Do you wonder about the calories in Girl Scout cookies?
It’s Girl Scout cookie season. Let the sales begin! Most of us will end up eating some before the sales season ends for the year. It has become an annual event, especially for parents.
Like most of us, you will likely end up with a box or so. Given this inevitability, here is some useful information about the calories and other nutrition in the top five healthiest choices.
Calories in Girl Scout Cookies: Nutritionist’s Evaluation
Healtline.com asked a nutritionist to rank Girl Scout cookies from best to worst.
According to Maya Vadiveloo, PhD, RD, an assistant professor in the department of nutrition and food sciences at the University of Rhode Island, healthy eating is about making good choices most of the time with occasional treats, like cookies, eaten in moderation.
The rankings are based on nutritional information per cookie rather than per serving to make more accurate comparisons.
While Girl Scout cookies are by no means a health food, it’s possible to include them as part of an overall healthy eating plan when consumed in moderation.
- Nutrition experts say healthy eating is about making good choices most of the time.
- Treats like cookies can be eaten in moderation.
- Information like total calories, saturated fat, and added sugars can be used to compare which foods are relatively healthier.
- However, it’s also important to savor and enjoy what you’re eating so you don’t feel deprived.
Based upon Vadiveloo’s advice, we considered such factors as total calories, added sugars, and saturated fat when ranking the cookies.
Yes, we know. Cookies aren’t considered a “healthy” food by any stretch of the imagination. Girl Scout cookies are definitely to be moderated and it helps to have an idea of the calories in various Girl Scout cookies.
However, that doesn’t mean we can’t have a few treats once in a while, nor does it mean our diet is “unhealthy” when we do.
Please note that for some cookies, you’ll see two different names listed with slightly different nutritional information. This is because some Girl Scout Cookies are made by two different bakers, using different recipes.
1. Shortbread/Trefoils(Serving size: 4 cookies)
Nutritional information per serving: 120 calories, 4.5 grams total fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 110 milligrams sodium, 19 grams carbohydrate, 0 grams fiber, 6 grams sugar, 5 grams added sugar, 1 gram protein, 1.2 milligrams iron
Trefoils (Little Brownie Bakers) (serving size:5 cookies)
Nutritional information per serving: 160 calories, 7 g total fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 110 g sodium, 21 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 7 g sugars, 6 g added sugars, 2 g protein, 1 mg iron
Why we ranked this cookie as we did
Shortbread and Trefoils were the clear winner among all of the Girl Scout Cookies. Compared with other varieties, they were the lowest in calories per cookie (30 and 32 calories, respectively). They were also the lowest in saturated fat and added sugars.
Thin Mints (ABC Bakers) (Serving size: 4 cookies)
Nutritional information per serving: 160 calories, 7 g total fat, 5 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 105 mg sodium, 22 g carbohydrate, <1 g fiber, 10 g total sugars, 10 g added sugars, 1 g protein, 1.6 mg iron
Thin Mints (Little Brownie Bakers) (Serving size: 4 cookies)
Nutritional information per serving: 160 calories, 7 g total fat, 5 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 120 mg sodium, 21 g carbohydrate, <1 g fiber, 10 g total sugars, 9 g added sugars, 2 g protein, 1.2 mg iron
Why we ranked this cookie as we did
Thin Mints actually stack up pretty well against most other Girl Scout Cookies. At only 40 calories per cookie and only slightly more saturated fat and added sugars than our No. 1 pick, they earn the honor of being our second-healthiest cookie on this list.
3. Do-si-dos/Peanut Butter Sandwich
Do-si-dos (Little Brownie Bakers) (Serving size:3 cookies)
Nutritional information per serving: 160 calories, 7 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 100 mg sodium, 22 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 11 g sugars, 10 g added sugars, 3 g protein, 0.8 mg iron
Peanut Butter Sandwich (ABC Bakers) (Serving size: 3 cookies)
Nutritional information per serving: 170 calories, 7 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 105 mg sodium, 21 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 8 g total sugars, 8 g added sugars, 3 g protein, 1.2 mg iron
Why we ranked this cookie as we did
While these two peanut butter sandwich cookies were a bit lower in saturated fat than Thin Mints, their higher added sugars and calories per cookie (53 and 57 calories, respectively) caused us to rank them No. 3 on our list.
4. Caramel Chocolate Chip (ABC Bakers)(Serving size: 3 cookies)
Nutritional information per serving: 170 calories, 8 g total fat, 3.5 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 120 mg sodium, 23 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 12 g total sugars, 12 g added sugars, 2 g protein, 1 mg iron
Why we ranked this cookie as we did
At 57 calories per cookie, ABC Baker’s Caramel Chocolate Chip tied with their Peanut Butter Sandwich on calories, but the Caramel Chocolate Chip’s higher amounts of saturated fat and added sugars pushed them to No. 4.
5. Lemon-Ups (Little Brownie Bakers)(Serving size: 2 cookies)
Nutritional information per serving: 140 calories, 6 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 100 mg sodium, 20 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 7 g total sugars, 7 g added sugars, 1 g protein, 0.7 mg iron
Why we ranked this cookie as we did
Lemon-Ups were only slightly lower in saturated fat and added sugars but higher in calories than Caramel Chocolate Chip (70 versus 57), leading them to earn the No. 5 slot.
Click here for more information about calories in Girl Scout cookies.
