It's that time of year again when everyone has replenished their Girl Scout cookie stash and is munching away wondering how to punish whoever ate that whole row of cookies that magically disappeared since the last visit to the box.

Consider this an open discussion on Girl Scout cookies, but I will throw a couple discussion points out there.

Of course, what's your favorite?  Mine is Samoas, and not those Caramel deLites they choose to sell to the unfortunate parts of the country.  Luckily, those of us in the Columbus market get the dark chocolatey goodness of Samoas.  Did you know Caramel deLites use milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate?  Makes all the difference.

For those of you who enjoy Samoas, Thin Mints, or Tagalongs, did you know that Keebler offers a strikingly similar and cheaper option at your local grocery store year round in the form of Coconut Dreams, Grasshoppers, and Peanut Butter Filled, respectively?  There is some debate on which cookies are better, but this article explains that Kellogg, who owns Keebler, goes so far as to produce the same six cookies (Girl Scout and Keebler) in the same factory.  Here's my two cents:

Keebler's Coconut Dreams use milk chocolate, making them more like Caramel deLites than Samoas, so I'm voting for Samoas all day on that one.

Thin Mints and Grasshoppers are similar enough to where I no longer buy Thin Mints.  I think Grasshoppers actually have more chocolate coating, too, which is a plus in my book.

I don't have much experience with Keebler Peanut Butter Filled cookies, but I've had them a time or two.  If my memory serves me correctly, the cookie part of Keebler's isn't as crisp and crunchy and the peanut butter not as creamy as Tagalongs, so I'll have to go with Tagalongs in this case.

When I hear people saying that they buy so many Thin Mints that they freeze them, it makes me wonder if they know about the Grasshopper goodness available to them.  Consider yourselves in the know.  You're welcome.