We Tried Girl Scout's New Exploremores, And They Took A Detour From Rocky Road

When Girl Scouts began selling cookies, the sweet treats were made right in the Scouts' homes. They would wrap the cookies in wax paper, seal them with a sticker, and sell the cookies door to door. Cookie sales began as sporadic endeavors for scouts to finance their activities before the bright idea spread and eventually became the commercially produced varieties we know today.

As a former Girl Scout, to me, there are few simple delights as tasty as opening a new box of cookies. Though Peanut Butter Patties and Trefoils will always have my heart, there are plenty of Girl Scout cookie flavors out there, and I love trying out a new one when it comes out, challenging the lineup for my favorite flavor. In the 2026 cookie season, your favorite Girl Scout will be offering chocolate cookies called Exploremores, and I was lucky enough to get an advanced taste test before cookie season officially kicks off on January 6.

Some Girl Scout cookie names are very transparent, describing exactly what the cookie contains. No one is surprised, for instance, that Peanut Butter Sandwiches are packed full of salty peanut butter. Then, there are others like Adventurefuls and Trefoils that need some explanation. Exploremores join that illustrious tradition with a name that gives nothing away, like a path waiting to be explored.

Seemingly named to embody the spirit of the Girl Scout journey and traveling through all the trials and tribulations one endures growing up, Exploremores get their flavor inspiration from Rocky Road ice cream. Even though the name might suggest these cookies represent some level of s'more, the cookie box claims that the sweet treats have flavors of chocolate, marshmallow, and toasted almond. Though both ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers produce these cookies, there's a significant difference between the two bakeries' cookies.

In many instances, Girl Scout cookies aren't exactly alike in different places, because they're produced by two bakeries, and the same is true for the Exploremores. Between the two varieties, the nutritional information is quite different. To begin, Little Brownie Bakers' cookies (the ones I sampled) have a serving size of two cookies, while ABC Bakers' have a serving size of three cookies. The calorie content between the two is pretty different, too, with Little Brownie Bakers clocking in at 130 and ABC Bakers higher at 180 calories. With 5 grams of fat, 100 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, and 8 grams of sugar, Little Brownie Bakers makes a lighter cookie than ABC Bakers' 7 grams of fat, 140 milligrams, 26 grams of carbohydrates, and 14 grams of sugar.

Since the nutrition information is different, it's no surprise that the ingredient information differs too. Most notably, ABC Bakers' cookies have sugar listed as the first ingredient, while Little Brownie Bakers lists it following the flour ingredients. Little Brownie Bakers also uses molasses in its cookies, while ABC Bakers does not.

Like the rest of the Girl Scout cookie lineup, you'll need to order these cookies from a Girl Scout. Many troops hold cookie sales in front of big box stores like Publix, so that may be the most convenient way to pick up your cookies. The Girl Scouts have made it very easy to locate such a setup with the Find Cookies feature on the organization's website. By simply plugging in your zip code, you'll get dates and locations for places you can pick up Exploremores and any other cookies you may want.

Unfortunately, cookie season doesn't last forever. Though it may vary based on your local council's planning, generally, Girl Scout cookie season occurs at the beginning of the year, from roughly January to April. If you love Girl Scout cookies as much as I do, you may wonder why they're not available all year. Since the Girl Scout program is robust and offers many leadership opportunities for its members, the cookie program runs for a limited time, to make space in the schedule for these other programs.

In addition to the Exploremores, the 2026 Girl Scout cookie lineup includes Adventurefuls, Caramel deLites (or Samoas), Peanut Butter Sandwiches (or Do-si-dos, the least nutritious Girl Scout cookie), Peanut Butter Patties (or Tagalongs), Thin Mints, and Trefoils. ABC Bakers also exclusively makes Caramel Chocolate Chip cookies and Lemonades, while Little Brownie Bakers produces Lemon-Ups and Toffee-tastics as exclusives on its line.

Though each cookie is distinctive, they share certain commonalities. For instance, like several cookies, Exploremores are a sandwich cookie style with a decoration on top. While the Trefoil shortbread cookies are in the shape of a trefoil, Exploremores have a molded logo of a trefoil set right in the chocolate. This inclusion makes it very obvious that the Exploremores belong in the quintessential Girl Scout lineup.

I anticipated a cookie loaded with a few different flavors, but I mostly just got a chocolate sandwich cookie out of the Exploremores. The package had me anticipating a rocky road ice cream flavor, but aside from the chocolate component of the flavor, I wasn't quite getting that. Don't be fooled into thinking these are just differently packaged Oreos, though. Instead, the chocolate runs all the way through. It's somewhere between dark and milk chocolate that will please most chocolate lovers.

Texture-wise, the cookie had a substantial crunch to it, and it was a little on the crumbly side. In fact, when I opened my first tube of cookies, I noticed that the top one was split in half. Obviously, these cookies break pretty easily. As you enjoy your Exploremores, expect lots of crumbs.

If you enjoy a chocolatey cookie, you'll like these. The chocolate does not taste cheap, and it definitely scratches that chocolate craving. However, if you're expecting a chocolatey, almond experience, you'll be a little disappointed. I recommend setting your expectations to a decent chocolate sandwich cookie, and you'll be happy.

I prefer the flavor profile of these cookies over some of the other Girl Scout sandwich cookies in the lineup. They easily win out over the peanut butter cookies and the lemon-type flavors, too. While I was a little disappointed in the lack of actual Rocky Road flavor, I can imagine crumbling these cookies over ice cream and enjoying them as a sprinkled topping too — one of my favorite ways to use up leftover cookies. Only time will tell if Exploremores will be popular enough to become a permanent addition to the lineup, or if they'll join the ranks of discontinued Girl Scout cookies.