Ranking Every Girl Scout Cookie (East vs. West Coast) | Best with Babish

0:00 Girl Scout cookies, what used to be a fun and charming

0:02 way to raise money for things like camping trips and leadership skills,

0:05 is now a heaving conglomerate.

0:07 The Girl Scouts contracts two different

0:09 companies with the baking of their cookies.

0:11 ABC Bakeries and Little Brownie Bakeries.

0:14 Being produced by these two companies results in some

0:17 differences in their cookies depending on where you order them.

0:21 So, we got both, which was as easy as going online and ordering them.

0:25 We're going to see what the differences are.

0:27 And before I do that, I want to read

0:28 my favorite page from the Girl Scout cookies Wikipedia.

0:31 That is the lawsuit subtab.

0:33 In March 2025, a class action lawsuit was filed against Girl Scouts

0:38 alleging toxic metals and pesticides found

0:41 present in several popular Girl Scout cookies.

0:44 Girl Scouts denied these claims.

0:48 I'm just picturing them in the courtroom.

0:50 You know, the lawsuit,

0:51 which did not claim anyone was harmed in the consumption of these cookies,

0:55 cited a flawed, non-perreviewed study.

0:57 See, the girl got Girl Scouts are

0:59 getting good at editing their own Wikipedia page.

1:01 Which claimed to have found high levels of aluminum,

1:03 arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury in some cookies.

1:07 I'm about to eat 15 of these right now,

1:09 so if there's anything wrong with them, you'll know.

1:12 I'll start growing whole babish.

1:15 Let's start with lemon.

1:16 I'm going to compare each one to its sideby-side equivalent.

1:19 I'm noticing this one has cream filling and this one quite simply does not.

1:23 It's just a ration style survival cookie.

1:26 There's no cream in it whatsoever.

1:27 Let's start with the weakest, shall we?

1:30 These cookies have little sayings on them.

1:32 I am creative.

1:33 I am gutsy.

1:34 I am strong.

1:35 Well, I feel better about myself already.

1:38 So, the things this must do for these young girls self-esteem.

1:42 But they're not the ones eating the cookies.

1:44 They probably are.

1:45 Let's get to it.

1:47 It's like it wants to be shortbread, but it's too tough.

1:50 It's It's not tender and short and crumbly the way that great shortbread is.

1:54 So, it's it it's got too much gluten development.

1:56 I would have guessed that this was like a gluten-free cookie or something.

1:58 It tastes of lemon extract, fake lemon flavor,

2:02 and no tartness whatsoever, which is a bummer.

2:04 I'll give them a three cuz they're still a cookie.

2:07 And I'd probably have another one.

2:10 No, not if there was anything else.

2:13 Even broccoli.

2:14 These are called lemon ups while these are called lemonades.

2:17 Already huge improvement.

2:18 Love the change.

2:21 Oh, totally different form factor.

2:23 Definitely thicker.

2:24 These look shorter.

2:25 They don't have any inspirational isms on them.

2:27 Just a faximile of a lemon cross-section.

2:35 Way better texture.

2:36 Delicate short shortbread.

2:38 It is.

2:39 This is shortbread.

2:40 But way less lemony.

2:42 Way less flavor.

2:43 After tasting this one, I would have guessed that this was a vanilla.

2:46 It hardly tastes of lemon at all.

2:48 I need a virgin mouth for that.

2:50 My girlfriend.

2:52 Does that taste like lemon to you?

2:54 Not even a little bit.

2:54 Yeah, that just tastes like vanilla.

2:56 It's It could not be a more different cookie.

2:58 Both are wrong in their own ways.

3:01 I was expecting more acidity from something called lemonades,

3:04 but it sure does taste better.

3:05 So, I'm going to give it a four cuz it

3:06 is an improvement even though it doesn't taste like lemon.

3:09 And that's saying something about these little

3:12 about these little nasty little bucks.

3:14 It's not like Girl Scouts are gonna watch this.

3:16 Next up, we have Trifoils.

3:19 Trifoils.

3:21 Tofoils.

3:21 Truffoils.

3:22 These are damn near the same thing, save for a few key differences.

3:26 First off, we have probably a centime height difference between these boxes.

