REVIEW: Girl Scouts Exploremores Cookies

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Girl Scouts Exploremores Cookies box

Girl Scout Cookie Season is upon us! The lineup expands to 11 total varieties this year with the addition of Exploremores. Girl Scouts describe this new cookie as Rocky Road ice cream-inspired, featuring chocolate, marshmallow, and toasted almond crème.

First impression: two sleeves in the box. Thin Mints energy, which gets me hype because they’re a classic favorite of mine.

Girl Scouts Exploremores Cookies sleeves

As soon as I open the package, I notice a strong marshmallow aroma. The cookies look just like the photo on the box (love when expectations match reality). They twist apart like an Oreo, which feels intentional given the sandwich-cookie setup.

Girl Scouts Exploremores Cookies wafers

Flavor-wise, the almond stays extremely subtle. I don’t get toasted nuttiness or aggressive almond extract notes. Honestly, I almost wonder if I’m imagining it. Double chocolate dominates. Not deep, dark cacao energy. More of a classic chocolate cookie vibe.

Girl Scouts Exploremores Cookies creme top view

Girl Scouts Exploremores Cookies creme side view

The marshmallow shows up more in the smell than in the taste. The crème layer runs much thinner than an Oreo’s, so don’t expect that thick, fluffy middle.

Sweetness lands right in the standard Girl Scout range. It tastes balanced and actually less sweet than a Samoa, which I appreciate.

Girl Scouts Exploremores Cookies in milk

I dunk one in milk to see if it enhances the almond or unlocks more Rocky Road vibes. It doesn’t. The milk amplifies the marshmallow note instead, and I prefer the cookie plain.

Texture-wise, the cookie feels softer than an Oreo. Think chocolate Teddy Grahams rather than that crisp cookie snap.

Within the full Girl Scout lineup, I like it. Just don’t expect full Rocky Road in cookie form. Go in thinking double chocolate sandwich cookie and you’ll be set. It doesn’t dethrone my personal favorites, but I appreciate what it adds to the roster.

Purchased Price: $6
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 cookies – 26g) 130 calories, 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Girl Scouts Thin Mints and Coconut Caramel Pop-Tarts

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If you can’t get enough of Girl Scout cookies or perhaps are looking to find new ways to incorporate them into your diet, Kellanova is here to bring a pair of those iconic cookie flavors to your breakfast table. Here for a limited time, much like their cookie counterparts, are Frosted Thin Mints and Frosted Coconut Caramel Pop-Tarts. The Thin Mints variety features a chocolate crust, sweet mint chocolate filling, and a chocolate frosted top. The Coconut Caramel flavor mimics Samoas/Caramel DeLites with a standard crust, toasted coconut and caramel filling, and a caramel frosting with chocolate accents. Let’s find out if we should put ourselves down for twenty boxes of each.

Straight from the package, both flavors are enjoyable (provided you don’t dislike mint or coconut). They both imitate their respective cookies admirably, with Thin Mints doing the best job of this because it’s not a super difficult task to combine mint and chocolate. The Coconut Caramel variety has plenty of coconut flavor in the way that a sweet coconut candy bar would, but it lacks the coconut texture that’s present in the cookies, and the chocolate is also less pronounced in the Pop-Tart version. I found that both flavors could be snacked on untoasted without really sacrificing anything. Some Pop-Tarts need heat to sing, and these don’t have that issue.

Once toasted, the Thin Mints variety gives off a pleasant cocoa brownie-like scent from its crust. I’m always cautious of mint invading my chocolate; it’ll never be my first pick for a sweet treat. That being said, Thin Mints are incredibly popular, and I can’t argue that they strike a near perfect balance of refreshing mint and chocolate. Thankfully, the Pop-Tart succeeds here as well with the filling being just minty enough to know you’re in Thin Mint territory and not making you think you’re tasting toothpaste while eating your breakfast. The Pop-Tarts box always claims you can enjoy them frozen, and this is one of the rare times that actually makes sense because freezing Thin Mints is definitely a thing people do. I gave this a try, and there’s nothing wrong with the frozen tarts, but I don’t think they give the same satisfaction one gets from the cold cookie. For me, these were best at room temperature or toasted.

