookies made with natural oil of peppermint
Rest of Wisconsin, Thin Mints: Crispy chocolate wafers dipped in a mint fudge coating
Little Brownie Bakers’ version of the Girl Scouts’ lemon cookies are called Lemon-Ups, while ABC Bakers has named its version Lemonades.
Lemon-Ups vs. Lemonades
The Girl Scouts of Manitou, Lemon-Ups: Crispy lemon-flavored cookies with inspiring messages to lift your spirits
Rest of Wisconsin, Lemonades: Naturally and artificially flavored savory slices of shortbread with a refreshingly tangy lemon-flavored icing
Girl Scout Cookie comparisons: Tagalongs vs. Peanut Butter Patties. Girl Scouts of the USA/Enrique Rodriguez composite
Tagalongs vs. Peanut Butter Patties
The Girl Scouts of Manitou, Tagalongs: Crispy cookies layered with peanut butter and covered with a chocolaty coating
Rest of Wisconsin, Peanut Butter Patties: Crispy cookies layered with peanut butter and covered with a fudge coating
Little Brownie Bakers’ version of the Girl Scouts’ peanut butter sandwich cookies are called Do-si-dos, while ABC Bakers has named its version Peanut Butter Sandwiches.
Do-si-dos vs. Peanut Butter Sandwich
The Girl Scouts of Manitou, Do-si-dos: Oatmeal sandwich cookies with peanut butter filling
Rest of Wisconsin, Peanut Butter Sandwich: Oatmeal sandwich cookies with peanut butter filling
Trefoils vs. Trefoils
The Girl Scouts of Manitou, Trefoils: Shortbread cookies inspired by the original recipe
Rest of Wisconsin, Trefoils (formerly Shortbread): Traditional shortbread cookies
Little Brownie Bakers has a Toffee-tastic cookie while ABC Bakers has a Caramel Chocolate Chip.
Toffee-tastic vs. Caramel Chocolate Chip
The Girl Scouts of Manitou, Toffee-tastic: Rich, buttery cookies with sweet crunchy toffee bits (also advertised as gluten-free)
Rest of Wisconsin, Caramel Chocolate Chip: Rich caramel, semi-sweet chocolate chips and a hint of sea salt in a chewy, gluten-free cookie
Adventurefuls vs. Adventurefuls
The Girl Scouts of Manitou, Adventurefuls: Brownie-inspired cookies with caramel flavored creme and a hint of sea salt
Rest of Wisconsin, Adventurefuls: Brownie-inspired cookie with caramel flavored creme and a hint of sea salt
Girl Scout S’mores
The Girl Scouts of Manitou, Girl Scout S’mores: Graham sandwich cookies with chocolaty and marshmallowy flavored filling
Rest of Wisconsin: Does not sell Girl Scout S’mores
Toast-Yay!
The Girl Scouts of Manitou: Does not sell Toast-Yay!
Rest of Wisconsin, Toast-Yay: French toast-inspired cookies dipped in delicious icing
Where to get the Girl Scout Cookies you want
Cookie season has started for the Girl Scouts of Manitou. Door-to-door and online orders are available until Jan. 19. Cookie booths will be open from Feb. 5 to March 16.
Cookie season for the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Wisconsin begins Jan. 22.
If you don’t live in the areas covered by the Girl Scouts of Manitou and want to try Toffee-tastic, Girl Scout S’mores or other cookies from Little Brownie Bakers, visit GSManitou.org and type ZIP code 53081 into the cookie finder to see a list of sale booths in the area.
Caramel Chocolate Chip, Toast-Yay! and other cookies from ABC Bakers will be sold across the state. Visit GirlScouts.org to find your local troop.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why do some Girl Scout Cookies have different names in Wisconsin?