3:31 And to wit, a centime height difference.

3:35 Depth difference is what I meant to say.

3:38 That's a depth difference.

3:39 So, this is a slightly smaller package.

3:43 And I can't make any jokes right like that right now.

3:46 But you can see that this one has little holes punched into it for aerodynamics.

3:50 This one does not.

3:51 ABC bakers.

3:52 That's where we start.

3:53 I'm starting to think they might be the worst ones.

3:56 These are shortbread, right?

3:57 Iconic shortbread cookies inspired by the original Girl Scout recipe.

4:01 In other words, not the original Girl Scout recipe.

4:06 These are really tough.

4:07 It actually took me a few chews before my teeth met.

4:11 They're stiff.

4:12 They're un m in malleable, which is what you need to be if you want to survive.

4:16 Uh I I I like them less than the lemon ones cuz

4:19 they they have a worse flavor and they have an even worse texture.

4:22 Give these a one.

4:23 These are a bummer.

4:24 I think ABC bakers are going to be the worst

4:26 ones here cuz that's that's the that's the way it's trending.

4:29 But now we're on to Little Brownie Bakers.

4:31 Ferrero Group.

4:33 Oh, so Keeblers is owned by Ferrero.

4:35 I like this a whole lot more though because I love Ferrero Rocher because

4:39 they make a Butterfinger and some other

4:41 really good stuff that escapes me right now.

4:43 When we did that Halloween candy episode,

4:45 we discovered every great candy bar is made by Ferrer.

4:49 Much more intact.

4:50 Oh, better looking, too.

4:51 Look at the color on that.

4:53 Also, this is nice and clear.

4:55 What's up with the What's up with the opacity?

4:58 What are you trying to hide?

4:59 They're thicker.

5:00 They have a better color, but they're smaller.

5:02 But they're thicker.

5:03 But they are smaller.

5:04 They are thicker.

5:12 Bleeps and bounds.

5:14 That's not that good.

5:15 It's got the same very fake vanilla flavor.

5:17 Do they also use milk flavor?

5:20 Sweet and condensed milk.

5:21 Shut the up.

5:22 Buttermilk.

5:23 There's buttermilk in these.

5:24 No wonder they're so darn tender.

5:26 Brown sugar.

5:27 No wonder they have such a wonderful color.

5:28 Rule of threes.

5:29 Come on.

5:30 Soy lacetin.

5:31 They both have that.

5:32 It's got the same flavor.

5:34 way better texture.

5:35 Short, crumbly, almost buttery even though there's no butter in there.

5:38 Definitely the addition of brown sugar gives

5:40 it a little bit more depth of flavor,

5:42 but it's still just that fake vanilla flavor.

5:44 I'm going to give them a a three.

5:46 I'll give them a three because if you put a little bit of icing on here,

5:49 you got yourself a four.

5:50 So, that must be a three.

5:51 Isn't this fascinating?

5:53 The ABC bakers peanut butter sandwich cookies

5:56 are called just that, peanut butter sandwich cookies.

5:58 As opposed to the little brownie bakers, they're called dosy-os.

6:03 Okay, we got ourselves a peanut butter sandwich.

6:06 Crisp and crunchy oatmeal cookies with creamy peanut butter filling.

6:12 Very nice, robust real peanut butter flavor.

6:16 It doesn't taste over overly sweetened, but again,

6:18 I don't know if they're overworking their dough or something.

6:21 All these cookies from ABC bakeries have been tough.

6:24 These are like rigid, firm, stale tasting.

6:28 They They taste good, but the texture is not there.

6:30 They're really tough.

6:32 The flavor is good.

6:33 I'm going to give those a four, but they have they have an unpleasant texture,

6:35 so I'm not even going to get a five.

6:37 Then we have the differently named Dosey Doss.

6:42 All right, they look quite similar, but again, better color.

6:48 I don't know if it's cuz they're using brown sugar or what they're doing,

6:50 but I'm willing to bet this is going to have a better texture.

6:55 And it does.

6:56 The peanut butter edges in on burnt.

6:59 It's less sweet than the other ones.

7:01 Way better texture.

7:02 I think an even trade-off.

7:03 I think it's going to be another four.

7:05 These don't have as good of a flavor.

