Whatever Happened To The Girl Scouts' Aloha Chips Cookies?
Andy Williams may croon that the holidays are "the most wonderful time of the year," but those needing a Thin Mint fix know that it's really January through April — those yummy few months known as Girl Scout cookie season. The Girl Scouts have been feeding our sweets addiction since 1917, when a troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma, baked and sold cookies to raise money for troop activities, per the organization's website.
What we know today as Thin Mints, Do-si-dos, and Trefoils have been around since 1951 — and those permanent flavors will never be discontinued, says CNET. Ranking second and third in popularity after Thin Mints are coconut-caramel Samoas and peanut butter Tagalongs, according to YouGov, which joined the core lineup in the 1970s. But did you know about the loads of other cookie flavors that no longer see the light of day?
According to Little Brownie Bakers — one of only two commercial bakeries licensed to make Girl Scout cookies — you could have tried a chocolate chunk cookie in the early '80s, or daisy-shaped shortbread Juliettes with a praline-coated bottom in '85. At one point, the Girl Scouts even sold cheesy crackers! These products had a limited run for various reasons, but one particular discontinued cookie had a love/hate relationship with people's stomachs.
Aloha Chips was a white chocolate and macadamia nut cookie available in the early 2000s
Ask anyone what their favorite cookie is, and it's probably not white chocolate and macadamia nut. Too often, the cookie is dry and crumbly, and the white chocolate too sweet. People either love this cookie, or they hate it. With a "distinctive and exotic taste," Aloha Chips were introduced in 2000, replacing Le Chips (a chocolate chip and hazelnut cookie) in the Girl Scout cookie lineup. Washington Post columnist Bob Levey ordered only Le Chips every year and had no interest in trying the new cookie, while Complex named Aloha Chips one of the 15 best Girl Scout cookies of all time in 2013. The buttery cookie with white fudge chips and macadamia nut slivers developed a strong following that kept it in the cookie lineup through 2004.
According to CNET, Girl Scout councils decide which cookies are discontinued. Customer trends, feedback, and sales also factor into the decision. "There are only so many cookie varieties that are produced in a year, and adding a new cookie often means discontinuing another one," said Stewart Goodbody, director of communications at Girl Scouts USA, told The Washington Post.
Aloha Chips may be gone, but the classic flavor combination is not forgotten: If you're missing the treats, simply recreate your favorite white chocolate and macadamia nut cookie recipe to fill that empty spot that's left in your heart.