Girl Scout Tagalongs vs. Reeses Cookies

March 5, 2008

Which do you prefer?

In recent years after making so many homemade peanut butter fillings for various cookies, cupcakes etc., I’ve been finding the peanut butter filling inside Reeses products to be less and less desirable. It’s got far too much sugar, leading to a sugar rush rather than a pleasantly suppressed peanut butter craving. That’s not to say I’ve stopped eating them, because that’d be a lie. They’re convenient and the chocolate & peanut butter need is a hard one to ignore.

For me, there’s not much of an epic battle going on here. I’ve been eating Tagalongs since I was little, and despite the fact that it hurts that they’re not available all the time, it makes it just that much more special when you get your mits on a box. And they always disappear entirely too fast, with good reason.

You can read a full criticism of the Reeses Cookies here and boy is a criticism, unless you consider his point that “no one has died yet from eating one” a true pro for the cookie. While the peanut butter in the Reeses cookie is way too sugary, the Tagalong has better quality peanut butter that gives the cookie a more substantial, less candy like flavor. The chocolate cookie part of the Reeses cookie is also too sugary and very cheap tasting. After sampling both cookies it’s no surprise to take a look at the ingredients and see that while they have the same amount of calories (150 for two cookies) the Tagalong has 2/3 the amount of sugar in the Reeses. That’s 8g to Reeses’ 12g. It’d be one thing if the sugar made it worth it, but it clearly makes the product less tasty instead of more.

Also, when you take a Reeses cookie out of it’s package, it almost immediately starts melting in your hand. While the Tagalong does the same (hello, it is chocolate, after all) it does so at a significantly slower rate. Maybe there’s more butter in the Reeses chocolate or something? Whatever the case, it makes handling them much more pleasant, increasing the likelihood that you will grab some more.

The Reeses Cookie is not good enough to replace the Tagalong, end of story. I think of it as more of a change in snack choice when you don’t want the usual Reeses Peanut Butter Cup.

If you don’t happen to know any Girlscouts, but simply must have your Tagalong fix, try making them yourself with this recipe. And the next time you see a Girlscout on the street with a Cookie Connection Badge, salute her for selling high quality cookies.