7:07 All right, folks.

7:07 Next up, we Oh, you know what that means, folks?

7:11 It's time for a mid- episode gluten break.

7:15 Here we go, folks.

7:16 Kill the sirens.

7:17 Kill the sirens.

7:18 God, we get it.

7:21 Confetti cannon.

7:22 So, there are two gluten-free options in the Girl Scout cookie diaspora.

7:28 And I use that word correctly because of the fact

7:30 that it's two different bakeries making two different things.

7:33 It's spread out.

7:34 Maybe I didn't.

7:35 We have caramel chocolate chip and toffeetastic.

7:38 These are each manufactured by a different bakery.

7:42 They are not manufactured by both.

7:44 Let's start with this bag.

7:46 So these are what are these called?

7:47 Caramel chocolate chips.

7:48 They're chocolate chip cookies with some caramel in it.

7:50 I get it.

8:03 Okay, real mixed bag here, but not really.

8:05 It's mixed bag of bad things.

8:07 Um, they are softer,

8:10 borderline chewy while still being crunchy in that very weird gluten-free way.

8:14 An aggressively fake caramel flavor.

8:17 Tastes like sugar alcohols.

8:18 There's something so volatile and chemical about it.

8:21 It's really terrible.

8:23 I hate it.

8:24 The texture is an honest to god improvement over their gluten cookies.

8:28 Over their full gluten cookies.

8:30 Better texture.

8:32 That's pathetic.

8:33 Genuinely improved texture with a god-awful flavor.

8:36 I'm giving those a zero.

8:37 They I don't want to eat another bite.

8:40 Next up from Little Brownie Bakery, we have the Toffeeastic.

8:44 They're the only ones having fun with the names here.

8:46 It does look like they have actual bits of toffee

8:48 in them because if you look at the back of the cookie,

8:50 you can see there's gaps where the toffee is melted out.

8:53 Like that is indicative of the toffee.

9:05 These have a weird texture, very weird,

9:08 crumbly, sandy, but the flavor is fantastic.

9:12 And that's because not only do they use real butter, they use real toffee.

9:15 There's real toffee in here and there's honest to Jesus butter.

9:19 Fantastic flavor.

9:21 Like really genuinely good.

9:23 Doesn't taste homemade, but boy does it taste.

9:26 If I had a good texture, I would I would give these like a seven.

9:28 Like they're really really good, but the texture is so weird.

9:31 I'm going to give them a six.

9:32 They sure feel gluten-free, but god do they taste good.

9:37 Uh, so next up we have something I've never heard of before.

9:40 Explore.

9:41 Explore Mors implies we want these girls to explore Mors.

9:48 All right, we have a chocolate cream sandwich cookie.

9:52 Pulls apart way too easy.

9:54 You shouldn't be able to do that so easy.

9:57 Smells like really bad almond extract.

10:00 Like really fake almond flavor.

10:05 Tough cookies.

10:07 Look, they're so tough and brittle that they squished

10:10 out a bunch of the sandwich cream and they shattered.

10:13 You can't eat this in two bites.

10:14 You could, but you'd look a fool.

10:16 The flavor is very powerful and very fake.

10:19 I'm not a fan.

10:20 I'm going to give these a two.

10:22 Honestly, very off-putting flavor to me.

10:24 Let's see if Ferrer Rocher can pull these hazelnuts out of the chocolate ball.

10:28 Much improved looking cookie.

10:31 I think it's darker.

10:33 It's more intact.

10:34 Let's see how they how they split.

10:36 Ooh.

10:36 All right.

10:37 Put up a little fight.

10:38 Okay.

10:39 Little fight.

10:40 No big deal.

10:40 Just being like, "Hey, you're not supposed to do the Okay.

10:43 All right, fine.

10:43 You're the consumer.

10:48 Way better texture, way better flavor.

10:51 Gone is that awful fake almond flavor replaced mostly

10:56 with a ton of real cocoa flavor that tastes like cocoa.

11:00 The cookies also way better texture, short, crumbly.

11:04 These taste better than an Oreo, I think.

11:06 Like, this tastes better than an Oreo, which I think gets you an eight.

11:09 These are These are great.

11:10 I'm not I can't have anymore.

