Girl Scout Cookies Differ Depending Where You Are in Michigan

Girl Scout Cookies aren't quite the same in Lansing as they are in Detroit.

And they're not the same in Saginaw as they are in the Upper Peninsula.

Turns out there's a reason for that.

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Michigan's 5 Girl Scout Councils

While the Girl Scouts of the USA is a national organization, it's divided into more manageable "councils" around the country.

Five different councils are represented in Michigan:

• Girl Scouts - Heart of Michigan (headquartered in Kalamazoo and consisting of much of Mid-Michigan including Kalamazoo, Lansing, Midland, Saginaw, and Bay  City)
• Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore (headquartered in Grand Rapids and consisting of most of Western and Northern Michigan including Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Traverse City, Mackinac Island and Alpena)
• Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana/Michiana (headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and including Berrien and Cass Counties in southwestern Michigan)
• Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes (headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, and including Michigan's entire Upper Peninsula)
• Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan (headquartered in Detroit and consisting of much of southeastern Michigan including Detroit, Flint, Pontiac and Port Huron)

SEE ALSO: The Best Michigan-Made Wines to Pair With Girl Scout Cookies

Each council chooses which of two national bakeries it will contract with to supply its Girl Scout Cookies - either ABC Bakers or Little Brownie Bakers. And depending on which bakery is chosen, Girl Scout Cookies in certain areas of Michigan will differ from other areas.

The Two Different Girl Scout Cookie Bakeries

ABC Bakers currently provides the Girl Scout Cookies for the Southeastern Michigan, Northwestern Great Lakes, and Shore to Shore Councils (indicated in green in the above graphic), while Little Brownie Bakers handles the cookies for the others. Allegan County is split into northern and southern halves, with the northern half joining ABC and the southern half joining Little Brownie.

There are subtle differences between the two bakeries. Some cookies have different names, and some ingredients may vary - causing the flavor profiles to be slightly different.

For instance - what's called a Samoa in Lansing is a Caramel deLite in Detroit. A Tagalong in Kalamazoo is a Peanut Butter Pattie in Grand Rapids.

Thin Mints are the most popular Girl Scout Cookie produced by each bakery, but they taste different depending on which bakery is making them. Here's how Food & Wine describes the difference:

"The Thin Mints from Little Brownie Bakers are less dense than Thin Mints from ABC, which have a much crunchier texture. As for taste, one bite makes it easy to see that ABC puts more mint flavoring in its Thin Mints than Little Brownie does. Also, Little Brownie's Thin Mints are much smoother on the outside than those offered by ABC."

You can check out what Girl Scout Cookies are offered in your area here.