When an adorable, smiling little girl arrives on your doorstep wearing a green or brown vest, you know that Girl Scout Cookie Season has come once again. With each box of Girl Scout Cookies comes the happiness, smiles, and the caring demeanor of the citizens who sell them.

Although they are delicious, these cookies may not be all they are baked up to be.

The Girl Scout Organization uses two different companies to bake the famous cookies- ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers. Here in Connecticut, our girl scouts sell cookies baked by Little Brownie Bakers. While we get “Samoas” and “Tagalongs”, a buyer in Rhode Island would be receiving “Caramel deLites” and “Peanut Butter Patties”. Here is a website that shows the distribution of each bakery, and the health differences between each variation of cookie: http://graphics.latimes.com/girl-scout-cookies/

Overall, Little Brownie Bakers surpasses ABC Bakers in price and calories, with the exception of the variation of lemon cookies (Lemonades and Savannah Smiles). It’s up to the regional Girl Scout Organization to determine which baker is sold where, and Little Brownie Bakers is the dominant bakery in 35/50 states.This is possibly due to the slightly higher prices, as the organization would be making more money per box sold.

But, how much of the profit from Girl Scout Cookies actually goes to the sweet little girl on your doorstep? According to the website of the Girl Scout Organization, “On average, Girl Scout council net revenue is approximately 65–75 percent of the local retail price, and the amount that is shared with participating Girl Scout troops and groups, referred to as troop proceeds, is approximately 10–20 percent of the local retail price.”   Right now, Girl Scout Cookies cost about $5.00 a box. That means your local Girl Scout troop will be making only $0.50-$1.00 per box.

When buying a box of Girl Scout Cookies, one also needs to remember that binge-eating Samoas on the couch at one in the morning is not good for your health. According to Little Brownie Bakers, the bakery whose cookies we receive in the Naugatuck Valley, the most popular cookies are Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs. Here is a breakdown of the nutritional information for each cookie:

Girl Scout Cookies may not be the best choice when picking out a midnight snack due to health reasons– a box of Thin Mints could cost you half of your recommended daily calories! However, these cookies support a good cause, and who knows, maybe one day a Girl Scout will help you in return.