In the flurry of booth sales, volunteer coordination, Digital Cookie promotions, and reorders during cookie season, it’s easy to forget as a troop leader to take a moment to breathe and enjoy for yourself. Remember, the excitement of activity and Girl Scout Cookies only come round once a year, so treat yourself to a box of your favorites and try out one of these sweet recipes! These also work as great treats to bring to troop celebrations or cookie rallies, and most of the recipes are simple enough to do together as troop if you have access to a kitchen during your meetings—so think of it as research. Very delicious research.

Save it for later!

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Thin Mints®

Thin Mint Brownies

Recipe by: Little Brownie Bakers

Use this Girl Scout Cookie favorite for a minty twist on a classic chocolate dessert.

Yields: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 box of crushed Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies
• 1 box of brownie mix
• 2 eggs (3 eggs for cake-like brownies)
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil

Crush Thin Mints into medium size chunks. Mix all ingredients into mixing bowl. Do not use electric mixer — batter will be stiff. Spread batter evenly in greased baking pan (13 x 9 x 2 inch). Bake in center of oven at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting. Serve with mint-flavored tea.

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Samoas®

Samoas Truffles

Recipe by: Jody of thehobbyroomdiaries

These scrumptious bites are a decadent blend of dark chocolate, toasted coconut, and bacon.

Yields: 1 dozen 1 and 1/2-inch truffles
Prep: 90 minutes (30 minutes hands-on)

Ingredients:

• 14 Samoas Girl Scout Cookies (one box minus one cookie)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/3 cup coconut milk cream (the thick cream on the top of a can of coconut milk)
• 3 strips smoked bacon
• 8 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate

Instructions:

1. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat and add the shredded coconut. Toast, stirring frequently, until golden brown—this will take about five minutes. Coconut can burn quickly and easily, so keep an eye on it. Once toasted, pour the coconut in a bowl to cool and return the pan to the heat and add the bacon.

2. Cook the bacon until browned and crispy. Place the crisped bacon on a paper towel to drain and let cool. Once the bacon is cool to the touch, crumble into small pieces and set aside.

3. While the bacon cooks, add the cookies to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the cookies are finely chopped. Add the coconut milk and 1/3 cup of the toasted coconut to the bowl and pulse until fully combined.

4. Using a 1 1/2-inch cookie scoop (or a large melon-baller) portion the truffle filling onto a parchment-lined baking tray and once all the filling has been scooped, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

5. Once the truffle filling has firmed-up, remove from the refrigerator and prepare the chocolate. Place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl and microwave on high in one-minute increments until almost fully melted, and then stir until smooth.

6. To coat the truffles, take one ball and roll lightly between your palms to smooth any rough edges, then place in the chocolate and quickly roll to coat with a small fork. Using the fork or a toothpick, pick up the truffle and briefly let any excess drip back into the bowl, then place on a piece of parchment. Sprinkle with the reserved toasted coconut and place a couple bacon pieces on the top.

7. Repeat the chocolate coating and garnishing for all remaining truffles. You will likely have leftover chocolate, so scrape the remaining chocolate onto an open spot of the parchment you are using and top with the remaining coconut and bacon for a bonus treat (also add crumbled bits of the extra Samoa cookie if it’s still available, wink wink).

8. Chill the finished truffles to set and serve as soon as the chocolate has hardened.

Try this! For a tasty cookie alternative, try making Samoa Apple Slices! All you need is an apple, some caramel sauce, coconut flakes, semisweet chocolate chips, and a little butter or shortening. Core the apple and slice it into rings. Combine caramel and coconut flakes in your desired ratio. Spoon the mixture onto the apple rings. Then melt the chocolate chips and butter in the microwave and drizzle over the top. Yum! For the full recipe, visit Delish.

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Tagalongs®

Nutty Caramel Turtles

Recipe by: Michele Kusma via GSUSA

Yields: 1 dozen
Prep: 10 min. Bake: 5 min. + standing

Ingredients:

• 3 milk chocolate candy bars (1.55 ounces each)
• 12 caramels
• 60 pecan halves
• 12 Girl Scout Tagalongs® cookies

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250°. Break each chocolate bar into fourths. Place each piece 2 in. apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Top with one caramel.

