THIN MINTS GIRL SCOUT COOKIES BROWNIES: Girl Scout Day

Today is Girl Scout Day! 

 

I enjoy seeing the girls in their green uniforms and/or mothers and fathers hawking the taste of the season: Girl Scout Cookies. I was a Brownie and a Girl Scout, and I used to pound the pavement selling and then delivering Girl Scout Cookies door to door. 

I have seen them out and about, but not as plentiful as they used to be. Times change. But don't fear, you can still order Girl Scout Cookies online. Even if the actual selling of the cookies has changed, the cookies are still good. And, there are a few new ones this year. Scroll down for the 2026 Cookies. Be sure to check them out and let me know.

Anyway, by this time of year, I have a cupboard filled with Samoas, Tagalongs, and Thin Mints.. well, not the cupboard for the Thin Mints. I put them in the freezer. I've been freezing my Thin Mints for more years than I want to remember. Not that they're being frozen for future times. I just like the taste best that way. It's no secret that my favorite cookies are Thin Mints. Several years ago on the 100th Anniversary of the Girl Scouts, I posted a recipe for Thin Mint Truffles. So easy and delicious.

So this year, I'm posting a recipe for Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies Brownies. Plenty of other ways to incorporate Girl Scout Cookies. Be sure and scroll down for more tips!

Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies Brownies

Ingredients
3/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 eggs
1/2 Box Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies, crushed into small chunks

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter 9”x9” square baking pan.
In double boiler over low heat, melt butter and chocolate together and remove from heat.
In separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.
When chocolate/butter mixture has cooled a little, whisk in eggs and vanilla. Note: it is important to cool chocolate/butter mixture or eggs will cook.
Add rest of dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
Pour batter into prepared baking pan.
Bake 40-45 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.

Other things to do with Girl Scout Cookies:
Crush them up and use them as ice cream toppings, in cakes and cookies, truffles and brownies.
Girl Scout Cookies are also great to use as pie crusts, in the same way you'd make a chocolate wafer cookie crust or graham cracker crust. Yum.

So which cookies will you buy? 

2026 Girl Scout Cookies (Check out the New Ones)

GIRL SCOUT COOKIE WINE, BEER, AND SPIRIT PAIRINGS!

In my 'real' life, I often facilitate chocolate pairings -- with wine or with beer - and sometimes with Scotch and other Spirits. So since it's Girl Scout Cookie Time, I thought I'd do a mini-round-up of Girl Scout Cookie/ alcohol pairings, focusing on my favorite Girl Scout Cookie - Thin Mints.

Vivino is a wine app that allows users (over 13 million members) to snap a shot of a wine label or list and receive ratings and reviews. They've also put together a guide to pairing wine with other Girl Scout cookies. How awesome is this? Since my favorite Girl Scout Cookies are Thin Mints, I immediately checked that one out. Be sure and look at the entire list or get the app. Quite fun! You can do a pairing at home! Invite friends.

Babble has an infograph (on the right)

So maybe you're not a wine drinker. You're more of a stout or ale type of person? Beer & Brewing has a great pairing for you. Once again, there are several pairings, but I'm sticking with Thin Mints. Recommendation from Beer & Brewing consists of several stouts and ales.

Perennial Artisan Ales 17
Alesmith Speedway Stout
Shipyard Mint Chocolate Stout
Epic Big Bad Baptist
Hardywood Sidamo Coffee Stout

I would add Speakeasy Chocolate Stout, and be sure and put the Thin Mints in the Freezer before your pairing. I think it enhances the tasting flavors. Check out other Girl Scout Cookie/Beer pairings here.

O.K. So maybe you're a Bourbon drinker? The Bourbon Review suggests Thin Mints & Basil Hayden's Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Be sure and go to Bourbon Review if you're partial to another cookie.

Scotch? Lagavulin goes well with Thin Mints.

GIRL SCOUT COOKIES: History and Recipe for Thin Mint Truffles

I was both a Brownie and a Girl Scout. Of course that makes me a huge fan of Thin Mints (it's Girl Scout Cookie Time), so here's a special post to celebrate. The "Badge" on the right is from the 100th Anniversary several years ago.

