2025 Cookie Cookbook
All the recipes you need to have a successful cookie season!
Meet Our 2025 Girl Scout Cookie Lineup
Indulgent brownie-inspired cookies with caramel flavored crème and a hint of sea salt
French Toast-inspired cookies dipped in delicious icing (Available this year only)
Savory slices of shortbread with a refreshingly tangy lemon flavored icing
Iconic shortbread cookies inspired by the original Girl Scout recipe
chocolaty coating
Welcome!
When you support your troop through the Girl Scouts Cookie Program, you are empowering girls to gain confidence, develop entrepreneurial skills, and unbox the future! Your support enables Girl Scouts to achieve out-of-this world goals, and earn their way to camp or other exciting programming!
Thanks to you, our volunteers, the Girl Scout Cookie Program is a tremendous success. We’re grateful for your commitment and look forward to many more incredible cookie seasons, as we welcome ABC Bakers!
With a new baker comes a new cookie lineup - and new software to manage your troop’s participation in the 2025 Girl Scout Cookie Program. This Cookie Cookbook is packed with all the information and resources you need to guide your troop through a flourishing and fun Cookie season.
Thank you for your time, commitment, and dedication to helping girls learn lifelong skills and create memories they will cherish for years to come!
Community Product Managers
Community 2 CPM:
Sheri Daar Riversedgecookies@hotmail.com 386-344-3115 (Text or Call)
Community 3 CPM Team: Holly Lucas (Main contact) Lucas3r@aol.com 904-614-6678 (48-hr response time) Ginger Butler (Rewards)
Community 4 CPM team: C4Productmanager@gmail.com
Cecile Harrell Heather McMahan
Community 5 CPM Team: Village 1 – Lynn Mitchell tallynn@hotmail.com
Village 2 – Jessica Carbee jessicarbee@yahoo.com
Village 3 – Kelly Shuford gsgcproductsc53@gmail.com
Village 4 – Kim Parker Village4products@gmail.com
Village 5 – Missy Farina Zoey187@yahoo.com
Community 6 CPM:
Melody Stallings-Mann Melodysmann@gmail.com 904-631-6048
Pati Lash Patilash@yahoo.com
Community 7 CPM Team: C7products2023@gmail.com
Jeni Wieda-Perry Keita Manuel Kaitlin Sanchez-Rouse
Community 9 CPM Team: Village 1&2 – Candice Tice cticec9gsgc@gmail.com 850-291-7293
Village 3 – Hope Williams HopeW126@hotmail.com 850-685-3087
Village 4 – Andrea Boring andrea200385@yahoo.com (850) 499-9890
Village 5 – Tamara Wilhelm tamluvsdancn@gmail.com 850-357-6121
Village 6 – Kirsten Matthews kr051783@aol.com 850-450-7324
Community 10 CPM: Amanda Kuchta amandalee2@gmail.com 619-822-9009 (text preferred) 24-hour response time VIllage 3 – Brooke Hoke bebnbg2015@gmail.com 850-419-4184 (text preferred)
Community 11 CPM
Sharon Wonsey (Main contact) Ninjafog2019@gmail.com Kendal Smithe (Rewards)
Meet the Gateway Council Product Staff
Shayla Thomas – Director of Product Programs and Retail
Danielle Hawkins-Wright – Product Program and Retail Associate
New hours coming January 6, 2025
Monday-Thursday: 9am - 6pm ET and 8am - 5pm CT
Fridays: 9am - 4pm ET and 8am - 3pm CT
To reach our council staff, please email customercare@gsgateway.org or call 877-764-5237 Tuesday – Friday from 8:30 am – 6:30 pm ET / 7:30 am – 5:30 pm CT
Cookie Jargon
As you know, Girl Scouts has its own language! Here are a few popular terms that you will hear during the Cookie Season.
