US News

GIRL SCOUTS TAKE ‘LO-CAL’ COOKIES FOR A SPIN

There may be nothing thinning about Thin Mints, but the Girl Scouts are doing their part to preach moderation by selling certain cookies in 100-calorie packs.

Fifteen Cinna-Spins come in each bag, a form of packaging that would not work for the 371/2-calorie Thin Mints or the 80-calorie Lemon Chalet Cremes.

The annual cookie sale is supposed to be an educational entrepreneurial venture, but the organization has become uneasy that profiting from the nation’s collective sweet tooth may be considered at odds with the group’s focus on healthy living.

“It was never our intention for cookies to be eaten by the box,” a Girl Scout official said.

Most of the Scouts’ 300 councils began selling this year’s cookies last weekend.

But Rolling Hills, in Central Jersey, was among the first to test the market for Cinna-Spins – and the new entry accounted for nearly 10 percent of the 652,000 boxes sold there last fall.

The idea for the lower-calorie pack came from ABC Bakers, one of the two cookie concerns that sign contracts with each of the councils.

“People really like the idea of portion control, and for a debut year, we are really pleased,” said Christy Boyle, a spokeswoman for the council.

“They are good tea-dunking cookies and perfect after-school snacks.”

The Girl Scouts fell under fire years ago for the high trans-fat content of the popular cookies.

But now the recipes have been altered to all but eradicate the nutritional no-nos.

Still, because it uses a different baker, the Greater New York Council – which sold 900,000 boxes in 2007 – does not sell the 100-calorie packs.

It does, however, offer a sugar-free chocolate-chip cookie.

jeremy.olshan@nypost.com