Girl Scouts Introduce New Cookie for 100th Anniversary

Lemon lovers, get ready to buy a box of Savannah Smiles along with your Thin Mints and Samoas.

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Girl Scouts of the USA

Holiday treats may be on the way out, but fear not, dessert lovers – the Girl Scouts are introducing Savannah Smiles, a lemon cookie, just in time for this year’s sweet-selling season.

Little Brownie Bakers, the company manufacturing the cookie, describes the new confection as “cool and crisp, with just the right number of lemon chips to deliver tiny bursts of flavor.”

(MORE: Making Girl Scout Cookies Better for the Planet)

Joining the ranks of Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs and Do-si-dos, the Savannah Smile is a nod to the heritage of Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low; the titular city is where Low founded the youth organization in 1912.  This year marks the Girl Scouts’ centennial, and a myriad of parades, fairs, concerts, and special projects have been planned to commemorate the occasion.

The Girl Scouts have been selling cookies as a fundraising effort since 1917, and the operation brings in hundreds of millions of dollars a year to local troops and regional councils.

Though the originals are beloved by children and adults alike, newfangled cookie varieties are not always a resounding hit.  In 2010, the organization was forced to recall several batches of Lemon Chalet Crèmes due to “foul smell and taste.”  Though there were no food safety issues, consumers balked and production of the cookie was halted.

Last year, in an effort to cut costs, the Girl Scouts announced that they were reducing their line of cookies to just six varieties.  Wisely, they kept the most popular, and dumped also-rans like Thank U Berry Much and Dulce de Leche.  Will Savannah Smiles enter the pantheon of hallowed Girl Scout cookies?  Let your taste buds decide.

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