11:12 There's so many cookies.

11:13 Next up, a cookie that I have not yet tried myself.

11:16 Adventure Fools Indulgent Brownie Inspired Cookies with caramel

11:21 flavored creme and a hint of sea salt,

11:24 as opposed to indulgent brownie inspired cookies with caramel

11:26 flavored creme and a hint of sea salt.

11:29 I don't know what's up with the coordination

11:31 between these two very distinct brands, but they're doing it.

11:34 But these are the same three girls.

11:36 You will find that they have been reversed.

11:39 You will find that they are mirror images of one another.

11:42 Yeah, this this girl really got the short end of the stick.

11:45 I need to know I need to know where these are distributed.

11:48 Oh god, they're all over the place.

11:50 Little brownie bakers denoted by purple.

11:55 It's all over the damn place.

11:56 New York is purple except for Rochester which is right on the line.

12:00 Do you see it?

12:01 It's pointed out in the map.

12:02 Rochester is named in the map.

12:04 They named names.

12:06 Rochester lives on the border of ABC and Little Brownie.

12:13 And just like that, life would never be the same.

12:17 I'm guessing this is uh ABC just based Yep.

12:21 Just based off the cheaper packaging because they're worse.

12:24 They're worse.

12:25 I've decided.

12:26 God, I hope I'm proven wrong.

12:28 I hope that they have one that is like, damn.

12:32 A come on with this.

12:36 Look at thising nightmare.

12:39 All right, now that I'm going to put these cookies back together for you.

12:42 Didn't realize I worked at the ABC cookie factory.

12:50 Every time I can't get over how tough their cookies are.

12:53 Doesn't really taste like caramel.

12:54 just feels like there's just a wad of sugar paste in the center.

12:57 That being said, it's probably the best one to come out of ABC Bakery.

13:00 Like, this is not allgether unpleasant to put in your mouth, chew, and swallow.

13:05 Best to come from them, I'll give him a five.

13:07 I would I would have another one of these.

13:09 Now, like a like a chorus line, like like a like a like a military uh formation.

13:23 Oh god, they smell so much better.

13:25 What is going on?

13:26 How is there such a divide in quality

13:29 between what is supposed to be the same thing?

13:32 Why don't they give them the same recipe?

13:34 Why don't they just give them the same ingredients?

13:40 Really nice short crumbly texture.

13:42 I only taste chocolate.

13:43 I don't taste any caramel.

13:46 All that to be said, it's not unpleasant.

13:48 It's still just a lot of sugar paste in the center there.

13:50 Don't eat anymore.

13:51 have that little bit like there's more in sconcing

13:56 the cookie than there is with the other ones.

13:57 I give them a seven.

13:58 This is a very pleasant chocolate cookie.

14:00 They have worse color.

14:01 It's the first one that has a worse color than its alphabetian counterpart.

14:07 All right, folks.

14:08 We're getting into the heavy hitters of the Girl Scout cookie world.

14:12 And as such, not unlike Iron Man, I need to suit up.

14:16 If I'm gonna learn, grow, and develop valuable life skills,

14:20 I better wear the uniform to do it.

14:23 Oh, I hope I don't break this.

14:25 I think I'm going to That's a little little tight.

14:34 This is our Intrepid producer Amelia's actual Girl Scout vest thing,

14:40 and it's already cutting off the circulation to both my arms,

14:43 and my fingers are already getting tingly.

14:46 So, let's get to work.

14:47 As usual, ABC bakeries coming in a bigger box.

14:52 Thin mints, a veritable giant in the Girl Scout cookie landscape.

14:58 Okay.

15:00 Very minty smell.

15:02 Wasn't expecting that.

15:07 Why is that cookie better?

15:08 Why did you make those tender?

15:10 You just showed me you can do it,

15:12 so why aren't you doing it with all those other ones?

15:15 This goes all the way to the top.

15:18 It's a slight delicate short cookie.

15:21 There's no other words.

15:22 I'm out of words to describe what these cookies are,

15:26 but it's a relatively delicate cookie.

15:28 And it's got a thin coat of chocolate on it and mint flavor.

15:32 It'd be insane if they couldn't stick this landing.

15:34 This is like three things.

15:36 I'm going to give it a seven.

