9 2026 Girl Scout Cookies, Ranked

Early spring is a special time of year. Snow starts to melt, the first flowers of the year begin to bloom, and the animals finally stir awake, roused by a no-longer-absent sun. But perhaps more important than nature coming back to life after a long, cold slumber is the long-awaited spectacle of Girl Scout cookie sales, which are in full swing.

The little-known history of the first Girl Scout cookies began all the way back in the 1920s. In the early days of the organization, girls did their own baking and sold boxes of a dozen simple sugar cookies for around 25 to 35 cents. Over 100 years later, the famous treats have come a long way. They're now a wholesome symbol of Americana and arguably the desserts with the most impressive cult following in the country.

The 2026 cookie lineup includes old fan-favorites, some newer faces to replace the Girl Scout cookies that left us in 2025, and one brand new, never-before-seen option. I got my hands on every flavor available from my local troop of hard-working kids, so I can finally settle the debate: Which Girl Scout cookie is the best (for this year, at least)? I ranked every one objectively based on flavor, texture, and fun factor to give this tell-all breakdown of America's favorite yearly tradition (and the only acceptable reason anyone should be knocking on your door unannounced).

Exploremores are the newest addition to the Girl Scout's cookie catalog. These chocolatey cookies are inspired by one of the most decadent ice cream flavors of all time: Rocky Road. But to compare these treats to that ice cream is like comparing a Chevy to a Roll Royce. In fact, they performed so poorly in my taste test that they earned themselves the dreaded last-place spot in this ranking.

Pretty much every aspect of this cookie falls flat (though serious chocolate fans might appreciate Exploremores). Their single, one-note flavor is deep, rich chocolate, even though they (allegedly) contain marshmallow and almond creme. The creme filling is minimal, so it does nothing to give the crunchy cookies a silky texture, and the marshmallow flavor and classic squishy consistency are nowhere to be found. Imagine dissecting an Oreo, scooping out the creme, and immediately throwing it in the trash ... then putting the dismembered cookie back together and eating just two dry halves. That's the flavor and texture vibe that Exploremores bring to the table.

This might not be so bad if the chocolate taste was a little bit higher quality, or if Exploremores weren't competing against some of the most iconic snacks in American dessert history. They have some big shoes to fill, but they definitely need to size down, and they just couldn't compete with the tried-and-true favorites.

Every dessert selection needs at least one gluten-free option to feel complete, and the Girl Scout's GF offering from its cookie supplier ABC Bakers is Caramel Chocolate Chip. They're similar to a traditional chocolate chip, but with a hint of caramel and an added touch of sea salt for a more layered flavor than the classic recipe. They're pretty impressive for a cookie sans wheat, even if they couldn't rank higher.

These tiny morsels come in a bag and are a bit smaller than their Girl Scout cookie cousins, so they feel a bit like the black sheep of the family. At first glance, they seem like they'll be rock hard, but they have a unique texture that's both crunchy and chewy (chunchy, if you will). The outside is similar to a classic Chip's Ahoy, but the interior gives way to a much softer, chewier bite than expected. Although the texture was on point when I conducted my taste test, they lost me in the flavor department.

The sweetness in the Caramel Chocolate Chip reminded me of artificial sweeteners, although there aren't any listed on the product's ingredients list. The caramel had a strangely bitter quality, and the chocolate tasted too mild and bland. A little more salt might have helped mask the odd sweetness, but really, these cookies probably needed a complete flavor overhaul to earn a better spot in this ranking.

Adventurefuls are fairly new on the Girl Scout cookie scene. They joined the team back in 2022 to plenty of fanfare. There's no shortage of chocolate flavor and a healthy dose of sea salt, and the crunchy chocolate cookie is topped with a caramel round and drizzle. While I hate to be the outlier among all the Adventurefuls praise, these new-ish cookies left me mostly unimpressed, despite their aesthetic appeal.

You know when you expect something to be a certain texture, then bite into it and it's not at all what you thought it would be? I had that experience with Adventurefuls. Considering they're caramel brownie-inspired, I expected a soft, cakey cookie with gooey caramel on top. But it was almost the exact opposite. The chocolate cookie is crispy and a little flakey — nothing like a brownie, if you ask me. Meanwhile, the caramel layer on top is like a thin piece of crunchy toffee. It broke in half when I took my first bite and almost had me concerned for the wellbeing of my teeth.

