The Girl Scouts of the USA’s cookie season has officially kicked off with the discontinuation of two cookie classics and the introduction of brand new rocky road-inspired treat.
Exploremores, filled with the flavors of chocolate, marshmallow and toasted almond-flavored crème, are designed to capture the spirit of Girl Scouts, according to the website.
“From a curious kindergartener, amazed by jellyfish at the aquarium, to a middle schooler finding the courage to go on a big trip with her troop, Girl Scouts know the road to discovery starts with exploration,” the Girl Scouts website said.
For more than 100 years, Girl Scouts have held annual cookie sales — the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world.
Last week, Brookline Troop 54371 for high schoolers and Baldwin Troop 17032 for fourth graders got to try the Exploremores and compared the flavor to rocky road ice cream.
“Overall the girls really loved it,” said Christy Ehrlich, a troop leader in the Baldwin-Whitehall area.
Ehrlich said she anticipates the chocolatey cookie will be a buyer favorite this year.
Boxes of cookies cost between $6 and $7, with all the proceeds staying local to help fund girl-led leadership programs.
On Tuesday, Girl Scouts of the USA released a statement announcing the discontinuation of cookie flavors S’mores and Toast-Yay!
The S’mores cookie made its debut in 2017 while Toast-Yay! hit the shelves in 2021.
Girl Scouts of the USA uses two licensed bakeries, ABC Bakers, owned by Interbake Foods and Little Brownie Bakers, owned by Ferrero/Kellogg’s.
Ehrlich said, while the Toast-Yay! cookies were not available in the Western Pennsylvania area — due to the location of the bakeries — S’mores cookies will be missed during the 2026 season.
Lisa Shade, a spokeswoman for Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania, said in past years the top three favorite cookie flavors in Western Pennsylvania have been Thin Mints, Tagalongs and Samoas.
Shade said the launching of the Exploremores is part of the company’s efforts to “keep the lineup fresh” and the girls excited about selling the cookies.
In 2025, local troops sold 1.8 million boxes of cookies through the Girl Scout Cookie Program, Shade said.
Shade said she was unable to provide an estimate of the sale projections for Exploremores this year.
The Girl Scout Cookie Program will run until March 22, according to the website.
