Only two bakeries in the U.S. are allowed to bake Girl Scout Cookies. Here’s where Philly’s cookies come from.

It’s that special time of year when sash-adorned entrepreneurs sell some of the country’s most coveted cookies and learn some priceless life skills along the way.

“It’s not only a fundraiser but, it’s a real leadership program for girls, and I say that with confidence because I’ve seen Girl Scouts grow as young kindergarteners through this program,” said Kim E. Fraites-Dow, the CEO of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania. “They are creating business plans, setting goals, making decisions about how they want to market their program, and learning how to manage money.”

Every year, from January through April, the Girl Scouts of the United States of America mount a fundraising cookie sale campaign that takes over the nation. With the Philadelphia region home to the Girl Scout Councils of Eastern Pennsylvania, Central and Southern Jersey, and the Chesapeake Bay, which includes all of Delaware, you’ll soon see troops outside the grocery store, sale sign-ups in the break room, and text messages from neighbors.

The fundraising efforts are the real deal, too. Fraites-Dow explained that the proceeds from thousands of cookie lovers buying and supporting the Girl Scouts subsidize programming costs. “An overnight camp with us for a week may have an average cost of $400, whereas a similar overnight camp may be closer to $1,000 or more. That’s the power of the cookie program,” said Fraites-Dow.

While all Girl Scout cookies will be delectable and support the same cause, not all flavors are available from each Girl Scout council.

Each council gets to decide which bakery will make their cookies. Some, offer the same cookie flavors under the same names, and others under different names. There are even some cookie flavors exclusive to a bakery.

For example, the Girl Scout cookies on offer in Eastern Pennsylvania and Central and Southern New Jersey come from the same baker and share the same flavors, names, and exclusive recipes (like French toast-flavored Toast-Yay!). In Delaware, cookies are baked by a different bakery, have different names for some of the cookies, and exclusive flavors (like Toffee-Tastic).

Here’s why.

Only two bakeries in the country are allowed to bake Girl Scout cookies: ABC Bakers in North Sioux City, S.D., and Little Brownie Bakers in Louisville, Ky.

These two cookie-aficionado operations supply cookies to every Girl Scout council. Each council is an independent nonprofit and gets to decide which bakery to use.

Both bakers produce Adventurefuls, Trefoils, and Thin Mints. Adventurefuls, a brownie and caramel creme cookie, was introduced in 2022 as a collaboration between both bakers.

ABC Bakers bakes these Girl Scout cookies (available in Pennsylvania and New Jersey):

Little Brownie Bakers bakes these Girl Scout cookies (available in Delaware):

Imagine a convening of the high council involving the say of a hundred-plus local councils to decide the fate of the Girl Scout cookie lineup. Well, maybe it’s not that dramatic, but it’s still a group effort in which each local council’s CEO gets a say, alongside members of the national council and the two bakeries.

For example, the Girl Scout Council of Eastern Pennsylvania advocated for the first-ever gluten-free cookie to be made in 2013 after a local Girl Scout decided she couldn’t sell a product she couldn’t eat herself due to being diagnosed with Celiac disease.

“She really felt strongly that if she couldn’t eat the cookies, she didn’t want to sell them. In partnership with our council, we lobbied the baker to pilot the first-ever gluten-free cookie,” said Fraites-Dow. “The following year after the initial test, the other baker decided to do it too. Now, because of this girl and her advocacy, we are providing gluten-free options every year in our lineup, and our baker has modified the recipe three times to make it as good as it possibly can be.”

That gluten-free cookie has evolved into today’s Caramel Chocolate Chip.

New cookie flavors aren’t introduced every year, and some get discontinued, as was the case with the popular Raspberry Rally late last year.

If you don’t know a local Girl Scout, don’t see them at the grocery store, or don’t have a relative, friend, or colleague with a Girl Scout in their life — don’t fret.

The easiest way to find a Girl Scout cookie sale is by visiting your local council’s website. There’s a cookie sale locater tool that will give you the location, date, and time for cookie sales near you.

You can also sign up for email alerts or text “Cookies” to 59618 to get cookie sale updates.