Flavor-wise,the chocolate and caramel in the Adventurefuls is expertly balanced, with both sweet ingredients married by just the right amount of sea salt. The chocolate is robust while the caramel is toasty and warm, giving it a nice contrast. Had the texture been cakier and the topping gooey, Adventurefuls could have earned a much higher spot. Either way, at least they can be softened with a quick dunk into a mug of hot chocolate.

Shortbread cookies are a timeless favorite, and "timeless" might be the best word to describe Trefoils. The Girl Scouts' take on classic shortbread, these poppable, crispy snacks with an iconic shape have been around since the 1950s. They're based on the original Girl Scout cookie recipe that children first sold door-to-door back in the '20s, so they're essentially an edible time capsule.

Of the entire catalog, Trefoils are a quiet, reliable, but not very fun option (the Toyota Corolla of the Girl Scout cookie world, if you will). They have a slight buttery flavor that's complemented by just the right amount of soft, honey-like sweetness. Their texture is iconic, providing all the crispiness you expect from classic shortbread in a satisfying (yet delicate) bite. But, like most simple shortbread, they're begging for some pizzazz.

Trefoils need a smear of nutella or a smattering of fruit compote or jam to become the complex, layered dessert they're dying to be. On their own, they don't have a unique enough buttery flavor or the perfect fresh-baked, soft-yet-crispy texture to stand up to the high-ranking Girl Scout cookies. The competition is just too fierce for this modest, grandma-approved treat.

Now that we're climbing toward the top of this list, we're headed into the territory of the cookies with a major cult following — and it's not undeserved in the least. Do-Si-Dos — also known as Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies in some areas of the country — are another fan favorite Girl Scout cookie that's been around since the early days. Each one consists of two round, crunchy oatmeal cookie halves with creamy peanut butter sandwiched between them.

I'm usually wary about peanut butter in commercial desserts; it's often tacky, too sugary, and far off from the real deal. But the peanut butter in the Do-Si-Dos actually stuck to the roof of my mouth, unlike the artificial peanut-like filling that makes its way into a lot of candies and sweets, which disintegrates on the tongue and leaves behind a funky aftertaste. There's just enough filling for the Do-Si-Dos to be peanut butter-centric without the nutty taste becoming overwhelming. The oatmeal cookies are pretty neutral tasting — I would have liked a more potent sweet, earthy oat flavor. However, their crumbly and crunchy (but not too hard) texture pairs perfectly with the smooth, creamy nut butter.

I had trouble placing these cookies in the ranking because they were far less sweet than I expected, and I wasn't sure if that was a net positive or negative. They reminded me a lot of a slightly sweeter peanut butter Ritz cracker sandwich, but they definitely fall into the category of a salty-sweet snack rather than a full-fledged dessert. For a Girl Scout cookie, they should have a bit more of a dessert-worthy, kid-approved punch of sugar.

I'm a sucker for lemon-flavored anything, so Lemonades didn't have to work too hard to steal my heart. The shortbread-style treats are baked with zesty lemon and lined on the bottom with a thin layer of citrusy icing. They're significantly larger than all other Girl Scout cookies and come with just 16 to a pack.

I know this will offend the old heads of the Girl Scout cookie world, but Lemonades are what Trefoils wish they were. Instead of bland, straight-up shortbread, Lemonades take everything that's delicious about the classic cookie style and up the auntie with a little flavor boost. The cookie itself is crumbly and a bit crunchier than the Trefoils, so it had a satisfying snap when I bit into it. The lemon essence is unmistakable, but subtle enough that it doesn't overpower the butteriness of the shortbread. Personally, I like a little more of a citrusy zing in lemon treats, but the middle-of-the-road amount of fruit flavor makes Lemonades more appealing to a wider audience without sacrificing too much of their best quality.

These cookies are plenty sweet, mostly thanks to the layer of lemony icing on the bottom. The icing layer is what quietly takes Lemonades from "decent, albeit a little boring," and makes them bold enough to compete against the fan-favorite Girl Scout cookies. In fact, I would have preferred a little more of this icing, especially to give them more of a texture contrast. The texture is a bit one-dimensional and not quite as soft as I was hoping for.

Tagalongs — known as Peanut Butter Patties in my neck of the woods — don't look like much, but they're deserving of their status as one of the most popular Girl Scout cookies of all time. They feature thin, crispy cookies layered with peanut butter and dipped in a chocolate coating.

