Girl Scout Cookies

The Girl Scouts were founded in 1912, and within five years cookie sales were part of the program. The cookies were homemade initially, and the project taught the girls about baking and business while it generated funds for their scouting activities. In 1922, Florence E. Neil, a local troop director in Chicago, published the first “official” cookie recipe in The American Girl, the Scouts’ own magazine. At first, the homemade cookies were packed in wax paper bags and sold door to door by the girls. In the 1930s, Girl Scout councils began selling commercially baked cookies, and in 1936 the national Girl Scout organization began licensing commercial bakers to produce cookies. The following year, many Girl Scout councils sponsored cookie sales.