As a Brownie and Girl Scout, I trudged around selling cookies door to door by myself. There were no cookies being sold on street corners, nor were there any fathers (or mothers) coercing colleagues or employees to buy multiple boxes, although as a pediatrician, my father could have sold a lot of boxes for me. No, we were responsible for the sale and the delivery of those boxes of cookies. Since I wanted to sell a lot in order to be the 'highest' seller in my area (which I never was), I remember going very far afield one year. My mother actually had to help me deliver that year, especially because she was so astounded by how far afield I had gone. We lived in the city, where neighborhoods changed block by block. No matter, it never occurred to me not to knock on any door. Good thing I didn't read adult mysteries or watch the news then. I must have been a Brownie, because I was only a girl scout after we moved to the suburbs. So when I started selling Girl Scout Cookies, I had to be about 8. Times were different. I wore my uniform and with that I was fearless. Kind of like superwoman only my costume was more modest. Still it protected me! In those times, it was all about selling the most cookies, not worrying about the deviant at the door. I got through my sales unscathed except for the development of my fondness for Chocolate Mint Cookies (now Thin Mints). Yum! Thin Mints make up over 24% of Girl Scout Cookies sales. No surprise to me. 

A little history of the Girl Scouts. Juliette Gordon Low rounded up her first troop on March 12, 1912, a time when few women held jobs and only six states allowed them to vote. "Girl Scouting from its inception was forward-looking. Although it was  rooted in domesticity, it always opened further paths to women."

The first Girl Scout handbook, published in 1913, encouraged girls to shoot rifles and gave instructions for tying up intruders. My kind of group! The original Scouts took camping trips and played basketball on outdoor courts shrouded from public view by curtains hung so that men couldn't glimpse the girls in their bloomers. O.K., I'm not much for group sports, but luckily by my time that wasn't necessary since we had gym in school. Outdoor activity also included gardening, and learning the difference between poisonous and non-poisonous mushrooms was in the first handbook. Good to know.

Lest you think that the first Girl Guides in the US (later changed to the Girl Scouts) were not also being trained to be wives and mothers, Juliette Gordon Low had the Girls learn about cooking and preserving food. She wanted them to know how to run a sterile kitchen. She taught about nursing—taking care of invalids and sick children—and sewing. Anything that a wife and mother should do she thought she could train her girls to do better.

Low understood how it was possible that any woman might find herself in the situation of needing to take care of herself. So, she emphasized career training for girls. Some of the early badges were about flying, typing, telegraph skills and farming.

Hillary Rodham Clinton was a Girl Scout, as was Laura Bush. Barbara Walters, Peggy Fleming, Venus Williams and Mariah Carey all wore Girl Scout uniforms, as did at least seven astronauts, 17 current and former members of Congress, and numerous executives and CEOs.

I'm proud to count myself within the ranks! 

And, now we have the merged organization called Scouts which includes both boys and girls. This year we had several girls reach Eagle Scout. Congratulations!

Girl Scout Cookies

The first cookie sales by an individual Scout unit was by the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma in December 1912. In 1922, the Girl Scout magazine The American Girl suggested cookie sales as a fund-raiser and provided recipes. The first Girl Scout cookie recipe was a sugar cookie. 

Early Girl Scout Sugar Cookie® Recipe

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar plus additional amount for topping (optional)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder


Cream butter and the cup of sugar; add well-beaten eggs, then milk, vanilla, flour, salt, and baking powder. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Roll dough, cut into trefoil shapes, and sprinkle sugar on top, if desired. Bake in a quick oven (375°) for approximately 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Makes six- to seven-dozen cookies.


In 1934, Girl Scout Cookies went commercial when the Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia Council (my council, but not my time) became the first council to sell commercially baked cookies in the city's gas and electric company windows. By 1937, over 125 councils nationwide held cookie sales, with the trefoil-shaped Shortbread as the first official Girl Scout Cookie. Cookie Sales taught girls leadership and life skills such as entrepreneurship, money management and goal setting.