ABC: Gateway’s Girl Scout Cookie supplier
ACH (Automated Clearing House): How Gateway finance department pulls payments for cookies from troop bank accounts
Allocation: The process of assigning cookies to your Girl Scouts in Smart Cookie
Box or Pkg: A single box of cookies
Case: 12 boxes of cookies
CPM (Community Product Manager): First point of contact and go-to cookie expert
Cupboard: Volunteer-run storage spaces where troops can place additional orders
DOC (Digital Order Card): Found on the Digital Cookie platform
DC24 (Digital Cookie): Updated online storefront for girls and caregivers
Hot Spot Booth: A booth location that is managed by the council office – these booths are available for selection in Smart Cookie
IO (Initial Order): First order of cookies at the start of the season (generally, this is a Troop’s largest order)
Mega Drop: Scheduled pick up of troop’s initial order of cookies
PGA: Per Girl Average (of cookie boxes sold)
Rallyhood: Gateway Council’s communication hub where you will find all the latest cookie information
Smart Cookie: Online organizational cookie platform for TPM’s TPM: Troop Product Manager
Cookie Calendar
TPM MY25 Cookie Training
Before Cookie Program Begins During Cookie Program
After Cookie Program Ends
11/21/2024 Training- 7:30 pm ET / 6:30 pm CT **Required for access to Smart Cookie
12/05/2024
12/12/2024
12/15/2024
12/19/2024
12/20/2024
01/02/2025
01/05/2025
01/06/2025
01/18/2025
01/22/2025
01/23/2025
01/24/2025
01/27 - 02/05
02/07/2025
02/07/2025
02/08/2025
02/21 - 02/23 03/16/2025
Volunteer and caregiver access to Smart Cookie and Digital Cookie Training- Digital Cookie Deep Dive: Caregivers
Deadline to enter ACH information into Smart Cookie
Last day to fill out TPM forms before holiday break
Last day for girls to transfer troop until after cookie season
Girl Scout Cookie season starts – Digital Cookie opens to customers
Troop Initial Order due
Council office opens after holiday break/ TPM processing resumes
Cookie Rallies in Jacksonville and Crestview 11 am – 2 pm (local time)
Booth selection begins 7:30 pm ET / 6:30 pm CT
Booth selection continues 7:30 pm ET/6:30 pm CT
Booth selection becomes unlimited 7:30 pm ET / 6:30 pm CT
Home deliveries
Mega Drop Day 1
Cookie Booth season begins
Mega Drop Day 2
National Cookie Weekend
Girl Scout Cookie season ends
ACH Pull Schedule
03/18/2025 03/18/2025 04/26/2025 05/17/2025 05/24/2025
02/18/2025 03/04/2025 03/18/2025
Cookie Rookie Training
Delinquent caregiver forms due to customercare@gsgateway.org
Reward selection due in Smart Cookie
Go Getter Reward event at Fun Station in Tallahassee
Go Getter Reward event at Dave & Buster’s in Jacksonville
Build A Bear Reward Event: Destin, Gainesville, and Jacksonville
1st ACH pull – 30% 2nd ACH pull – 60%
Final ACH pull – 100%
December 5th January 16th February 6th March 6th
7:30 pm ET/6:30 pm CT 7:30 pm ET/6:30 pm CT 7:30 pm ET/6:30 pm CT 7:30 pm ET/6:30 pm CT
• Smart Cookie Dashboard
• Family Cookie Meetings
• Initial Order Calculator
• Placing Initial Order
• Cookie Communications
• All About Booth Selections
• Preparing for Mega Drop and Home Delivery
• Distributing Cookies to Families
• Smart Cookie Allocation
• Cookie Booth Etiquette
• Cupboards – Planned Orders
• Wrapping up Cookie Season
• Smart Cookies Reports
• Balancing Cookies and Cookie Money
• Rewards
Recipes for Success
Troop Product Manager (TPM)
The first step for cookie season is to select a Troop Product Manager (TPM). This can be a leader or a troop volunteer.
TPM requirements and suggestions:
• must have a valid registration and background check
• must be in good financial standing with our council
• must complete TPM Cookie Training
• must have good communication skills
• should be organized and good at logistics
• should be comfortable using technology
Out of Office
Council offices will be closed from 12/23/2024 until 01/06/2025 for the holiday. Processing TPM forms will be delayed during this time. Get your form in today!
Ideal Strategy!
The TPM is the volunteer that will drive the Cookie Program for the troop. They will order cookies, hold cookie meetings with girls and caregivers, select cookie booths, keep track of cookies that are distributed, collect money from girls’ sales and booth sales, ensure that the ACH (cookie payments to our council) are paid on time, and select rewards/give rewards to the girls when they arrive.
The TPM does not have to be one person- it can be an entire team! It is a good idea to have anyone who has access to changing information in Smart Cookie, collecting money, or making the cookie payments have an active TPM form on file with our council!
Once the TPM form is submitted to Customer Care and training is complete, it could take up to a week to get access to Smart Cookie. There are several steps in the vetting process before access will be granted.
Council staff or CPM’s will not add anyone to Smart Cookie without an active TPM form on file! Don’t delay! Get your training completed and form filled out today!
Haven’t filled out your TPM form yet?
Scan or click the QR code to get started TPM_MY25 Agreement Form If you completed a TPM form for Sweets and Treats, it will be carried over to cookies, however you will still be required to take the TPM MY25 Cookie Training before receiving access to Smart Cookie.
Ideal Strategy is to have at least Two (2) TPMs per troop with access to the troop bank account. By signing the TPM agreement with our council, you are committing to being financially responsible for the cookies the troop picks up at Mega Drop and from local cupboards. This access is essential for managing the funds and ensuring smooth operations during cookie season. Please make sure you are familiar with the account management process.
Smart Cookie
Welcome to Smart Cookie, ABC Baker’s Cookie Management platform! Smart Cookie will help Troops manage the entire cookie season! Designed specifically for troop use by IBM, Smart Cookie is a user-friendly and intuitive system. You will be able to submit your troop’s orders, add cookie booth locations/sign up for council booths, track all sales, and submit rewards. You’ll even have direct access to ABC resources to help you navigate the Cookie Program with ease!
Discover More!
Cookie Bytes are a playlist of Smart Cookie instructional videos that guide you through each function of the platform.
Smart Cookie Questions
Find answers to all your Smart Cookie questions in the Troop User Manual.
You will receive an email with a link and login information from noreply@smartcookies.com once you have been added to the system. Make sure to check your spam folder!
Quick Tips to Get Started
Explore the Smart Cookie dashboard to find messages from Gateway Council, important dates and more! TPMs can also update the troop package goal here.
