Introduction to Girl Scout Cookies
One January afternoon, 11-year-old McKenna Moore gathered the butter, flour and sugar to make a treat for fellow members of the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio. Along with her mom, Lisa, McKenna made a batch of cookies using the very first Girl Scout cookie recipe, a seven-ingredient bake more than a century old.
History of Girl Scout Cookies
Indeed, Girl Scouts used to bake and sell their own cookies — and the recipe’s history is a look into the enterprising spirit that drives the organization in the modern age. According to the Girl Scouts of the USA, the very first Girl Scout Cookie fundraiser took place in 1917, in Muskogee, Oklahoma when the Girl Scouts of the Mistletoe Troop baked homemade cookies and sold them out of their high school cafeteria.
The First Recipe
Five years later, a recipe was first published in the July 1922 issue of the American Girl magazine, submitted by Miss Florence E. Neil, a Girl Scout director from Chicago, Illinois. The very first Girl Scout Cookie recipe was a simple sugar cookie recipe that became a popular fundraising method for Girl Scouts across the country for the next decade.
Evolution of Cookie Sales
Girl Scout Cookies are ubiquitous: Whether they’re called Samoas or Caramel deLites in your neck of the woods, the chance of running into a local troop set up outside stores or your door is likely — and that’s by design. Several troops planned to use the money they made to start a camp fund, which the magazine said was “an excellent idea,” encouraging others to take part.
Commercial Bakeries and WWII
In 1934, the Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia Council was the first group to use a commercial bakery to supply their cookie sales. Sugar and butter rationing in World War II temporarily paused cookie sales, according to Browning-Mullis, but the postwar economic boom led to a surge in popularity for the Girl Scouts, and cookie sale operations expanded dramatically.
Modern-Day Sales
Over the next several decades, new cookie flavors, new bakeries and a standardized program focusing on entrepreneurship were introduced. The Scouts evolved their sales strategy from door-to-door sales to tables and booths in shopping malls to a Digital Cookie platform, which launched in 2014. Girl Scouts have been selling cookies for most of the organization’s history, with sales totaling 200 million boxes a year.
Community and Entrepreneurship
The method of Girl Scout Cookie sales has changed over the last one hundred years, but the spirit of community, local outreach, and entrepreneurship remains the same. McKenna Moore, who has been a Girl Scout for five years, tells TODAY.com, “You get to meet new people all the time. It’s just really amazing talking and hearing what people love about Girl Scout Cookies so much.”
Conclusion
In conclusion, the story of the first Girl Scout cookie is a testament to the organization’s enterprising spirit and commitment to community and entrepreneurship. From its humble beginnings to its current status as a beloved American tradition, the Girl Scout cookie has come a long way, and its impact will continue to be felt for generations to come.
FAQs
Q: When was the first Girl Scout Cookie fundraiser?
A: The first Girl Scout Cookie fundraiser took place in 1917, in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
Q: What was the first Girl Scout Cookie recipe?
A: The first Girl Scout Cookie recipe was a simple sugar cookie recipe published in the July 1922 issue of the American Girl magazine.
Q: How many boxes of Girl Scout Cookies are sold each year?
A: Girl Scouts sell approximately 200 million boxes of cookies each year.
Q: What is the Digital Cookie platform?
A: The Digital Cookie platform is an online platform launched in 2014 that allows Girl Scouts to sell cookies digitally.
Q: What is the spirit of Girl Scout Cookie sales?
A: The spirit of Girl Scout Cookie sales is community, local outreach, and entrepreneurship.