Despite flour, butter, and sugar shortages caused by World War II, the Girl Scout Cookie program prevailed. In 1942 there were 48 cookies per box, available in either vanilla or chocolate. Customers were limited to two boxes during some war years.

In 1951, two other Girl Scout Cookies were introduced to the world—in addition to Shortbreads, the public could also purchase Cream-filled Sandwiches and in 1954 Chocolate Mints (now called Thin Mints) were introduced. Some bakeries even offered optional flavors to their respective councils.

Read more about Girl Scout Cookies.

Because of the pandemic, I'm not sure any Scouts are selling cookies at the bank and in the mall.  I had to purchase my supply of Thin Mints from neighborhood children. You can also order online.

And I found this great sign on etsy that I must have.

Of course, I just have to post another recipe here--Thin Mint Truffles from The Hungry Housewife. This recipe calls for a final coating of cookie crumbs, but you can also dip the truffles in dark chocolate with chocolate sprinkles or roll them in cocoa.

Thin Mint Truffles

1/2 box of Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies (1 sleeve) + 3 cookies
4 oz Cream Cheese, softened

In food processor, process 1 sleeve Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies until they resemble course sand.
Transfer mixture to large bowl and add cream cheese. Mix together by hand until fully incorporated. Scoop out by tablespoon (or use small scoop) and roll into nice ball in your hands to form truffles.
Pulse extra 3 cookies in the food processor until resembles course sand and place in small bowl. Roll truffles in processed cookie crumbs to coat.
Chill coated truffles for at least hour to set up.... or overnight for flavors to really develop with the cream cheese.

Thin Mint Cookie S'mores: National Chocolate Mint Day

Today is National Chocolate Mint Day. So many Chocolate Mint recipes, but my favorite Chocolate Mint Cookies are Girl Scout Cookies Thin Mints. And, it's Girl Scout Cookie Time! Girl Scouts invented S'mores, so this recipe from the the Campfire Marshmallow website for Mint Chocolate Cookie S'mores using Girl Scout Thin Mints is a great and easy way to celebrate!

THIN MINT COOKIE S'MORES

Ingredients
Mint Chocolate Cookies (Girl Scout Thin Mints)
Regular Campfire Marshmallows

Directions
Place cookie face side down on plate.
Carefully toast marshmallow over grill or campfire (or oven).
Place toasted marshmallow on cookie and top with second cookie. Press gently.

How easy is that?

THIN MINT GIRL SCOUT COOKIE BROWNIES

You can't miss them. Every street corner, every park, every office is filled with girls in green uniforms and/or mothers and fathers hawking the taste of the season: Girl Scout Cookies.

Girl Scout Cookies are hard for me to pass up. I was a Brownie and a Girl Scout, and I used to pound the pavement selling and then delivering door to door. Those were different times, but not the cookies. I still love them. Anyway, by this time of year, I have a cupboard filled with Samoas, Tagalongs and Thin Mints ... well, not the cupboard for the Thin Mints. I put them in the freezer. I've been freezing my Thin Mints for more years than I want to remember. Not that they're being frozen for future times. I just think they taste best that way. It's no secret that my favorite cookies are Thin Mints. Several years ago on the 100th Anniversary of the Girl Scouts, I posted a recipe for Thin Mint Truffles. So easy and delicious.

So this year, I thought I'd post a recipe for Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies Brownies. Plenty of other ways to use Girl Scout Cookies. Be sure and scroll down for more tips!

Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie Brownies

Ingredients
3/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 eggs
1/2 Box Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies, crushed into small chunks

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter 9”x9” square baking pan.
In double boiler over low heat, melt butter and chocolate together and remove from heat.
In separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.
When chocolate/butter mixture has cooled a little, whisk in eggs and vanilla. Note: it is important to cool chocolate/butter mixture or eggs will cook.
Add rest of dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
Pour batter into prepared baking pan.
Bake 40-45 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.

Other things to do with Girl Scout Cookies:
Crush them up and use them as ice cream toppings, in cakes and cookies, truffles and brownies.
Girl Scout Cookies are also great to use as pie crusts, in the same way you'd make a chocolate wafer cookie crust or graham cracker crust. Yum.

So which cookies will you buy?