• Click on the My Troop tab, and select Troop Information in the dropdown. Here you can verify troop information for accuracy. Click the update information button to enter your troop’s bank account number. You cannot place an initial order without a bank account loaded in the system.
• Review your troop roster. Click on the My Troop tab and view Troop Roster. Please reach out to Customer Care at customercare@gsgateway.org if you need updates.
• Send a cheer to your Girl Scouts! Click My Troop Tab, then select Goals & Online Activities from the dropdown. *Girls must have an active MY25 registration to be listed in Smart Cookie.
Digital Cookie
Digital Cookie is our online selling platform that allows Girl Scouts to set up personalized online storefronts to expand their Girl Scout Cookie business. The features in Digital Cookie make selling cookies a fun experience.
Smart Cookie and Digital Cookie talk to each other! Once you have access to Smart Cookie, watch for your login email for Digital Cookie. The email will come from email@email.girlscouts.org
Only one TPM per troop will have access to the Troop Digital Cookie Site. If you are both a TPM and a caregiver, you will be taken to a role selector page when you log in. This allows you to toggle between your Girl Scout and your troop.
Digital Cookie Troop Links
When you log into your troop site as a troop leader, you can create a troop link. This link is not tied to any individual girl and is perfect for traditional and virtual booths as well as public websites. It is the only link that will be published on the National Cookie Finder website. When cookies are sold through the troop link, the TPM will need to allocate the cookies either to the girls that worked the booth or across all girls in the troop.
Digital Cookie Deep Dive for TPM’s
Get the most out of Digital Cookie by reviewing our recorded training on GS Learn. Our Digital Cookie Deep Dive for TPM’s will walk you through all the exciting features offered from a troop perspective. Training will be available on GS Learn on November 21, 2024.
Explore our Digital Cookie tip sheets for both volunteers and caregivers!
Digital Cookie tip sheets provide helpful information on navigating Digital Cookie. Make sure to let your caregivers know where to find them too!
Tip sheets are located on our website under the file section of the Cookies page, as well as the Cookies, Gateway Rallyhood and the TPM Rallyhood pages.
Digital Cookie Live Virtual Deep Dive for Caregivers
Encourage your caregivers to attend the Digital Cookie Deep Dive for Caregivers Live Virtual Training to discover all the features available on the girl/caregiver side.
December 12, 2024 | 7:30 pm ET/6:30 pm CT
Important Reminder
Caregivers must approve or deny ALL girl delivery orders in Digital Cookie. If not approved within five (5) days the order will default to the customer’s second choice.
Marketing Cookies
Girl Scouts can broaden their customer base by promoting their cookie business online. Here are a few strategies to elevate their digital marketing efforts:
Digital Cookie: Personalize their site with weekly videos. Offer cookies through direct shipping or girl delivery.
Social Media: Launch a digital marketing campaign to engage distant family and friends.
Text or Call: Follow up with customers who might not be online to encourage reorders.
Digital Cookie Early Access
TPM’s and caregivers will have access to Digital Cookie on Dec 5, 2024, if they are already in Smart Cookie. The site will not be active for sales until January 2nd, but they should log in and personalize their account.
Encourage your Girl Scouts to log in early. Our council will have delayed responses for log in issues during the holiday break 12/23/2024 – 01/06/2025
Social Media Policy
!Safety Resources
Girl Scouts and their caregivers must read, agree to, and abide by the guidelines in the Online Safety Pledge before engaging in online marketing and sales efforts. The guidelines and pledge are located on our website on the “Cookies- for the seller” page and on Cookies, Gateway Rallyhood.
Product Program participation should always be led by a Girl Scout under caregiver supervision. Families should always use caution when sharing links on public pages. Through Digital Cookie, caregivers can deny any girl delivery orders they do not feel comfortable delivering in person. When posting online follow these guidelines: Girls may:
⚬ Post their Digital Cookie link on public social media sites, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
⚬ Post troop booth locations
⚬ Post a video and include their Digital Cookie link
⚬ Ask customers to share their Digital Cookie link with friends and family Girls may not:
⚬ Post their Digital Cookie line on resale sites, i.e. Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, or on buy, sell, trade sites such as Swip/Swap and Nextdoor
⚬ Post content including last name or direct contact details. i.e phone number, address, school or email
⚬ Direct message anyone that they do not personally know on social media platforms
Troop Cookie Trainings for Girls and Caregivers
With a new cookie season ahead, training for your troop will be crucial. As you prepare for your family meeting, consider the troop cookie policies for the season. Ensure these policies are communicated clearly to both girls and caregivers so everyone understands how cookie season will operate.
⚬ Ensure the Product Program Participation agreement is signed: Any caregiver handling cookies must sign a Girl Participation Form.
This form serves as an agreement with the family regarding both etiquette and finances. Troop Leaders or TPM’s should keep this form for the entire season. A signed form from Sweets and Treats is valid for the entire year and will carry over to cookies. Caregivers are responsible for the cookies they sign for, provided a participation form is on file.
⚬ Complete the Caregiver Training Form: This form helps the TPM to ensure that you cover key points during your troop’s family meeting. If a caregiver is unable to pay for cookies they received during season, this form is necessary to apply for Caregiver Debt Forgiveness.
⚬ Set the troop goal and decide how to use the proceeds with your Girl Scouts. Making these decisions early provides the girls with a clear objective and helps build excitement!