Coconut Caramel also fares well with a heat treatment. This is a perfectly tasty and (thanks to the coconut) unique Pop-Tart. My only problem with this one is that I really enjoy Samoas cookies, and while the toaster pastry is nice, it just can’t capture the varied textures and tastes that make the cookie so good. If given the choice, I would much rather just eat a handful of the cookies.

I’d award both of these merit badges for their effort in bringing classic cookie flavors to a different format. I wouldn’t be compelled to choose either over my own personal favorite Pop-Tart varieties for regular eating, but they’re a fun tie-in for scout season. Can we do Tagalongs next year?

Purchased Price: $4.79
Size: 8 count box
Purchased at: Jewel-Osco
Rating: 8 out of 10 (both)
Nutrition Facts: (2 pastries) Thin Mints – 370 calories, 9 grams of total fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 410 milligrams of sodium, 69 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 28 grams of total sugars, and 5 grams of protein. Coconut Caramel – 380 calories, 11 grams of total fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 350 milligrams of sodium, 67 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 31 grams of total sugars, and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Native Girl Scouts Trefoils Body Wash

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NATIVE sells body washes, deodorants, and shampoos, which, thanks to its pleasantly surprising new partnership with Girl Scouts, are now available for a limited time with the distinctive aromas of Thin Mints, Trefoils, or the still-evocative-but-slightly-less-signature scents of Coconut Caramel, Peanut Butter, and Lemon. Their bottles cheerfully explain that “Girl Scouts shower the world with kindness and optimism,” and so the point of this unexpected crossover is to “Bring that can-do energy to your day.” Fair enough — few things in this world put me in a more positive mood than cookies, after all.

Amidst such a sea of choices, I committed to the Trefoils Body Wash, which attractively combines my favorite Girl Scout cookie with the toiletry I’m most likely to have somehow just run out of AGAIN.

To get to the heart of this review: how did the body wash taste?

Kidding, kidding!

NATIVE’s website describes this as “a scrumptious shortbread scent \[that] blends notes of vanilla, lemon, and buttercream.” I describe it as “sickly sweet,” but I don’t necessarily even mean it negatively. If you’re buying a body wash based on a sugary snack, I assume you’re into that kind of thing, but just stopping at “sweet” isn’t enough. I really do need to stress that this is so overwhelmingly strong-smelling that I half-expected that I’d be trailed by a hoard of hungry Keebler Elves after using it. Of the notes listed, I detected buttercream the most, as the smell is undoubtedly… well, buttery and creamy. Vanilla was definitely discernible too, though I can’t say I made out more than maaaaybe the tiniest whiff of lemon as an afterthought. If I’d had to smell this without knowing what it was, though, I probably would have guessed birthday cake — it reminded me more than anything of a super-saccharine, sprinkles-and-frosted-loaded milkshake.

I really wanted to see how accurate this was to the scent of an actual Trefoil cookie, But sadly, Girl Scouts aren’t set to start hawking their wares in my area for another month, so I did what any desperate dessert fan would do and sought out a copycat recipe for comparison instead. My homemade “tre-faux-ls” were not quite as picturesque as the real thing, but their scent wasn’t extremely far from that of the body wash — it was just way less heavy on that cloying buttercream.

As a food reviewer, I don’t think I’m super qualified to comment on more about this dye-free body wash than its cookie-ish-ness; I did like the texture and feeling of cleanliness after using it, but the gimmick of being themed after a beloved nostalgic treat was really the draw for me, so I can’t truly say how this would stack up against more traditional body washes.

If the prospect of smelling like a giant baked good and craving one every time you catch a whiff of yourself unsettles you, I would not recommend buying anything from this NATIVE x Girl Scouts collab. But if, like me, you’re seeking a signature scent as tasty as your favorite tidbit, there’s a lot to like here. Just remember, as the bottle ever-so-helpfully disclaims: “Our scents are sweet, but do not eat.”

Purchased Price: $9.84
Size: 18 fl oz bottle
Rating: 7 out of 10
Purchased at: Target

REVIEW: Girl Scouts Raspberry Rally Cookies

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There’s a common misconception that, as the father of a Girl Scout (Brownie, technically), I am privy to cookie discounts. This is patently false. In fact, what ACTUALLY happens is that I end up having to buy more cookies than just about anyone else. Here’s how that transpires.

“Dad, I’m only ten boxes away from the next prize.”

“Which is?”

“At 100 boxes, I get a glow-in-the-dark cup.”

