Greater Houston Weekly - Top Of The Week
Girl Scouts continue tasty cookie tradition
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| More than 45,000 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies are stored at the Graebel warehouse on Tanner Road. (photo by Patric Schneider) |
By Sharon Spoonemore
“Would you like to buy some Girl Scout Cookies?” You hear the words and see the smiling face and questioning eyes. Then you succumb to thoughts of tangy lemon or rich chocolate with mint or coconut and caramel … and you’re hooked.
Girl Scout cookie sales begin in January with eight varieties of cookies still selling for $3.50 per box and all with zero grams of trans fat per serving.
For more than 80 years Americans have been enjoying the tasty cookies and supporting Girl Scout activities in their communities. With the enthusiastic support of their families, young girls have participated in the country’s premiere entrepreneurial and economic literacy program.
“The Girl Scout cookie program is run by girls, for girls,” said D’Anne Hawk, GSSJC product sales director. “It is one of very few youth-oriented programs in the country that provides its participants the opportunity to decide how to direct the proceeds generated through their business activity.”
The Girl Scout Cookie Program is a focal point of the Girl Scout Business and Economic Literacy initiative for girls age five through 17 providing finance, marketing and public speaking skills that build their self-confidence and leadership skills that will serve them for a lifetime.
All of the revenue earned through the Girl Scout cookie program benefits each troop’s community and local Girl Scouts. At the Council level proceeds are used for things like providing financial assistance to girls, maintaining campsites, keeping camp and program fees at a minimum and supporting special initiatives such as offering Girl Scout programs in underprivileged communities like public housing facilities and detention centers.
The cookie story began in 1917 originating in the kitchens and ovens of girls with moms volunteering as technical advisers. The earliest mention of a cookie sale was the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, OK, who baked cookies and sold them in its high school cafeteria in December 1917. In 1922 an article in The American Girl magazine published by the Girl Scouts included a cookie recipe with the estimated cost of ingredients for six to seven dozen cookies at 26 to 36 cents and the troops’ suggested sales price of 25 to 30 cents per dozen.
In the 20s and 30s the girls made the simple sugar cookies, packaged them in wax paper bags sealed with a sticker, and sold them door to door for 25 to 35 cents per dozen. In 1933 greater Philadelphia became the first council to sell commercially baked cookies. By 1936 the national Girl Scout organization issued the first commercial bakery license for cookies to be sold in multiple councils. In 1956 four basic cookies were sold. Then in 1978 the number of bakeries was streamlined from 29 to four to ensure better prices and uniform quality.
Today two licensed bakers produce eight varieties of kosher cookies that include three mandatory types — Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwich and Shortbread. Five optional cookies can be changed each year. More than 45,000 boxes are on hand for Houston area customers to once again enjoy the great taste of a national favorite.
Chartered by GSUSA to provide Girl Scouting locally, Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council is one of the largest Girl Scout councils in the country serving more than 64,000 girl members and 18,000 adults in 26 southeast Texas counties.
Go to www.gssjc.org for the original cookie recipe and information about the Girl Scout program.
2009 Girl Scout Cookies
The cookies go on sale Saturday. Varieties include Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties, Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Shortbread, Thanks-A-Lot, Caramel deLites, Lemonades and portion- controlled Daisy Go-Rounds.All kosher – ZERO trans fat – Still $3.50 per box. Visit www.gssjc.org for information on your local Girl Scout troop or www.girlscouts.org for where to find Girl Scout cookies in your area.
Girl Scout cookie sales begin in January with eight varieties of cookies still selling for $3.50 per box and all with zero grams of trans fat per serving.
For more than 80 years Americans have been enjoying the tasty cookies and supporting Girl Scout activities in their communities. With the enthusiastic support of their families, young girls have participated in the country’s premiere entrepreneurial and economic literacy program.
“The Girl Scout cookie program is run by girls, for girls,” said D’Anne Hawk, GSSJC product sales director. “It is one of very few youth-oriented programs in the country that provides its participants the opportunity to decide how to direct the proceeds generated through their business activity.”
The Girl Scout Cookie Program is a focal point of the Girl Scout Business and Economic Literacy initiative for girls age five through 17 providing finance, marketing and public speaking skills that build their self-confidence and leadership skills that will serve them for a lifetime.
All of the revenue earned through the Girl Scout cookie program benefits each troop’s community and local Girl Scouts. At the Council level proceeds are used for things like providing financial assistance to girls, maintaining campsites, keeping camp and program fees at a minimum and supporting special initiatives such as offering Girl Scout programs in underprivileged communities like public housing facilities and detention centers.
The cookie story began in 1917 originating in the kitchens and ovens of girls with moms volunteering as technical advisers. The earliest mention of a cookie sale was the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, OK, who baked cookies and sold them in its high school cafeteria in December 1917. In 1922 an article in The American Girl magazine published by the Girl Scouts included a cookie recipe with the estimated cost of ingredients for six to seven dozen cookies at 26 to 36 cents and the troops’ suggested sales price of 25 to 30 cents per dozen.
In the 20s and 30s the girls made the simple sugar cookies, packaged them in wax paper bags sealed with a sticker, and sold them door to door for 25 to 35 cents per dozen. In 1933 greater Philadelphia became the first council to sell commercially baked cookies. By 1936 the national Girl Scout organization issued the first commercial bakery license for cookies to be sold in multiple councils. In 1956 four basic cookies were sold. Then in 1978 the number of bakeries was streamlined from 29 to four to ensure better prices and uniform quality.
Today two licensed bakers produce eight varieties of kosher cookies that include three mandatory types — Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwich and Shortbread. Five optional cookies can be changed each year. More than 45,000 boxes are on hand for Houston area customers to once again enjoy the great taste of a national favorite.
Chartered by GSUSA to provide Girl Scouting locally, Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council is one of the largest Girl Scout councils in the country serving more than 64,000 girl members and 18,000 adults in 26 southeast Texas counties.
Go to www.gssjc.org for the original cookie recipe and information about the Girl Scout program.
2009 Girl Scout Cookies
The cookies go on sale Saturday. Varieties include Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties, Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Shortbread, Thanks-A-Lot, Caramel deLites, Lemonades and portion- controlled Daisy Go-Rounds.All kosher – ZERO trans fat – Still $3.50 per box. Visit www.gssjc.org for information on your local Girl Scout troop or www.girlscouts.org for where to find Girl Scout cookies in your area.
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