Ensure your Girl Scouts know how to handle the cookies to maintain their flavor and quality throughout the season:
⚬ Avoid storing cookies directly on the floor. (Always use a barrier between the floor and the cookies.)
⚬ Keep cookies out of reach of pets.
⚬ Never leave cookies in direct sunlight in a garage, or in a hot car. (Chocolate melts at 72 degrees!)
Troop policy on returning unsold cookies:
Will your troop accept unsold cookies from the girls? If so, by what date? Clearly communicate the deadlines and policies for returning cookies to both Girl Scouts and caregivers. When setting the deadline for returning unsold cookies, ensure you allow enough time for the troop to sell them at upcoming booths.
Choosing troop booths:
Many troops use Sign-Up Genius to allow Girl Scouts to select booths they can participate in during the season. During the cookie meeting, discuss how many booths each girl wants to attend, their preferred locations, and their available times. This way, when selecting booths during the Booth Lottery in Smart Cookie, you can choose dates and locations that best align with your Girl Scouts’ preferences.
Initial Order Deadline
To ensure cookies arrive in time for home delivery and Mega Drop, our initial order deadline has been moved up. The new deadline to place your troop’s initial order is January 5th, 2025. Make sure to discuss expectations and goals with your troop at the family training meeting in December, so you are prepared with your order before cookie season begins.
Reminders:
Girl Scouts cannot transfer troops during Cookie Season. (12/20/2024 – 03/17/2025) Transferring troops during the season can lead to financial discrepancies.
Troops cannot arbitrarily assign cookies that each girl MUST sell or require that each sell the same amount. Troops can make goals, encourage and mentor, but cannot force a girl or caregiver to take cookies.
Family Meeting Guides
Check out these amazing family meeting guides to help you plan a proactive and efficient meeting. You can find a Family Meeting Guide for every level on our website.
Cookie Business Badges
Entrepreneurs can earn these official Girl Scout recognitions by completing requirements that help them develop new business skills. Watch mini courses about each badge for ideas on how to approach steps and choices in delivering the badge to your troop! Find these on gsLearn.
Cookie Communications
Entrepreneurship
Badges & Pins
Stay informed with all the latest cookie news by joining our Rallyhood cookie pages. TPM’s and Troop Leaders can access our TPM Rallyhood page for essential updates and resources. Caregivers are encouraged to join Cookies, Gateway to get important information, tips, tricks, and graphics to support their sale.
When you sell Girl Scout Cookies, you practice-goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics—as you learn to think like an entrepreneur. You can earn badges and pins each year you run your own Girl Scout Cookie business. Then explore your own business idea by earning an Entrepreneur badge.
Families can support their Girl Scouts as they learn the five skills and think like entrepreneurs. With the encouragement of their family, there is no stopping a Girl Scout!
Learn more about the Cookie Entrepreneur Family Pins
Money Matters
Customers should always pay for cookies upon receiving them. We no longer recommend accepting checks as a form of payment. However, if your troop chooses to accept checks, they must be made out to the troop. Only accept checks for individuals you know, and keep in mind that any fees for insufficient funds or bounced checks will be the responsibility of the troop.
All money earned is property of the troop, not individual girls. Troops may not earmark financial amounts of cookie proceeds for individual girls. Funds do not follow a girl if she leaves the troop after the Girl Scout Cookie Program.
ACH Payments
An ACH Payment is a type of electronic bank-to-bank transfer. Your troop will deposit all their cookie money directly into their troop bank account, and the council offices will withdraw the cost of your troop cookies in three convenient payments.
The dates for these payments are:
February 18, 2025 - First ACH Pull (30%)
March 4, 2025 – Second ACH Pull (60%) March 18, 2025 – Fill ACH Pull (100%)
How the Cookie Crumbles
Girl Scout Cookie fans are especially eager to support the program when they understand where the money goes. Show them how proceeds stay local, funding amazing year-round experiences for girls and preparing them for a lifetime of success.
Important Reminders about ACH
The ACH list is pulled the morning of the scheduled date. An email will be generated from Smart Cookie informing troops of their ACH payment amount. This email will be sent to the primary and alternate troop contacts listed in Smart Cookies.
It will take 2-4 business days for the payment to be reflected in your troop bank account. In Smart Cookie you can see the financial summary for your troop right on your dashboard! To get a more in-depth look at individual transactions view the finances tab.
2025-2028 Troop Proceed Tiers
We recommend that TPMs distribute up to 1 case of each variety of cookies to a caregiver at a time and collect funds before allocating additional cases. However, TPMs may use their discretion to determine the best practices for specific troops and families with a history of selling high volumes of cookies.
Hot Spot Booth Locations
Hot spot booth locations are retail stores that have either national or district agreements with. These locations are entered into the Smart Cookie Booth Lottery and shared with all troops. These locations are secured by volunteers participating in the Booth Incentive Program. To participate in this incentive, reach out to your local CPM.
Troops cannot secure booths at these locations on their own:
Ace Hardware
All Military Bases
Alyssa’s
Sam’s Club
Azteca Mexican Restaurant
Dicks Sporting Goods
Dollar Tree
Five Below
Gators Dockside
Hitchcock’s Lowes
Michaels Craft Store
Pounders
Publix
Shoe Carnival
Shoe Station
TA Travel
Tractor Supply
Walmart
Wild Birds Unlimited
Winn Dixie
Cookie Rookie Sessions
Help Secure Booths for Cookie Season!
