"girl scouts" news and stories

As if we didn't really need more reason to buy an extra box or two of your favorite Girl Scout cookies, I have just stumbled across the website for one of two companies that bake the Girl Scout cookies that send us into a thin, minty frenzy every Spring. The website is obviously geared toward their happy little salesgirls, but they also list recipes, not for the cookies, themselves, but that use the cookies as ingredients.

Samoas by themselves are pretty rich (I consider them candy, myself), but they can be used to make Mocha Samoa Zuccoto, a chocolate cake-like base with a mascarpone and chocolate filling and crushed Samoas as a topping.

Sound too rich? Then what about Levitating Layers, alternating layers of Samoas, sweetened cream cheese, and chocolate pudding. And it's not just Samoas. You can use Tagalongs, Thin Mints, and Trefoils to make a Peanut Butter Mint Bombe.

I'll just take my Cafe cookies with a cup of coffee.

I have never been a member of the Thin Mint fan club when it comes to Girl Scout cookies. Certainly, every year around this time, I do my duty of purchasing a few boxes of the cookies from co-workers (entrepreneurial girls always get their parents to do all the heavy-selling), but I wasn't part of the frenzied masses who would buy five six, seven boxes of Thin Mints, keep in the freezer, and eat year round. My favorites have always been the shortbread Trefoils.

But this year, I tried something new, the Cafe Cookie, and I think I have found a new favorite. The cookies are simple, plain cinnamon flavored cookies. They are a bit hard, but that, I suppose, is what makes them a cafe cookie - for dunking in coffee? I don't care. I love them.

What are your favorites?

Dreyers/Edys is putting out its seasonal, special-edition Girl Scout Cookie flavored ice creams this month. The flavors include Thin Mints, a chocolate mint concoction with cookie chunks based on the best-selling flavor, and Samoas Cookies, a creamy caramel ice cream with fudge swirls and chunks of Samoas cookies. Both of these flavors are available in regular and light varieties. The final limited-edition flavor is based on Tagalongs and is vanilla ice cream with peanut butter and fudge swirls as well as pieces of the famous peanut butter patty cookies mixed in. The flavors will be available in supermarkets through April.

On their website, the company is hosting a Junior Chef recipe contest. Kids 8-12 can enter their favorite dessert or snack recipes that use the Girl Scout ice creams for a chance to win a prize pack including a year’s supply of Dreyer’s ice cream. The grand-prize winner will also receive a $500 savings bond and have their recipe featured on cartons of ice cream. To get inspired, check out last year’s winning recipes.