Girl Scouts' sales end Monday

The Girl Scouts are almost down to their last batch. This year's cookie sales officially end Monday nationwide.

"We should have Girl Scouts at both Walmarts, Kroger, Aiken Mall, Lowe's and both Bi-Lo stores this weekend, depending on the weather," said Katie Miller, product sales manager for the Girl Scout Council's Aiken Service Unit. "We'll be there selling cookies Friday night, all day Saturday and Sunday afternoon. This Friday is also the 98th birthday of Girl Scouts in the United States, so we'll be celebrating that, too."

Sales are up for most Aiken-area Girl Scout troops, Miller said, and the girls are making plans for how to use their troops' profits for the year. The troops' cut of cookie sales will often go toward special activities such as a field trip or new programs.

Local Girl Scouts have had questions about the lemon cookies, but their Mountains to Midlands Council was unaffected by a recent recall of Lemon Chalet cookies, which Miller said mainly affected Georgia and the coastal areas of South Carolina. Mountains to Midlands does not use the bakery whose products were recalled, and ABC Bakery's Lemonades have been selling well, Miller said.

"We did have questions, but our Lemonades are 100 percent safe; there have been no problems with ours," she said. "Thin Mints and Caramel deLites are always our biggest sellers. Our newest cookies are the Daisy Go Rounds, that's our reduced-fat cookie which we sell in 100-calorie packs. It's had a pretty good response; it's good tasting for a reduced-fat cookie."

Girl Scout Cookies are $3.50 per box; varieties include Thin Mints, Caramel deLites, Lemonades, Daisy Go Rounds, Peanut Butter Patties, Shortbreads, Peanut Butter Sandwiches and Thanks-A-Lots. Nutrition information about the cookies is available online at www.abcsmartcookies.com.

Contact Suzanne Stone at sstone@aikenstandard.com.