Community volunteers are essential in securing booths for the Cookie Season and we need as many volunteers as possible! By helping to secure a booth location, you can earn an early booth pick for your troop. This means you will have the opportunity to select a booth slot. Your selection will be loaded into the smart cookie system before Cookie Booth Lottery starts.
To get started, reach out to your local CPM. Remember, you must submit the approved booth agreement to your CPM before 01/15/2025 for your troop to qualify for the early booth selection.
With a new baker and the new Smart Cookie, we are all Cookie Rookies this year!
Make sure to join us for our Cookie Rookie Training Sessions. Each month, we’ll dive deep into the latest happenings in the Girl Scout Cookie world, with a special focus on the “how-to’s” of Smart Cookie.
Don’t forget to register for each session and mark them on your calendar!
December
Cookie Rookie Training Session
January
Cookie Rookie Training Session
February
Cookie Rookie Training Session
March
Cookie Rookie Training Session
December 5, 2024
7:30 pm ET
6:30 pm CT
January 16, 2025
7:30 pm ET
6:30 pm CT
February 6, 2025
7:30 pm ET
6:30 pm CT
March 6, 2025
7:30 pm ET
6:30 pm CT
Smart Cookie Dashboard
Family Cookie Meetings
Initial Order Calculator
Placing Initial Order
Cookie Communications
All About Booth Selections
Preparing for Mega Drop/ Home Delivery
Distributing Cookies to Families
Smart Cookie Allocation
Cookie Booth Etiquette
Cupboards – Planned Orders
Wrapping up the Season
Smart Cookies Reports
Balancing Cookies & Cookie
Money Rewards
January: Preheating the Oven
01/02/2025
01/05/2025
01/06/2025
01/16/2025
01/18/2025
01/22/2025
01/23/2025
01/24/2025
01/27/2025
Important Dates in January
Girl Scout Cookie Season starts – Digital Cookie opens to customers
Troop initial order is due
Council office opens after holiday break/TPM processing resumes
Cookie Rookie Training 7:30 pm ET/6:30 pm CT
Cookie Rallies in Jacksonville and Crestview 11 am – 2 pm (local time)
Cookie Booth selection starts 7:30 pm ET/6:30 pm CT
Cookie Booth selection continues 7:30 pm ET/6:30 pm CT
Cookie Booth Lottery opens to everyone 7:30 pm ET 6:30 pm CT
Home deliveries begin
Initial Order Incentive
If your troop places an initial order averaging 250 boxes per registered active girl, you will earn a troop reward! Every registered girl in the troop will receive an exclusive shirt and patch, and the troop will receive two additional volunteer shirts. These shirts will be delivered at Mega Drop, perfect for wearing throughout the Cookie Season!
Troops that earn this reward will have the opportunity to purchase two additional adult shirts for extra volunteers.
Home Delivery for Initial Order
Troops are eligible for home delivery when they order 600 cases or more in the initial order. These deliveries will take place the week before Mega Drop, eliminating the need for pick up and allowing you to receive cookies early!
⚬ Deliveries will take place between January 27, 2025 – February 5, 2025
⚬ An adult must be present to receive the cookies
⚬ Deliveries will be a scheduled in a block of time
⚬ While our delivery agents try to give at least a 48 hour notice sometimes they can only give a 24 hour notice for home delivery schedule date and time. If this doesn’t work for your troop, do not select home delivery.
Initial Order Tips
Deciding how many packages to order for booths isn’t an exact science, but here are average sales per cookie variety to help guide your order.
Initial Order Deadlines
*Data from ABC Baker National Sales 2023-2024 season Try our new Cookie Calculator to easily determine the number of cases for each variety your troop needs to order.
The Initial Order Deadline is January 5th, 2025. This is your troop’s first cookie order, and it’s recommended to plan for the entire season, as reorders and cupboard availability may not be guaranteed throughout the season.
While deciding your troop’s cookie needs consider these things:
⚬ The goals of each of your Girl Scouts
⚬ The number of presales on digital cookie (to date) for your Girl Scouts
⚬ How many booths your troop plans to host (this would be determined with caregivers/girls at the family meeting in December)
⚬ Booth sales can vary depending on location and timing, but the average booth typically sells around 90-100 boxes per booth.
Need
Help Placing Your Initial Order?
Remember, you can continue selling cookies even after the initial order is placed. Be sure to order enough during the initial order to cover those additional sales.
Watch this Cookie Byte or view the Initial Order Quick Tip Sheet for step-by-step instructions. And remember, you can always reach out to your CPM team for additional help.
Cookie Booth Kits
Don’t let Girl Scout Cookie Season get here without being prepared! Order your Cookie Booth Kit today, with four options to choose from. Each kit contains one large item to choose from plus a cookie pennant, foldable cookie sign, cookie money pouch, and cookie tote bag.
Available for PICK UP ONLY at:
⚬ Girl Scout Day with the Jaguars - December 1st (deadline to order November 22nd)
⚬ Cookie Rally Jacksonville - January 18th (deadline to order January 10th)
⚬ Cookie Rally Crestview - January 18th (deadline to order January 10th)
⚬ All Mega Drop Locations - February 7th and 8th (deadline to order January 10th)
$58.50 each
Get WILD About Cookies at Cookie Rally!
