The Only Girl Scout Cookies You Find This Year Might Be In Powder Form

The ongoing Girl Scout cookie shortage has been a serious bummer for scouts and their customers alike. Persistent issues at Little Brownie Bakery (where 75% of the nation's Girl Scout cookies are made), coupled with weather-related delays in delivery, has caused the nation's cookie supply to go kaput, generating fewer sales for scouts and a buzzing secondary market for popular varieties. The bakery told CNBC that it is "on track to fulfill initial orders," but you might have to wait longer than usual to be hooked up with cookies. In the meantime, though, you can enjoy Thin Mints right now—as long as you don't mind them ground to dust.

B&G Foods has announced that it's releasing its first Girl Scout cookie–inspired seasoning blend, which is essentially crushed-up Thin Mints cookies in a shaker bottle. The idea is to use a dash of it in any recipe that could benefit from some cocoa mint flavoring (which, let's be honest, is most recipes). Heck, try it in your coffee if you want.

Taking beloved foods and obliterating them into powder form is something of a B&G specialty lately. In early 2021, the company announced the debut of Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cinnadust Seasoning Blend, essentially a cinnamon sugar product combined with the graham flavor of the classic cereal's "toast" pieces. The product was a viral hit, leading to a boost in General Mills' sales.

Later that year, B&G released a similar product, Twix Shakers, a seasoning blend that "combines the bar's crunchy cookie, soft caramel and milk chocolate flavors to create the unmistakable essence of TWIX® that lovers of the chocolate bar can shake on just about any treat." Serving suggestions include adding this fine candy crumble onto ice cream, milkshakes, baked goods, fruit, and, most intriguingly, both cocktails and cream cheese.

The very next year B&G rolled out Snickers Seasoning Blend, essentially the same product as Twix Shakers (chocolate, caramel), but with peanut flavor too. Along with the announcement came more fun suggestions for where to sprinkle this stuff, including yogurt and pancakes.

It only makes sense that with these successes under its belt, B&G is looking around for new snacks to crush into crumbly bits and bottle for distribution (just my best guess). And of course, if you're going to market a Girl Scout cookie version of such seasoning, you go with the Thin Mint, the perennial best seller.

"The demand for our fun flavored seasoning blends continues to grow, proving that consumers crave the flavors of their favorite cookies and sweets, and are eager to explore them in new forms," Julie Gould of B&G Foods said in a press release.

The one downside of these products is that, unlike most seasoning blends used in cooking, a little does not go a long way here. When I wanted to zest up my morning oatmeal with some Twix Shakers, I had to add nearly a quarter cup of the stuff before I could taste it amid my bland oats, and even then, it was nearly impossible to pick up on notes like caramel and cookie flavoring. But maybe it's a temperature thing, because the seasoning stood out a little more on top of some cold vanilla ice cream.

Regardless, with the seasoning rolling out to retail locations nationwide this spring and no end to the cookie shortage in sight, this might be some consumers' only shot at Girl Scout cookies this year. So why not pick up a bottle?