Girl Scouts of Suffolk County Launch Cookie Season with New Exploremores Cookie

Girl Scouts of Suffolk County opened the 2026 cookie season with a high-energy Cookiepalooza at South Shore Mall and outdoor booth sales across the county, unveiling a new cookie flavor that organizers say will help fund local STEM and outdoor programming. The Jan. 16 Cookiepalooza drew more than 900 Girl Scouts to 1701 Sunrise Highway in Bay Shore for an evening of training, performances and previews of the new Exploremores cookie.

Cookiepalooza combined entertainment and entrepreneurship training. The event ran from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., featured finalists from a Girl Scouts Got Talent contest performing original cookie jingles, and included a Media Girls program in which scouts created social media content. Brownie troops hula‑hooped in the mall after hours while troops representing communities from Lindenhurst to Northport networked and practiced sales techniques. Ticketing rules limited orders to 12 Girl Scout tickets and three adult tickets per purchase; fees were $25 per Girl Scout and adults attended free. For event questions, Girl Scouts of Suffolk County can be reached at customercare@gssc.us or (631) 543-6622.

Training at the rally emphasized the five skills central to the cookie program: marketing, money management, service, inventory and customer communication. Tammy Severino, president and CEO of Girl Scouts of Suffolk County, said, "They are going to learn about service, inventory, and how to speak to a customer." That skills focus underscores the program’s economic function as hands-on entrepreneurial education for young people in the county.

On the product side, the national organization added Exploremores to the 2026 lineup. Exploremores is described as a rocky road ice cream-inspired sandwich cookie filled with chocolate, marshmallow and toasted almond-flavored crème. Wendy Lou, who oversees the cookie program at the national level, said, "Girl Scout Cookie season is always a moment of joy and tradition, and this year promises to be incredibly exciting... We're thrilled to introduce the new, delicious Exploremores™ cookie... With every purchase, consumers directly support local Girl Scouts' abilities to explore more opportunities in STEM, the outdoors and more." Exploremores joins staples such as Thin Mints, Samoas/Caramel deLites, Peanut Butter Patties/Tagalongs and Adventurefuls.

Locally, volunteers ran outdoor booth sales over the weekend of Jan. 31–Feb. 1 under a "Freeze Your Cookies Off" promotion. Booths appeared at multiple locations around Suffolk County; the council has not published a consolidated public list of every booth site. That mix of in-person sales and event-driven publicity reflects longer-term trends in the cookie program toward combining traditional booth revenue with digital outreach and branded product innovation.

For Suffolk County residents, cookie season is both a local market event and a community investment. Buying cookies provides immediate support to troop activities and local council programs while reinforcing practical skills in finance and marketing among girls. Expect to see more booth schedules and cookie availability updates from the council as the season progresses, and contact customercare@gssc.us or (631) 543-6622 for specifics on local sales and troop opportunities.