Girl Scout Samoas vs. Keebler Fudge Shoppe Coconut Dreams

For a while now, we've been able to get our Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie fix out of season by heading to the supermarket and picking up Keebler Fudge Shoppe Grasshoppers. In fact, we've found similar cookies or knock-offs for all the other Girl Scout cookies, except the popular caramelly, coconutty Samoas. Those...

By Jennifer Woods

March 7, 2011

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For a while now, we've been able to get our Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie fix out of season by heading to the supermarket and picking up Keebler Fudge Shoppe Grasshoppers. In fact, we've found similar cookies or knock-offs for all the other Girl Scout cookies, except the popular caramelly, coconutty Samoas. Those green-clad girls have had that market covered.

No longer.

Have you seen the new Keebler Fudge Shoppe Coconut Dreams? They look almost identical to Samoas, except that the chocolate stripes on the Coconut Dreams look like a milk chocolate versus the darker chocolate stripes on the Samoas.

They have the same calorie count, at 140 calories per 2 cookies; Coconut Dreams have more fat and Samoas have more carbs. Coconut Dreams contain 18 cookies (8.5 oz) per box and Samoas have 14 cookies (7.5 oz) per box.

Price is about the same, too. (We did find the Keebler cookies on sale the week before the Girl Scout cookies came out, just 2 for $5 at Safeway.) The regular price for a box is $3.97 plus tax; the Girl Scout cookies are $4 each.

But the real question remains: Which tastes better?

Get the results of our Chow Bella taste test after the jump.

We thought the Coconut Dreams were awesome; they were chewy, they had more chocolate and were were seriously convinced they were the real thing.

Sorry, Girl Scouts. Those elves really are making you work extra hard this year. If I were an elf, I would be very worried if a group of young girls with green sashes came knocking on my tree trunk door.

Turns out, Coconut Dreams, Samoas and the similar 1970's Sunshine brand Yum Yums cookies are all currently owned by Keebler's parent company, Kellogg. Just when we thought there was a little healthy competition, the joke's on us. No more will we have to wait patiently each year for those darling girls to sell us the coveted Samoas -- we can get them any time we please.

Are you going to seek out and support a Girl Scout to sate your coconut caramel chocolate cookie craving? Are the Girl Scouts doomed? What do you think?

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