THIN MINT COCKTAILS

Thin Mints are my favorite Girl Scout Cookies. In case you just want your cookies and alcohol blended into a cocktail, here are two recipes for Thin Mint Cocktails.Let me know which one you like best!

Thin Mint Martini

1 tsp chocolate syrup
1 ounce peppermint schnapps
2 ounces chocolate liqueur
2 ounces half & half

Drizzle chocolate syrup around and inside edge of martini glass. Put glass in freezer
Fill cocktail shaker with ice. Pour peppermint schnapps, chocolate liqueur, and 1/2 and 1/2 into shaker. cover, shake, and strain martini into prepared glass.

Thin Mint Cocktail

In cocktail shaker, put 2 chopped springs of fresh mint and 1.5 ounces vodka.
Add 1-12 ounces Baileys, 1 Tbsp chocolate syrup, and ice. Shake. Add more chocolate if needed. Add some chocolate syrup at bottom of cocktail glass.

THIN MINTS: Wine, Beer, and Spirit Pairings

In my 'real' life  (www.teambuilding-unlimited.com), I facilitate chocolate pairings--with wine or with beer..and sometimes with Scotch and other Spirits. So because it's the weekend, I thought I'd do a mini-round-up of Girl Scout Cookie/ alcohol pairings and drinks, focusing on my favorite Girl Scout Cookie - Thin Mints.

Vivino is a wine app that allows users (over 13 million members) to snap a shot of a wine label or list and receive ratings and reviews. They've also put together a guide to pairing wine with other Girl Scout cookies. How awesome is this? Since my favorite Girl Scout Cookies are Thin Mints, I immediately checked that out. Be sure and look at the entire list or get the app. Quite fun! You can do a pairing at home! Invite friends.

Babble has an infograph (on the right)

So maybe you're not a wine drinker. You're more of a stout or ale type of person? Beer & Brewing has a great pairing for you, with a 2019 update. Once again, there are several pairings, but I'm sticking with Thin Mints. Recommendation from Beer & Brewing consists of several stouts and ales.

Perennial Artisan Ales 17
Alesmith Speedway Stout
Shipyard Mint Chocolate Stout
Epic Big Bad Baptist
Hardywood Sidamo Coffee Stout

I would add Speakeasy Chocolate Stout, and be sure and put the Thin Mints in the Freezer before your pairing. I think it enhances the tasting flavors. Check out other Girl Scout Cookie/Beer pairings here.

O.K.  So maybe you're a Bourbon drinker?  The Bourbon Review suggests Thin Mints & Basil Hayden's Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Be sure and go to Bourbon Review if you're partial to another cookie.

Scotch? Lagavulin goes well with Thin Mints.

GIRL SCOUT THIN MINT COOKIES BROWNIES

You can't miss them. Every street corner, every park, every office is filled with girls in green uniforms and/or mothers and fathers hawking the taste of the season: Girl Scout Cookies.

Girl Scout Cookies are hard for me to pass up. I was a Brownie and a Girl Scout, and I used to pound the pavement selling and then delivering door to door. Those were different times, but not the cookies. I still love them. Anyway, by this time of year, I have a cupboard filled with Samoas, Tagalongs and Thin Mints.. well, not the cupboard for the Thin Mints. I put them in the freezer. I've been freezing my Thin Mints for more years than I want to remember. Not that they're being frozen for future times. I just think they taste best that way. It's no secret that my favorite cookies are Thin Mints. Several years ago on the 100th Anniversary of the Girl Scouts, I posted a recipe for Thin Mint Truffles. So easy and delicious.

So this year, I thought I'd post a recipe for Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies Brownies. Plenty of other ways to use Girl Scout Cookies. Be sure and scroll down for more tips!

Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies Brownies

Ingredients
3/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 eggs
1/2 Box Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies, crushed into small chunks

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter 9”x9” square baking pan.
In double boiler over low heat, melt butter and chocolate together and remove from heat.
In separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.
When chocolate/butter mixture has cooled a little, whisk in eggs and vanilla. Note: it is important to cool chocolate/butter mixture or eggs will cook.
Add rest of dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
Pour batter into prepared baking pan.
Bake 40-45 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.