15:39 I I love thin mints.

15:41 They're good.

15:41 And this is a a good Thin Mint.

15:44 At least we can have this in Rochester.

15:47 What are these going to get so much better?

15:56 The difference in the color inside of these.

15:59 This one's such a much richer, vibrant,

16:02 alive brown as opposed to this one which looks like

16:05 it's been in the box since last year before last.

16:09 You thought this was short textured?

16:11 Shut up.

16:12 These are barely held together by a scaffolding of chocolate.

16:15 These are tender personified.

16:17 These they're exploding with Girl Scout cookie in flavor.

16:21 They also have a more subtle mint flavor, which I far prefer.

16:25 I hate to do this.

16:25 I have I I'm going to downgrade the ABC1 to a six

16:29 cuz I didn't know that thin mints could fly so dizzyingly high.

16:33 And these guys are getting a seven because that's

16:41 as high as I can do with Thin Mint cookie.

16:43 It's a very boring cookie in general to me,

16:46 but this is the peak of the art form.

16:48 Undoubtedly, I doubt I could do better myself.

16:51 Or could I?

16:54 Probably not.

16:56 Next up, we have the alternately titled Tag Alongs or Peanut Butter Patties.

17:02 Peanut butter patties.

17:04 That sounds obligatory.

17:05 That sounds like it's something you have to eat.

17:08 Eat your peanut butter patty or you'll never get dessert.

17:12 I mean, ridiculous, people.

17:14 Ridiculous.

17:15 When I was a babe, these were my favorite.

17:18 Okay, I love chocolate and peanut butter.

17:20 Y'all know me, Babish Nation.

17:23 I love chocolate and peanut butter more than anything.

17:25 But what are these going to taste like is the question.

17:29 All right, here we go.

17:35 tough cookie.

17:37 It's the tag along flavor that I remember with a tough, brittle, stodgy cookie.

17:44 Like, boggles the imagination.

17:47 How did this happen?

17:48 There needs to be a documentary about it.

17:49 There probably already is on Netflix or on Hulu or something.

17:54 Or maybe I need to be the one to make it.

17:56 I was about to say cut to comment below if you want me to make

18:01 the big Girl Scout expose miniseries 30 for 30.

18:07 I'm going to give them a six cuz they are tasty.

18:09 But that cookie is disappointing.

18:11 Time to try some tag alongs.

18:14 Oh, they're a mess.

18:15 But they do have a better looking chocolate.

18:20 It's redder.

18:20 It looks more saturated, if you will, side by side.

18:23 So, you know I'm not bullshitting.

18:26 I never when it comes to Girl Scout cookies.

18:31 Okay, the chocolate has a softness to it, as does the peanut butter.

18:36 There is a softness to them.

18:37 Your teeth sink into them before you hit that cookie,

18:39 before you even hit the cookie.

18:40 All the while, you're just like, "Oh my god,

18:42 I'm sinking into this cookie." And then you

18:44 hit the cookie and it just shatters beautifully.

18:47 It's a perfectly clean line.

18:48 Nothing nothing fell.

18:50 They're chocolate and peanut butter.

18:51 The texture is just right.

18:53 Flavor's great.

18:54 I'm going to give them a nine.

18:55 Like the these are some of my favorite cookies that you

18:58 can buy and you have to buy them from little girls unfortunately.

19:01 If there is a 10 this way it cometh.

19:04 Now lastly, but very far from leastly,

19:09 we have Samoas or as they're known from some other bakeries, caramel delights.

19:16 That is a lowercase de with a capital L.

19:19 Crispy cookies topped with caramel versus crisp cookies with caramel.

19:25 Toasted coconut versus coconut.

19:26 They're they're they're doing more flowery language

19:28 on the descriptions despite having a worse product.

19:31 Let's start with caramel delights.

19:34 Okay.

19:35 Very very very familiar.

19:39 Uh the their chocolate blooms.

19:41 Their chocolate blooms a lot more than the other brand.

19:43 I'm seeing most of it has this faded look on it.

19:46 Nothing wrong with it,

19:47 but it can cause a textural difference, especially with time.

19:50 And this is like jungle chocolate.