Bake 5-7 minutes or until caramel just starts to soften. Immediately press one pecan half on one side for head; press four pecan halves onto each corner for legs. Place one Peanut Tagalongs® cookie over the top of each candy, pressing down to secure. Let stand until set

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Do-si-dos®

Peanut Caramel Thumbprint No Bake Cookies

Recipe by: Janet Gill via GSUSA

Since these cookies don’t require an oven, they’re great to make with Daisy and Brownie Girl Scouts. Just be sure to check for any nut allergies in your troop before attempting.

Yields: 2 dozen
Prep: 30 min. + chilling

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup peanut butter chips
• 1 cup dry roasted peanuts
• 1 package (8 ounces) Girl Scout Do-si-dos® cookies
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 20 caramels
• 2 tablespoons half-and-half cream
• 1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon shortening
• Line 24 miniature muffin cups with paper liners.
• Pastry piping bags or food safe plastic bag

Instructions:

Microwave peanut butter chips until melted. Pulse peanuts in a food processor until chopped. Reserve 3/4 cup. Pulse Do-si-dos® cookies in processor with remaining peanuts until fine crumbs form. Add softened butter, peanut butter and melted peanut butter chips; pulse until mixture is consistency of soft cookie dough. Meanwhile, microwave caramels and cream until smooth.

Roll tablespoonfuls of peanut butter mixture into balls; roll in reserved chopped peanuts to cover. Place balls in paper-lined muffin cups. Press a deep indentation in center of each with your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon handle. Cut a small hole in the tip of a pastry bag or in a corner of a food-safe plastic bag; transfer caramel mixture to bag. Pipe into indentations.

Microwave chocolate chips with shortening until smooth. Transfer chocolate mixture to a pastry bag or a food-safe plastic bag with the corner cut; drizzle over cookies. Refrigerate muffin cups at least 30 minutes before removing cookies. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

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Trefoils®

Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread

The simplicity of shortbread is what often makes this lightly sweet, buttery cookie a favorite. It goes well all by itself with a cup of tea or coffee (for the adults). For fancy occasions (say, a Daisy troop tea party), try dressing it up a bit by dipping one half in chocolate.

Ingredients:

• 1 box Trefoils cookies
• ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips or white vanilla baking chips
• 1 teaspoon shortening or vegetable oil

Instructions:

In a 1-quart saucepan, melt chocolate chips and shortening over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Alternatively, in small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and shortening uncovered on High 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until melted; stir until smooth.

Dip half a cookie in the chocolate; allow excess to drip back into the pan. Then place the cookie on a waxed paper-lined plate, tray, or cookie sheet. Chill the cookies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to set the chocolate.

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Savannah Smiles®

Savannah Smiles Lavender Lemon Gooey Bars

Recipe by: Jessie of Jessie Next Door

This particular recipe is somewhat time intensive, but the results are sure to make you smile!

Ingredients:

The Crust

• 1 1/2 boxes Savannah Smiles (the full box of cookies should be crushed finely, the 1/2 box crushed into larger crumbs)
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 2 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

The Lemon Curd:

• 5 egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 lemons, zested and juiced
• 1 stick butter, cut into pats and chilled

The Whipped Cream:

• 1 tablespoon dried lavender buds
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract red and blue food coloring, if desired)

Instructions:

1. Heat the heavy cream and lavender buds in a small saucepan over low heat, and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and cover. Let cream steep for one hour. Strain cream, and chill for at least 2 hours, or until completely cold.

2. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

3. Chop the dried lavender buds into fine, small pieces.

4. Mix together the fine cookie crumbs (reserving the remaining 1/2 box for later), flour, melted butter, and lavender. Press into the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes.

5. While crust is baking, fill a medium saucepan with one inch of water. Bring water to a simmer over medium-high heat.

6. While water is heating, whisk egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl (choose one large enough to fit over the saucepan, without touching the water). Whisk until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the lemon zest and juice. (Lemon juice should equal about 1/3 cup – if you don’t have enough just add cold water.) Whisk until smooth.