Go Wild for cookies as we embrace possibility and unbox the future! Let’s kickoff cookie season at the zoo. Girls will have the opportunity to engage in all things cookie, participate in cookie themed activities and explore the zoo with their Girl Scout sisters.
East Florida
Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens
January 18th, 2025
11:00 am - 2:00 pm ET
West Florida
Emerald Coast Zoo
January 18th, 2025 11:00 am - 2:00 pm CT
Cookie Booth Lottery
Changing bakers means new terminology. Our booth lottery system is referred to as FCFS (First Come First Serve) selections in Smart Cookie. We will not be using the “lottery” feature as it is designed in Smart Cookie this season. We will also not use the “premium” feature.
To learn more about scheduling booths in Smart Cookie, watch the cookie bytes video “Scheduling a FCFS booth” or follow the steps below.
Log into Smart Cookies and navigate to Booths>Schedule a Booth. When FCFS is open, this bar will display which includes information on open and close dates, max number of premium reservations that can be scheduled and max number of total reservations that can be made.
IMPORTANT: During the booth lottery, booths are not cumulative. You must log in during the selected open time to secure your number of booths allotted. If you miss an open selection date, you will lose the ability to select that number of booths during the lottery.
IMPORTANT: Smart Cookie does not allow for additional booths to be given to larger troops. All troops, regardless of size, will have the same selection amounts during the booth lottery.
FCFS Booth Lottery Schedule: All booth lottery selections will open 7:30 pm ET/6:30 pm CT and close at 12:00 pm ET/11:00 am CT the following day.
01/21/2025 – Troops that helped with securing booths will have their bonus selection booth uploaded prior to booth lottery start date
01/22/2025 – FCFS Booth Selection Day 1 - Troops will be able to select 3 booths
01/23/2025 – FCFS Booth Selection Day 2 - Troops will be able to select 3 booths
01/24/2025 – FCFS Booth Selection Day 3 - Booth selection becomes unlimited
A list of available locations will display on a grid on the right. You can search for locations by name, zip code or city to narrow the search. There are also several filters to find available locations by a specific date, time, distance from a zip code and more.
Click on a location to open a calendar. Available dates appear in blue. Click on the date to open available timeslots. Click on the time slot desired and save. Your troop will immediately be assigned to the booth. Select return to booths>My reservations to see a list of all booths scheduled.
Cookie Booths: A path to reaching goals!
Cookie Booths give girls the opportunity to achieve their goals by setting up in high-traffic locations within the community. A Girl Scout Cookie Booth isn’t just a “booth” – it’s the troop’s storefront business.
Cookie Booth Requirements:
a Girl Scout wearing Girl Scout attire must be present at the Cookie Booth. a registered, background checked adult must be present at each booth. the troop number must be visible. the price of cookies must be displayed. no siblings or other non-Girl Scouts should be at the booth. promote Cookie Share for donations. ensure Girl Scouts and the table do not block ATMs or entrances/exits. booth setup and breakdown should occur no more than 5 minutes before the start or end of a booth. be ready for a quick turnover. take all empty cases with you, do not leave them in the trash at the booth location. always follow the Girl Scout Law!
Ideal Strategy
A great way to get your girls ready for booth season is to hold mock cookie booths during a troop meeting! Use fake money and boxes decorated to look like our new Girl Scout Cookies, and have girls take turns working the booth and being the customer.
Think outside of the box with new ways to sell cookies! There are several different types of Cookie Booths you can have to fit every need:
TROOP BOOTHS
VIRTUAL BOOTHS
February:
Let’s Get Baking!
02/05/25
02/06/25
02/07/25
02/07/25
02/08/25
02/21/25 - 02/23/25
Important Dates in February
Home deliveries end
February Cookie Rookie Training Session 7:30 pm ET /6:30 pm CT
Mega Drop Day 1
Cookie Booth Season starts
Mega Drop Day 2
National Cookie Weekend
Mega Drop – it’s time for cookies!
Mega Drop is the big day when initial cookie orders arrive and are ready for pick up! You’ll select your location and time when submitting your initial order in Smart Cookie
For a smooth cookie pick-up, please follow these guidelines:
⚬ Know exactly how many cookie cases you ordered for each variety
⚬ Arrive within 10 minutes of your scheduled pick-up time. Please do not arrive earlier or later.
⚬ Make sure to have enough vehicles to load your order (see the graphic below for help.)
⚬ Know how many cases your empty car (with one adult) can carry.
⚬ If you need more than one vehicle, pull all your vehicles into the line at the same time.
⚬ At each variety station, count every case before loading into vehicle.
⚬ There is a recount station before check-out if you need to double check your cookie counts.
⚬ Once you are satisfied with your count proceed to the check-out station.
⚬ You’re all done! Hurry home to deliver your cookies.
How many cookie cases can your car carry? Reminder:
Cookies can not be returned once they are picked up!
Troops are responsible for counting and verifying the total number of cases. Once you leave Mega Drop, the case counts are final, and cookies are the property of the troop.
You Have Cookies – Now What?