So I sigh, pull out my wallet, and fork over the whatever-amount-needed to ensure that she can obtain what theoretically amounts to a $600 plastic cup.

The good news is that Girl Scout cookies are wonderful. Well, some of them. Peanut Butter Patties (aka Tagalongs), Caramel deLites (aka Samoas), and Thin Mints are all excellent selections, obviously, and there are others that will do in a pinch. It is from the Thin Mint that ABC Bakers draws inspiration for its latest offering: the Raspberry Rally.

Marketed as “the thin, crispy cookie infused with raspberry flavor and dipped in chocolaty coating,” and “a ‘sister’ cookie to Thin Mints, our #1 bestseller,” “the raspberry kind,” as it is sure to nearly always be called, is an online only offering this Girl Scout cookie season.

So is it worth it?

If you like raspberry-flavored things, or the concept of a Thin Mint but inexplicably find mint to be disagreeable, the answer is yes, you’ll probably like this cookie.

The cookie itself is indistinguishable in appearance and construct from its minty sister. The outside of the thin cookie is the slightly waxy (yet delicious) “chocolaty” coating that you will recognize if you’re a connoisseur of Girl Scout cookies.

The inside, however, is where things get crazy. Instead of the near-black wafer of a Thin Mint, you’re blasted with a vivid pink middle. The artificial raspberry flavor is strong upon the first bite and grows stronger still as you consume. It’s almost *too* much, and I say this as an unapologetic fan of most artificial fruit flavoring.

And really, that’s the tale of the Raspberry Rally — it is a Thin Mint, only raspberry flavored. Very strong raspberry flavoring, though. It’s worth a go if you like fruity chocolate cookies or are a Girl Scout cookie completist, but I don’t know that I’ll feel compelled to buy an entire box each season. You know, unless it means my daughter is only one box away from a $300 eraser in the shape of a bee.

Purchased Price: $6.00
Size: 9 oz box
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (4 cookies) 160 calories, 8 grams of total fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of total carbs, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 10 grams of total sugar, and 2 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Girl Scout Adventurefuls Cookies

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Girl Scouts Adventurefuls Box

What are Girl Scout Adventurefuls Cookies?

The Girl Scouts are back, hocking a new salted caramel brownie cookie for all to enjoy.

How are they?

Girl Scouts Adventurefuls Top

Make no mistake, these are good. I’d say they’re the best new Girl Scout Cookie flavor in at least a decade, but man, did they bungle the texture.

You’ve got a brownie-based cookie, and it’s as hard as a cookie could be. Now, some may like that. This is a COOKIE, after all, not a brownie… but I really question why they decided to go this route.

Girl Scouts Adventurefuls Bite

You know that corner brownie piece that’s harder than the rest of the squares but still has a firm chewiness to it? If these cookies were that texture, they’d be rivals to the Girl Scout cookie throne.

The cookie itself tastes like a brownie, but with such a hard, crunchy texture, it takes away from the enjoyment of the flavor. They were so close, yet so far away.

Anything else you need to know?

I would have probably forgiven the cookie more if the salted caramel flavored “crème” was actual crème, not hard synthetic plastic. Yeah, even the crème is texturally off. It’s not an icing, but more like a thin layer of Hershey’s chocolate, and the caramel flavor doesn’t really pop at all. It gets swallowed by the dense brownie chocolate flavor almost instantly.

This cookie isn’t “full” of “adventure” at all, unless they’re talking about the salt, which I will say does come through and is a great choice on their part.

Conclusion:

Girl Scouts Adventurefuls Tray

Far be it from me to tell those adorable little scouts how to make their cookies, but if these were brownie edge textured cookies, with a “crème” center similar to, let’s say, a Stella D’oro Swiss Fudge? I’m re-ordering five boxes.

As they are, they’re still good – Top 5 even. I’d rank ’em just behind Samoas, Thin Mints, and Tagalongs, but they could’ve been a 9 out of 10. If any Women Scouts of America in charge of cookie decisions are reading this, please consider softening these up next year. I alone will probably put you over your sales quota.

Purchased Price: $5.00
Size: 6.3 oz box
Purchased at: Girl Scouts of America
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 Cookies) 120 calories, 6 grams of fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 80 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of total carbohydrates, 9 grams of total sugars, 1 gram of fiber, and 1 gram of protein.

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