Girl Scout cookies are coming out! Orders for the treats get underway this weekend following "Cookie Rallies" held by local councils.  The sweets have been part of the organization for over 80 years.  Girl Scout spokesperson Michelle Tompkins says the idea of selling the cookies as a fundraiser started in Muskogee, Oklahoma with the Mistle Toe Girl Scout troop in 1917. 

By the 1930s, troops nationwide began selling them annually at a cost of between 25 to 35 cents per dozen.  The project has evolved into a multi-million-dollar enterprise for the organization with about 300-million boxes of cookies expected to be sold this year.  The biggest seller is the chocolate mint cookie followed by the peanut butter cookie varieties. Your keyword is "cookies"

Tompkins says Girl Scouts get much more than just a coveted badge for their cookie sales.  Troop members learn five important points as they take the orders and later deliver the cookies.   Tompkins says troop members learn goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics in the project.  She adds those points are far more important than the number of cookies that are sold.