It's that time of year again, when you get to score some of the sweetest treats around.
Nationwide, people have begun the search for their favorite Girl Scout cookies. There’s a flavor for everybody, from Thin Mints to Samoas, Tagalongs to Trefoils, Do-si-dos to Savannah Smiles, and this year a new addition — S'mores.
It all started 100 years ago in the town of Muskogee, Oklahoma.
“The Mistletoe troop was the first troop to sell cookies, right here from Muskogee,” said Julie Ledbetter, the current leader of the Girl Scout troop in Muskogee. “They sold chocolate chip cookies as their fundraiser ... and it's really amazing that 100 years later, that's our signature, what we're known for as Girl Scouts.”
It sparked a craze which became an American staple. The official Girl Scout cookies came from Philadelphia in 1933, and today are manufactured at two facilities in Louisville, Kentucky and Richmond, Virginia.
“I love selling Girl Scout cookies because you get to meet new people,” Nicole Doak, a current Girl Scout in Muskogee, said to NBC News.
Today there are roughly 2.7 million Girl Scouts: 1.9 million actual scouts and about 800,000 adult members that work primarily as volunteers.
The all-time cookie-selling titleholder is 15-year-old Katie Francis of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The high school freshman once sold 22,200 boxes of cookies in a season, roughly three months, which comes out to more than $88,000 worth of cookies.
For Francis, she credits her success with keeping a spread sheet detailing previous customers, as well as her ability to work the phones and neighborhoods after school and on weekends.
“This year I'm also working towards the career record of 100,100 boxes since it's the 100th anniversary of the cookie sale,” Francis said.
While the money from the cookie sales is used to fund community projects for the Girl Scouts, there's an added takeaway for the young women who sell them.
“I've learned that with a lot of hard work and determination, anybody can achieve anything,” Francis said.
For the Girl Scouts, selling delicious cookies has been a lasting endeavor, serving the community for a century.