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It's that time of year again where Girl Scout cookies are on sale and we can't help but stock up on boxes of the sweet treats as if we're preparing for an apocalypse. And while we've been thinking that we have all been eating the same Thin Mints across the country, this bombshell just dropped: there are two different bakers making the cookies, and they don't all taste and look the same.
Some of the Girl Scout cookies even have different names, textures and calorie counts depending on which of the two bakers—Richmond, VA-based ABC Bakers or Louisville, KY's Little Brownie Bakers—that your regional Girl Scout troop chooses to get their goods from, according to the L.A. Times. Even though Los Angeles and Orange County aren't that far from each other, their bakers are different.
While the Thin Mints name stays the same regardless of the baker, there are different nuances in their tastes; ABC Bakers' Thin Mints are crunchier and mintier and Little Brown Bakers' are smoother and have a strong peppermint kick. They even look different, with one having a smoother chocolate coating, and the other is dotted with holes. While New Yorkers and folks in Chicago, IL may get Samoas, Houston, TX residents have Caramel deLites that differ in being more cookie than caramel and having less toasted coconut. Even Tagalongs that Angelenos are familiar with are called Peanut Butter Patties in Orlando, FL, which have less peanut butter layers.
We're not sure what sort of alternate universe we're living in, but we now have the urge to take a road trip to taste-test the other Girl Scout cookies we've been missing out on.
You can check out the Times' nifty interactive map here that shows which baker is making your local Girl Scout cookies.