Distributing Cookies to Caregivers and Girls
The excitement of fulfilling orders is here!
Following these easy steps to ensure a successful delivery to your caregivers and girls:
Notify Caregivers:
⚬ Inform caregivers of the date, time, and location for cookie pickup. Give Yourself Time:
⚬ Allocate sufficient time to get home, unload cookies, and prepare receipt books. Sort Cookies in Advance:
⚬ Sort all cookies before pickups begin to identify and resolve any potential issues.
Document Every Transaction:
⚬ Give each girl a receipt showing their balance and the due date for payment.
Multi-Household Families:
⚬ Ensure that each parent in a multi-household family picks up their separate orders and that all caregivers have a signed participation agreement.
Secure Documentation:
⚬ Keep all receipts, product participation forms, and caregiver training forms in a safe place for easy access and recordkeeping.
Receive Payments First:
⚬ Ensure payments for cookies previously distributed is received before distributing additional cookies.
Record Keeping
Allocating cookies in Smart Cookies is crucial during cookie season. By assigning cookies to each girl in your troop, you ensure they receive the rewards they’ve earned. Without proper allocation, girls may miss out on these rewards.
To keep records accurate and help girls and caregivers track sales, it’s best to allocate cookies and payments immediately. This also ensures that the data transfers seamlessly to Digital Cookie for everyone to see.
Ideal Strategy
Allocate cookies and payments as soon as they occur to maintain accurate troop records. You can easily do this on the go using the smart cookie mobile app. Need assistance? Watch the “Creating a Troop to Girl Transfer Order” video in the Cookie Bytes instructional series.
What to take to the Cookie Booth
Creating booth kits is a great way for troops to prepare for Cookie Season. If your troop has multiple booths running simultaneously, it’s helpful to create more than one kit. A booth kit is a bag containing all the necessary items for the booth. Having these kits ready ensures a smooth and efficient handoff when parents come to pick up the booth materials.
Here are a few items that are great to keep in the booth kits:
⚬ Tablecloth
⚬ Cash box with $50 in fives and ones
⚬ Pens
⚬ Clipboard with booth tracking sheet
⚬ Troop signage to include councils name, troop number, cookie pricing and more
⚬ Cookie Share donation jar
⚬ Calculator
Ideal Strategy
Tip:
Keep track of how many boxes sold at each booth by using the booth distributor in Smart Cookie. Over the years, you will be able to use that historical data to help you determine where your booths are most successful and how many booth cookies you sell yearly. For girls to qualify for the booth fun patch, at least 50 cookies per Girl Scout have to be distributed using the booth distributor in Smart Cookie.
Need to Cancel a Cookie Booth?
Best Girl Scout Practice
Have the Girl Scouts record all credit card transactions on the back of the booth sheet for easy calculation after the Cookie Booth.
If your troop is unable to use a reserved cookie booth slot, you must cancel it in Smart Cookie. Claimed booth slots are listed on our National Cookie Finder, and we don’t want customers to show up at empty locations!
Please cancel any booths as soon as you know your troop can’t attend, so other troops have the opportunity to use the slot.
Need More Cookies?
Cookie Cupboards
Troops can purchase additional cases of cookies from our local cupboards, which are temperature-controlled storage units across our council.
Placing a cupboard order is referred to as a planned order in Smart Cookie. All orders will need to be placed no later than 12:00 pm ET/11:00 am CT the day before the scheduled pickup.
Please note the availability of varieties and quantities may vary by cupboard. Not all varieties will be available at every location. However, Smart Cookie does not have a function in which we can turn off varieties per location, or a notes feature within the cupboard system. *Our gluten free cookie, Caramel Chocolate Chip will not be available in cupboards.
To ensure troops are placing orders for cookies that are available, we will use a google maps document, that allows us to input the cupboard manager information and notes about the location. This is where you will find details such as gate codes and variety availability.
Before placing your planned order with a cupboard, navigate to your dashboard in Smart Cookie and select the cupboard location link. Find your cupboard and check out the notes to look for special notifications about this location.
To learn more about placing a planned order watch the cookie byte video “Creating a Planned Order” or check out the quick tip sheet “Planned Orders”
How do you get your cookie proceeds?
When a troop purchases a case of cookies from our council, they are charged the cost of the case minus their troop proceeds.
For example:
Case of Thin Mints: $72.00
Troop Proceeds: $10.40
Total owed to Council: $61.60
When the troop sells the case of cookies for $72.00, they pay $61.60 to the council and keep the $10.40 as their proceeds. This means the troop collects their proceeds throughout the season as they sell cookies. It’s recommended to deposit these proceeds until after the ACH withdrawal, as troop proceeds can change based on the troop’s per girl average (PGA), which may fluctuate during the season.
Smart Cookie automatically calculates troop proceeds on the dashboard page, showing that only council proceeds are collected in payments, while troop proceeds are retained by the troop.
For troops selling entirely on Digital Cookie, proceeds will be deposited into their troop account during the final ACH of cookie season.
Cookie Share Program
Our Cookie Share program is getting a refresh. This year our council will donate our Cookie Share cookies to deserving local organizations in our communities. The donated cookies will be distributed directly from the council’s inventory. Troops will have the opportunity to pick up cookies from cupboards to deliver them to local businesses.