7. Once the water has begun to simmer, reduce heat to low. Place bowl on top of saucepan, and whisk mixture until it’s thickened, light yellow in color and could coat the back of a spoon. This should take about 8 minutes.

8. Remove from heat. Add the butter piece by piece, whisking each pat in so that it’s melted before adding the next one.

9. Pour curd onto crust and bake for another 20-25 minutes, or until curd is set and turning golden brown on the edges.

10. Remove bars from oven and immediately sprinkle remaining cookie crumbs on top (these should be chopped a little rougher than the first). Press crumbs down slightly if needed. Let bars cool and set.

11. While bars are cooling, add vanilla and a few drops of food coloring (if desired) to heavy cream, and whip until soft peaks form. Add sugar and whip until peaks are stiff. (Note: Make sure cream is thoroughly chilled, or it won’t whip correctly.

12. Serve the lavender whipped cream with bars, and enjoy!

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Toffee-tastic™

Gluten Free Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

Simple. Classic. Cool.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Toffee-tastic cookies
• Vanilla gluten-free ice cream

Instructions:

Set the ice cream out from the freezer to soften (but don’t let it melt!). Spoon ice cream onto the back of a cookie and top with another. Repeat with the rest of the cookies. Place the sandwiches on a tray and put the tray in the freezer for about 30 minutes to set.

Try this! Like Trefoils, the crunchy texture of Toffee-tastic lend themselves well to being dipped in chocolate. Coat the entire cookie in chocolate, chill for 30 minutes, then add ice cream.

Try this too! Substitute the Toffee-tastic cookies for any of your favorite Girl Scout Cookies. Thin Mints lend themselves well to this particular task. You can even make your own homemade ice cream to sandwich between them. Check out the Mini Thin Mints Mocha Ice Cream Sandwiches recipe from GSUSA.

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Girl Scout S’mores

S’mores hold a very special place in Girl Scout history. The first-known recorded version of a “s’mores” recipe can be found in an official Girl Scout publication from 1927. So cool! The recipe is credited to Loretta Scott Crew, who reportedly made s’mores by the campfire for a group of Girl Scouts. Originally called “some mores,” it is unknown when the name was shortened to “s’mores,” but recipes using the longer name can be found in various Girl Scout publications up through 1971.

S’mores Remix

Chocolate, marshmallow, graham cracker – every Girl Scout knows the key ingredients to the classic s’more. But after decades of making the gooey treats, we know there are campfire gurus out there ready to take it to the next level. You may have missed tasting the limited edition Girl Scout S’mores cookie this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have s’more fun! Start with the basic recipe and add specialty ingredients, or swap out the graham crackers for Girl Scout Cookies, like Samoas! See the list below for suggestions.

Basic S’mores Ingredients:

1 box graham crackers
1 bag marshmallows
3 chocolate bars

S’mores Remix Ingredients:

• Samoas (or your favorite Girl Scout Cookies!)
• Salted caramel sauce
• Pretzels
• Peanut or almond butter
• Fruit slices, like strawberries or bananas
• Dark, white, or other flavored chocolate
• Coconut flakes
• Cinnamon graham crackers
• Chocolate mint patties
• Brie or cream cheese
• Breakfast cereal mixed into marshmallow fluff
• Blackberry jam
• Bacon

Stack your s’mores together, arrange on a cookie sheet, and place under the broiler for a few minutes until toasty.

Another way to enjoy Girl Scout Cookies (besides straight from the box): crumble any variety of Girl Scout cookies as a crunchy topping for an ice cream sundae or frozen yogurt parfait. Find more recipes on the GSUSA Blog or Little Brownie Bakers.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy Girl Scout Cookies? Share your favorite recipes in the comments!

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Ash Redfield—Ash is the Digital Marketing and Social Media Coordinator for Girl Scouts of Northern California, where they’re constantly planning, creating, and managing awesome content for social media. After graduating from Mills College (a women’s college in Oakland), Ash joined the Girl Scout movement where they love being part of a team that helps girls unlock their potential and continuing that legacy of women’s leadership. They have spent much of their life exploring Northern California, especially the Bay Area, so when not behind a blue-lit screen, you’ll probably find them hiking through a local park or at a café planning their next road trip.