I was a Girl Scout once. I know, for those of you who know me, you’re probably shocked. I didn’t like big group activities (still don’t), I didn’t like other kids my age, I didn’t like camping (still don’t), and I didn’t like door-to-door sales. But the badges. OH THE BADGES. If you take a type-A personality, mixed with Aries energy and an overachieving type of AuDHD and OCD – you’ll find a Girl Scout who was way too serious about her badges. Don’t worry, I’ve had therapy and am on medication for this. Not just for the badges, but I feel like I can’t deny they were a big hint at my future when I was eight. And the cookies. Did I sell them? Eh. But did I eat them? Let’s just say I had a very serious relationship with Tagalongs and Thin Mint cookies.
There’s something so nostalgic about a Girl Scout cookie. And seeing them stay pretty similar for decades after my own scouting adventure is a hoot. But once I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I could no longer take part in the annual ritual of stocking my freezer with Thin Mints or hoarding Tagalongs. I stopped supporting those girls out there hustling outside my Safeway.
The First Gluten Free Girl Scout Cookies
And then came along the first gluten-free Girl Scout cookie. In 2015, and then in 2019, the Girl Scouts launched Toffee-tastic and Caramel Chocolate Chip, respectively. Based on where you live, you might be able to find one of these cookies. Not all Girl Scout troops sell all cookies; it depends on geography and which of the two commercial Girl Scouts of the USA-licensed bakeries serves your region.
Gluten-Free Caramel Chocolate Chip Girl Scout Cookie
One gluten-free cookie is produced by ABC Bakers, the oldest Girl Scout Cookie baker in the US, founded in 1937 and now owned by Weston Foods. Their gluten-free cookie, Caramel Chocolate Chip, does not contain allergens and is certified gluten-free by GFCO. One statement claims that the cookie is made in a dedicated gluten-free facility, but it is made in a facility that processes at least dairy ingredients. Another statement claims that it’s made in a facility with most major allergens, including wheat.
Caramel chocolate chip ingredients: oat flour, sugar, semi-sweet chocolate chips, canola oil, water, coconut oil, tapioca starch, chickpea flour, invert sugar, molasses, sunflower lecithin, sea salt, natural flavor, leavening, xanthan gum, cream of tartar.
Gluten-Free Toffee-tastic Girl Scout Cookie
Toffee-tastic is baked by Little Brownie Bakers and contains milk and soy ingredients, and made in a shared facility with peanuts, tree nuts, wheat and egg. According to the Girl Scouts website, the Toffee-tastic cookies are certified gluten-free by NSF (the National Sanitation Foundation) and baked on a production line that is “cleaned between production runs and tested to ensure the line is free of gluten.”
Little Brownie Bakers has made Girl Scout cookies since the 1970’s and is owned by Ferrero (yes, that Ferrero that owns nutella, Kellogg’s Rice Krispies and tic tac).
Toffee-tastic ingredients: Rice flour, tapioca starch, sugar, butter (cream, salt), palm oil, brown rice flour, butter toffee bits (sugar, butter [cream, salt], corn syrup, soy lecithin, salt), invert sugar, contains 2% or less of salt, soy lecithin, xanthan gum, baking soda. contains dairy and soy
The First Allergy-Friendly Girl Scout Cookie
This year, the Girl Scouts partnered with Partake to make their first allergen-free cookie made in a truly safe facility. Partake is an incredible women-owned, black-owned, allergy-mom founded brand known for their cookies. I’m kind of obsessed with their Teeny-Tiny chocolate chip cookies.
Sparkables Allergy-Friendly Girl Scout Cookie
Looking for another option that’s safe for those with celiac disease and those with food allergies? Sparkables are a crunchy oatmeal cookie with chocolate chips and sprinkles and are vegan and certified gluten-free from GFCO. Their facility is free from top allergens as well.
Sparkables ingredients: whole grain oats, organic brown sugar, RSPO palm oil, water, semi-sweet chocolate chips (cane sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter), cassava flour, oat flour, white rice flour, rainbow sprinkles (cane sugar, tapioca starch, tapioca maltodextrin, palm oil, palm kernel oil, natural coloring [vegetable juices, paprika, spirulina, turmeric], carnauba wax, sunflower lecithin), tapioca fiber syrup, raisin juice concentrate, baking soda, sea salt, vanilla extract, oat fiber, ground cinnamon, rosemary extract.
How To Buy Sparkables Girl Scout Cookies
Sparkables are a digital-only cookie, so don’t expect to find a box of them from a Girl Scout troop outside a grocery store or from a troop going door to door. A troop can direct you to their online portal to sell cookies. A group of troops in your area will all feed into one geographic-specific site, like the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles, or the Girl Scouts-Arizona Cactus-Pine Council here in Phoenix. If you don’t know of a Girl Scout troop near you, you can go to GirlScouts.org and visit How To Buy Cookies. From there, you’ll enter your zip code to find the website of your local troops. Of course, you have to wait until cookie season starts, around January. You should never buy cookies from 3rd party sites; the Girl Scout Cookie business is highly regulated. Support your local troops!