Other things to do with Girl Scout Cookies:
Crush them up and use them as ice cream toppings, in cakes and cookies, truffles and brownies.
Girl Scout Cookies are also great to use as pie crusts, in the same way you'd make a chocolate wafer cookie crust or graham cracker crust. Yum.

So which cookies will you buy? 

2019 Girl Scout Cookies

Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies: Wine, Beer, Bourbon & Scotch Pairings

In my 'real' life  (www.teambuilding-unlimited.com),  I facilitate chocolate pairings--with wine or with beer..and sometimes with Scotch and other spirits. So because it's the weekend, I thought I'd do a mini-round-up of Girl Scout Cookie alcohol pairings and drinks, focusing on my favorite Girl Scout Cookie - Thin Mints.

Vivino is a wine app that allows users (over 13 million members) to snap a shot of a wine label or list and receive ratings and reviews. They've also put together a guide to pairing wine with Girl Scout cookies. How awesome is this? Since my favorite Girl Scout Cookies are Thin Mints, so I immediately checked that out. Be sure and look at the entire list or get the app. Quite fun! One of the Napa wineries is doing a Girl Scout Cookie and Wine Pairing next week to the tune of $125 per person. I'm sure it will be fun, but you can do this for much less at home! Invite friends.

So maybe you're not a wine drinker. You're more of a stout or ale type of person? Beer & Brewing has a great pairing for you, with a 2018 update. Once again, there are several pairings, but I'm sticking with Thin Mints. Recommendation from Beer & Brewing consists of several stouts and ales.
Perennial Artisan Ales 17
Alesmith Speedway Stout
Shipyard Mint Chocolate Stout
Epic Big Bad Baptist
Hardywood Sidamo Coffee Stout
I would add Speakeasy Chocolate Stout, and be sure and put the Thin Mints in the Freezer before your pairing. I think it enhances the tasting flavors. Check out all the other Girl Scout Cookie pairings here.

O.K.  So maybe you're a Bourbon drinker?  The Bourbon Review suggests Thin Mints & Basil Hayden's Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Be sure and go to Bourbon Review if you're partial to another cookie.

Scotch?  Lagavulin goes well with Thin Mints.

In case you just want your cookies and alcohol blended into a cocktail, here are two recipes for Thin Mint Cocktails. Yes!

Thin Mint Martini

1 tsp chocolate syrup
1 ounce peppermint schnapps
2 ounces chocolate liqueur
2 ounces half & half

Drizzle chocolate syrup around and inside edge of martini glass. Put glass in freezer
Fill cocktail shaker with ice. Pour peppermint schnapps, chocolate liqueur, and 1/2 and 1/2 into shaker. cover, shake, and strain martini into prepared glass.

Thin Mint Cocktail
(recipe from Drinking in America)
In cocktail shaker, put 2 chopped springs of fresh mint and 1.5 ounces vodka. Add 1-12 ounces Baileys, 1 Tbsp chocolate syrup, and ice. Shake. Add more chocolate if needed. Add some chocolate syrup at bottom of cocktail glass.

Thin Mint Brownies: Girl Scout Cookie Time!

You can't miss them. Every street corner, every park, every office is filled with girls in green uniforms and/or mothers and fathers hawking the taste of the season: Girl Scout Cookies.

Girl Scout Cookies are hard for me to pass up. I was a Brownie and a Girl Scout, and I used to pound the pavement selling and then delivering. I was on a mission, and I went door to door alone. Those were different times, but not the cookies. I still love them. Anyway, by this time of year,  I have a cupboard filled with Samoas, Tagalongs and Thin Mints.. well, not the cupboard for the Thin Mints. I put them in the freezer. I've been freezing my Thin Mints for more years than you can imagine. Not that they're being frozen for future times. I just think they taste better that way. It's no secret that my favorite cookies are Thin Mints.

Here's a fun recipe for Thin Mints--Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies Brownies.  Plenty of other ways to use Girl Scout Cookies. Be sure and scroll down for more tips!