From a texture standpoint, Tagalongs check every box. The crispy, thin cookie layers are crunchy yet delicate, but the chocolate coating kept them from disintegrating as soon as I bit into one. There's no shortage of peanut butter here; there's enough to say that it's the main feature, beyond a shadow of a doubt, but the cookies never feel pasty, chalky, or generally too peanut butter-y. The crispy cookie layers are bland and not very sweet, but the creamy, chocolatey nuttiness does all the flavor work, so they don't really need to be.

Personally, I'd love to see a version of this cookie that's adult-ified with dark chocolate and a sprinkle of sea salt, but as a kid-friendly Girl Scout cookie, it's close to perfect. However, I take a little issue with the peanut butter in the Tagalongs compared to the filling in Do-Si-Dos. It tastes a little less like the real deal baked into the Tagalongs than it does in the Do-Si-Dos. Whether it's a different peanut butter recipe or something about the chocolate coating makes it taste more artificial, it definitely wasn't as smooth, creamy, and peanutty as it could have been.

Thin Mints have a nearly 100-year-old history, stretching all the way back to 1939 when the concept of Girl Scout cookies was still fairly new. Back then, they were known as Cooky Mints. Today, Thin Mints are the Girl Scouts' top-selling cookie. Since mint is such a polarizing dessert flavor, that tidbit should tell you all you need to know about how outstanding this time-honored cookie recipe is. It consists of a thin, crispy wafer dipped in a mint-chocolate coating — that's it. But despite its modest appearance, this tiny treat packs a punch.

These minty, chocolatey morsels aren't extremely crunchy, but they aren't completely soft, either; they're just crunchy enough for a satisfying bite and soft enough for that irresistible melt-in-your-mouth sensation. The mint flavor is zesty, and it woke up my taste buds right away. But rich, dark-ish chocolate makes sure it isn't too potent and toothpaste-like; a risk that you always run when you pick up a mint-flavored treat.

Every American knows that some Girl Scout cookies belong in the freezer, and none more so than Thin Mints, if you ask me. Thin Mints freeze better than any other Girl Scout cookie (trust me, I've tried) giving them a bit of multi-dimensional appeal. When they're chilly, they're extra crunchy, and the mint flavor really pops against dark chocolate. But Thin Mints didn't earn the coveted top spot in this ranking. Although I have no notes for their flavor, their texture is just a little too one-note, and they're geared a bit more towards adults than kids — so another cookie contender won the race in a photo-finish.

Caramel deLites — more commonly known as Samoas — are the star of the 2026 Girl Scout cookie lineup. These cookies are made up of round shortbread bases with plenty of caramel, toasted coconut flakes, a chocolate icing-like layer on the bottom, and chocolate drizzled on top. Copycats of these sweet little wreaths abound, but nothing compares to the original.

The round cookie base is shortbread-like; it's a little airier than traditional shortbread, though just as buttery and melt-in-your-mouth. The caramel on top is what I wanted the caramel in the Adventurefuls to be: Gooey and solid enough without being too sticky. Flakes of toasted shredded coconut give these an outstanding mouthfeel, as well, and a slightly smokey taste that the other Girl Scout cookies couldn't dream of. Finally, the chocolate drizzle ties everything together with a rich flavor that's less sweet than the caramel — like a sturdy canvas that doesn't get in the way — while coconut, shortbread, and caramel form a masterpiece.

The stark contrast between the crispy coconut flakes, gooey caramel, soft shortbread, and velvety chocolate makes every ingredient's texture pop. There's an ocean of varying textures going on with Samoas, yet they blend so cohesively that the cookie's texture is just as irresistible as its flavor (good luck not plowing through an entire box in one sitting). They have a slight crunch, plenty of chewiness, and a creamy factor the others completely lack, so these Girl Scout cookies take the top spot.

To rank these Girl Scout cookies, I set aside any personal biases, and judged them fairly and objectively. I assessed factors like freshness, quality, texture, and sweetness to find the most well-rounded recipes before ranking them.

The more complex cookies earned a spot closer to number one, along with those with a more universally-enjoyed flavor profile. The less kid-friendly a cookie tasted, the more likely it was to stay toward the top of the list, and nutrition didn't factor into the ranking.

Additionally, please note that Girl Scout cookies can taste different depending on where you live because two commercial bakers produce them: ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers. Typically, one supplier is available per region. The options listed in this ranking were from my local troop's supplier, ABC Bakers, though the majority of the 2026 lineup is represented here.