19:52 And when I say that, I mean like the stuff that they

19:54 made for Vietnam soldiers to like bring into the jungle that wouldn't melt.

19:58 That's like the kind of stuff tropical chocolate.

20:00 That's what it's called.

20:01 Not jungle chocolate.

20:03 This is like tropical chocolate.

20:04 It's the stuff that never melts.

20:05 It's designed to be in a hot van and not even being sold out.

20:09 I'm talking shipped.

20:10 It's being It's designed to be shipped without melting.

20:13 So, and like you can press it,

20:14 you can hold it against your very, very warm hands, which mine are today.

20:18 And they won't melt.

20:19 So, why is it blooming?

20:22 These are actually unrelated questions.

20:28 Where's the signature crisp?

20:30 Oh, they're delicious, though.

20:32 God, it's good.

20:33 The There's no crispness to the cookie.

20:36 It is like crumblyish, but mostly it's it's almost as if it's absorbed moisture

20:41 from the toppings cuz it's it's it's soft, but god is it good.

20:46 They still they're still so good.

20:47 There's nice soft caramel.

20:49 You can feel it on top like And if I pull it apart,

20:52 I bet we we'll get a little Yeah.

20:54 Look at that.

20:58 Did you see that single arcing rope of caramel?

21:01 I'm going give those a nine.

21:02 They're so fake tasting and not correctly textured, but they're so good.

21:08 I I just I I can't not eat them.

21:10 They're so fantastic.

21:11 ABC did something right.

21:12 They put chocolate, caramel, and coconut on a thing.

21:14 Very hard to screw that up.

21:16 Let's see if Little Brownie Bakery can screw things down.

21:21 Oh, mother.

21:23 Those look better.

21:24 Wowers trousers.

21:27 Not only a better color, as per euge, they're smaller.

21:30 There's more chocolate for sure.

21:32 Uh, and there's like bigger chunks of like toasty coconut on there.

21:36 If they have a crisp cookie, good night.

21:38 God bless.

21:39 Don't let the bed bugs bite.

21:45 I'm not going to downgrade those.

21:46 I'm not going to downgrade those.

21:48 Those were very good.

21:49 The chocolate they're using is way better.

21:51 Tastes more natural.

21:52 Tastes more like chocolate.

21:53 The cookie is not crisp, but it is more tender.

21:56 Both cookies have definitely like absorbed

21:58 moisture from the caramel or something.

22:00 Let's see if we get a little stretchy poo, shall we?

22:02 Buckle up.

22:05 Oh, that was better.

22:07 That was better.

22:08 They're practically not even a cookie.

22:10 They're almost a confection.

22:12 Cookies are just vehicles for other just to get them into your body.

22:16 Confections are the themselves that you're trying to get in there.

22:21 Delicate, playful little shortbread cookie.

22:23 Tons of coconut and chocolate flavor.

22:25 They're obviously a ton.

22:26 You can't do any better than that.

22:27 People who like Thin Mints more than this, what's your deal?

22:30 What are you doing?

22:31 Why?

22:32 This is how you make the next generation of great Girl Scouts.

22:37 Well, folks, there you have it.

22:38 All the flavors of Girl Scout cookies.

22:41 Now, I went into this episode feeling a little silly,

22:45 but we've actually found some genuinely interesting consumer information.

22:49 I had no idea that Girl Scout cookies were being manufactured

22:53 by two entirely separate entities using

22:56 two entirely different recipes for every cookie.

23:00 None of those were the same.

23:01 And one is distinctly, roundly, unanimously better than the others.

23:06 I feel like I should call my congressman or something.

23:08 Like this feels something's not right.

23:10 People are getting people are getting ripped off around the nation,

23:14 around the neighborhood where your daughter lives.

23:17 Look, honest to God, the girl Girl Scout official pistol being held in my head,

23:23 ABC bakeries can go screw.

23:26 Thank you very much for watching.

23:27 Please let me know in the comments what do

23:28 you want to see me rank next on this show.

23:30 What's your favorite flavor of Girl Scout cookie?

23:33 Were you a Girl Scout?

23:34 Were you a Boy Scout?

23:35 Who cares?

23:36 Answer those questions, please.

23:39 Thank you.

23:40 Can you gingerly?

23:47 Okay.