Nothing Says Love Like Caramel deLites , amirite

2025 is the last year to get this Girl Scout cookie flavor in Houston

It’s officially the best time of the year — Girl Scout cookies season has arrived.

Now through March 23, enterprising kids have already started hawking delicious treats online, with booths scheduled to pop up around Houston beginning this Friday, February 14. Nothing says “be my Valentine” like a last-minute purchase of Thin Mints for your sweetheart from a booth in front of a grocery. (Jokes aside, no one will be mad about receiving a box of Girl Scout cookies for Valentine's Day.).

If you are buying for someone else but don’t know their favorite flavor, you can’t go wrong with what the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council (GSSJC) say are the top three desired cookies: Thin Mints, Caramel deLites, and Lemonades.

Fans of ToastYays!, the French toast-inspired cookie dipped in icing, will want to invest in more boxes this year as the organization says farewell to the retiring flavor.

“When a girl sells Girl Scout Cookies, she gains valuable skills and earns money to help her troop take on their next challenge,” Mary Vitek, CEO of GSSJC, said in a statement. “Besides helping the troop, all the money from the Girl Scout Cookie Program stays in our local community and helps Girl Scouting thrive for tens of thousands of girls.”

To kick off the 2025 cookie season, GSSJC invited eight Houston chefs to compete at the Just Desserts event on February 5. The competition paired the chefs with local Girl Scouts to transform the classic Girl Scout cookies into tempting desserts. A panel of media personalities and influencers then judged the creations, and awards were presented:

Most Creative Recipe: Cake Fine Pastry
Best Use of Cookie: GUD Sugar
Best Dessert Presentation: Phoenicia Specialty Foods
Best Chocolate Lovers: Kenny & Ziggy’s
Celebrity Judges' Favorite: The Cheesecake Queen
Girl Judges' Favorite: Lexi Coffee
Best Just Desserts Rookie: The House of Sweets & Treats
People’s Choice Award: HTX Nitro

“One of the most amazing parts of being a Girl Scout is participating in programs and activities that help us grow into confident leaders,” Emma, a Girl Scout cadette, said at Just Desserts. “These experiences are invaluable as we discover who we are and who we want to become as young adults and community members.”

As the second-largest Girl Scout council in the country, GSSJC serves more than 39,000 girls in 26 counties. The cookie program teaches Girl Scouts invaluable skills such as money management, while proceeds support activities and provide financial aid to underserved communities.

Most Girl Scouts sell through an online store shared via a link with friends and family, but if you aren’t lucky enough to know a local cookie seller, visit gssjc.org to find a booth near you.

Courtesy of The Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council

The Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council has officially launched the 2025 cookie

season.

girl scout cookies news-you-can-eat

keep rolling

Hot Houston hand roll spot is first restaurant at new EaDo development

Handies Douzo Facebook

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Houstonians with a seemingly unlimited appetite for sushi hand rolls will soon have another destination to satisfy their cravings. Handies Douzo will open its next location in East Blocks, an adaptive reuse project in EaDo.

On track to open in late 2026 or early 2027 at 1107 Hutchins Street, the EaDo location will be Handies Douzo’s fifth, joining the original in the Heights as well as restaurants in Montrose, Spring Branch, and an upcoming outpost in Uptown’s new Central Park Post Oak development. Like those siblings, it will serve Handies’ familiar menu of hand rolls (temaki), crudos, and sashimi that’s overseen by founding chefs and co-owners Daniel Lee and Patrick Pham. The 2,000-square-foot space will feature Handies’ familiar U-shaped counter seating.

Handies is known for wrapping its rolls in crispy seaweed that gives each bite a distinct crunch. The well-executed dishes and affordable prices helped Handies earn a nomination for Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year in the 2026 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards.

"We've been very intentional about where we grow, and East Blocks immediately stood out," Pham and Lee said in a statement. "There's an authenticity to EaDo and a strong sense of community that aligns with our brand. We're excited to be part of a project focused on creating an energetic, walkable destination."

1107 Hutchins rendering Handies will occupy 2,000 square feet at 1107 Hutchins.Courtesy of Pagewood

1107 Hutchins and the nearby 2202 Dallas — each of which are 15,000 square feet — represent phase one of local real estate firm Pagewood’s plans to East Blocks. First announced in 2023, plans call for renovating warehouses into a walkable district of shops, restaurants, offices, and green space. Gensler is leading architecture and design for the project, with landscape architecture by SWA.

"East Blocks reflects a long-term belief in EaDo and the kind of place it’s becoming," said Mat Volz, Managing Principal of PAGEWOOD. "As the project has evolved, our commitment to that vision has only strengthened. Breaking ground on Phase 1 is an exciting step forward, particularly as this neighborhood prepares to welcome the world. With the FIFA Fan Festival taking place just steps from East Blocks and bringing thousands of visitors daily to EaDo, we see this project playing a meaningful role in that energy and in the long-term evolution of the district."

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