While Smart Cookies and Digital Cookies do communicate, Cookie Share cookie sales in Digital Cookie do not automatically transfer to Smart Cookie. When girls receive cookie share orders via Digital cookie for Girl Delivery or from in person sales, the TPM must create the transaction in Smart Cookies for the girl to receive credit for the sales.
Troop Product Managers can check the All-Order Data Report on their troop dashboard in Digital Cookie to view any cookie share orders that need to be entered for a girl. Cookie share cookies can be found under order type In-Person Delivery with Donation, Cookies in Hand with Donation or Donation. For cash orders, be sure to collect the payment and post in Smart Cookies.
To enter a Cookie Share sale for the Girl Scout, watch this video “Virtual Cookie Share Order-Direct Sale” or follow the steps below.
Navigate to Orders>Virtual Cookie Share
Enter the number of packages of Cookie Share cookies sold by each Girl Scout. The unit of measure is packages. Click Save. Cookie Share cookies will display on the Girl Dashboard and financial responsibility for these packages will be assigned to the girls.
No action is needed for any direct ship order that include Cookie Share as part of the order.
No additional action is needed for Cookie Share cookies allocated to girls using the smart booth divider process.
Wrapping up the Season
⚬ Review Individual Sales:
Verify each girl’s signed receipts from cookie pick up, online sales and booth participations are credited in Smart Cookie to ensure she receives credit for all cookies sold and payments received.
⚬ Verify Payments:
Check troop deposit slips from the bank to ensure all payments from caregivers and booths have been deposited. If the troop used Digital Cookie for credit card payments those funds went directly to the council and were subtracted from the troop balance owed. This will not be reflected in the troop bank account.
⚬ Count Unsold Cookies:
The value of any unsold cookies are subtracted from the troop proceeds. Once those cookies are sold, the troop will recover those proceeds.
Although the goal for all troops is to have zero cookies remaining at the end of the season, troops can continue to sell leftover inventory. If your troop still has cookies after the season ends, contact your local CPM for additional booth opportunities and tips on selling the remaining stock.
Balancing Cookies and Money
⚬ Add up all transaction receipts. (a transaction is any time the troop received cookies such as: initial order, cupboard pick ups or cookies purchased from other troops). It is important to separate out core cookies ($6) from gluten free cookies ($7).
⚬ Once the total number of cookies is determined multiply by the retail value of the cookie.
⚬ Take the total retail value of the cookies and subtract it by troop proceeds. The remainder is the amount owed to council.
Troop Debt
The due date for settling all outstanding balance with council is 03/18/2025. If the troop debt is not paid in full at that time, we will reach out to all TPM’s on file for that troop. If we are unable to collect the debt, it will be turned over to our Collection Company. Any debts submitted to our collection company will incur a 30% increase to cover collection fees.
If an individual is not in good financial standing with council, they will be unable to be an approved volunteer and will be removed from any positions that are currently held.
Delinquent Caregiver Process
GSGC will work with all troops to collect outstanding debt to the troop and/or council. In the event a troop has a delinquent caregiver, TPM’s can submit for Troop Debt Forgiveness.
TPM’s must submit the following documentation to customercare@gsgateway.org by 03/18/2025 to be considered for troop debt forgiveness and for the council to take over the debt collection process for the delinquent caregiver:
⚬ signed Girl Participation Form
⚬ signed Product Program Participation Agreement
⚬ signed receipts for all cookies
⚬ signed receipts for all payments made by the caregiver
⚬ Delinquent Caregiver Form
⚬ signed communications log with 5+ attempts to collect cookies and payments (https://bit.ly/cookieresource)
*These items must be submitted by 03/18/2025 to be considered for troop debt forgiveness.
If all documentation is submitted before the deadline of 03/18/2025 and approved:
⚬ Unsold cookies will be removed from the Girl Scouts total cookies sold balance in Smart Cookie.
⚬ The cookie debt amount will be removed from the troop.
*Remember: Unpaid cookies will be removed from the total troop sales and therefore PGA balances will adjust accordingly as well as the individual rewards.
Follow Girl Scouts of Gateway Council, ABC Baker, and Lemonades Cookies on social media.
Rallyhood: rallyhood.com/rallies
Instagram: instagram.com/girlscoutsgc
Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561465681351
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/girl-scouts-of-gateway-council/
TikTok: tiktok.com/@girlscoutsgatewaycouncil
YouTube: youtube.com/@girlscoutsgc
ABC Baker: facebook.com/abcbakers
Flicker: flickr.com/photos/abcbakersvolunteergallery/ Lemonades: instagram.com/lemonadescookie
It’s Time to Celebrate!
Rewards
The final step of the season is to submit the rewards for our Girl Scouts.
Reward submissions are due in Smart Cookie by 03/18/2025. When submitting rewards:
⚬ Make sure all cookies are allocated to a girl in Smart Cookie.
⚬ Know all your girl’s reward choices .
Send Thanks
Thank everyone involved with your troop success, including family, friends, businesses and fellow volunteers. Use our thank you card template or make your own!
CELEBRAT E
Our volunteers, caregivers and Girl Scouts put in a lot of work during the Cookie Season! Now it’s time to unbox the possibilities for fun with your proceeds! Plan a celebration that allows you to hand out recognitions to girls, while highlighting individual and troop achievements.
