The Girl Scouts just announced a new cookie called "Exploremores" for 2026, inspired by rocky road ice cream. As exciting as this might be for lovers of this popular ice cream flavor, many of us are still mourning all of the perfectly good flavors they have retired.

Regardless, Exploremores features chocolate cookies filled with chocolate, marshmallow, and toasted almond-flavored crème. It's supposed to capture "the limitless spirit of exploration that drives Girl Scouts," according to their September 9 announcement.

This new addition comes right as they're killing off two beloved cookies at the end of 2025, Smores and Toast Yay. Classic Girl Scout move: take away what we love, replace it with something else we are forced to fall in love with. Then, repeat.

The cookie launches nationally in January 2026, joining the lineup of Thin Mints, Samoas, and whatever else survived their latest purge. You'll be able to buy them online or from those card tables outside grocery stores where nine-year-olds learn how capitalism works.

Adobe Will Sponsor Them

Adobe's jumping on as a national sponsor. They're promising to help girls "express their individuality and think creatively to advance their goals." A smart move for a tech conglomerate that can leverage software subscriptions to parents.

The Girl Scouts claim this teaches entrepreneurship. "Life's more fun when you explore more!" the organization chirps. So, every year, kids set up tables, track inventory, handle money, and learn that success means standing outside a Walmart in February asking strangers to buy expensive cookies. Nothing like a little grit to teach them what it takes to achieve the American Dream.

Guilt Trip Or Guilty Pleasure?

Here's what actually happens with cookie season: Parents end up buying cases to support their kid's troop. Coworkers get guilt-tripped into ordering boxes they don't want. Everyone pretends Tagalongs aren't just inferior Reese's cups. And somehow, we all participate in this annual sugar shakedown because saying no to a Girl Scout feels like kicking a puppy.

The proceeds stay local to fund "life-changing programs, experiences and learnings." This certainly makes buying overpriced cookies that are an acquired taste from childhood more bearable.

Cookie season runs January through April, though "local timing varies." That's code for "whenever we can catch you vulnerable." They've gamified the whole thing with badges like "My First Cookie Business" and "My Cookie Customer."

Want to know when Exploremores hit your area? Text "Cookies" to 59618, because the Girl Scouts have your phone number now too. They're tracking you better than the NSA, except instead of monitoring threats, they're monitoring your weakness for Thin Mints.

The rocky road inspiration is certainly interesting. Like someone in a boardroom said, "What do kids like? Ice cream! What ice cream has the most stuff in it? Rocky road!" Now Rocky Road brands can sit back and watch the spike in sales because who isn’t tempted enough to try these cookies alongside the real deal?

Is The Nostalgia Dying?

The real tragedy is that Girl Scout cookies used to be special because they were seasonal and limited. Now they're pushing online sales year-round, partnering with tech companies, and treating nine-year-olds like tiny sales reps with quotas. The magic's gone, replaced by corporate optimization.

Adobe's involvement is particularly telling. They'll probably create some app where girls can design digital cookie boxes or track sales metrics in real-time. Nothing says "camping and crafts" like pivot tables and conversion rates. But hey, this is the era we live in so we might as well get the youth on board.

The organization also wants you to volunteer, which means you too can spend your Saturdays freezing outside a strip mall, teaching girls that success means moving product.

The Bottom Line

Girl Scout cookies are fine. Some are even good. But it seems less and less about empowerment and adventure and more about using children to sell overpriced cookies to adults who can't say no to kids in uniforms.

Exploremores will probably taste okay, maybe even good. And people will buy them out of curiosity, tradition, or guilt. Thus, the cycle continues. But somewhere, the ghost of a discontinued cookie weeps, wondering why rocky road was more important than them. Will Rocky Road follow suit one day? Just don’t get too attached if you like it.

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