Thin Mint Brownies

Ingredients
3/4 cup sweet butter
3/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1/2 Box Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies, crushed into small pieces

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter 9”x9” square baking pan.
In double boiler over low heat, melt butter and chocolate together and remove from heat.
In separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.
When chocolate/butter mixture has cooled a little, whisk in eggs and vanilla.
Note: it is important to cool chocolate/butter mixture or eggs will cook.
Add rest of dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
Pour batter into prepared baking pan.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted into center comes out clean.

Other things to do with Thin Mints:
Crush them up and use them as ice cream toppings or in cakes and cookies, truffles, and brownies.
Girl Scout Cookies are also great to use as pie crusts, in the same way you'd make a chocolate wafer cookie crust or graham cracker crust. Yum.

Girl Scout Cookies: Wine, Beer, and Bourbon Pairings and Thin Mint Cocktail Recipes

Yesterday I posted about the History of the Girl Scouts and Girl Scout Cookies. In my 'real' life I facilitate chocolate pairings--with wine or with beer..and sometimes with Scotch and other spirits. So with the weekend coming up, I thought I'd do a mini-round-up of Girl Scout Cookie alcohol pairings, focusing on Thin Mints.


Vivino is a wine app that allows users (over 13 million members) to snap a shot of a wine label or list and receive ratings and reviews. They've also put together a guide to pairing wine with Girl Scout cookies. How awesome is this? My favorite Girl Scout Cookies are Thin Mints, so I immediately checked that out. Be sure and look at the entire list or get the app. Quite fun!

So maybe you're not a wine drinker. You're more of a stout or ale type of person? Beer & Brewing has a great pairing for you, with a 2016 update. Once again, there are several pairings, but I'm sticking with Thin Mints. Recommendation from Beer & Brewing consists of several stouts and ales.
Perennial Artisan Ales 17
Alesmith Speedway Stout
Shipyard Mint Chocolate Stout
Epic Big Bad Baptist
Hardywood Sidamo Coffee Stout
I would add Speakeasy Chocolate Stout, and be sure and put the Thin Mints in the Freezer before your pairing. I think it enhances the tasting flavors. Check out all the other Girl Scout Cookie pairings here.

O.K. And maybe you're a Bourbon drinker?  The Bourbon Review suggests Thin Mints & Basil Hayden's Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Be sure and go to Bourbon Review if you're partial to another cookie.

Scotch?  Lagavulin goes well with Thin Mints.

In case you just want your cookies and alcohol blended into a cocktail, here are two recipes for Thin Mint Cocktails. Yes!

Thin Mint Martini

1 tsp chocolate syrup
1 ounce peppermint schnapps
2 ounces chocolate liqueur
2 ounces half & half

Drizzle chocolate syrup around and inside edge of martini glass. Put glass in freezer
Fill cocktail shaker with ice. Pour peppermint schnapps, chocolate liqueur, and 1/2 and 1/2 into shaker. cover, shake, and strain martini into prepared glass.

Thin Mint Cocktail
(recipe from Drinking in America)
In cocktail shaker, put 2 chopped springs of fresh mint and 1.5 ounces vodka. Add 1-12 ounces Baileys, 1 Tbsp chocolate syrup, and ice. Shake. Add more chocolate if needed. Add some chocolate syrup at bottom of cocktail glass.

History of Girl Scout Cookies & Recipe for Thin Mint Truffles

I was both a Brownie and a Girl Scout, and I'm a huge fan of Thin Mints (it's Girl Scout Cookie Time).

As a Brownie and Girl Scout, I trudged around selling cookies door to door by myself. There were no cookies being sold on street corners, nor were there any fathers (or mothers) coercing colleagues or employees to buy multiple boxes, although as a pediatrician, my father could have sold a lot of boxes for me. No, we were responsible for the sale--and the delivery- of those boxes. Since I wanted to sell a lot in order to be the 'highest' seller in my area (which I never was), I remember going very far afield one year. My mother actually had to help me deliver that year, and she was astounded by how far I had gone. We lived in the city, where neighborhoods changed block by block. No matter, it never occurred to me not to knock on any door. Good thing I didn't read adult mysteries or watch the news then. I must have been a Brownie, because I was only a girl scout after we moved to the suburbs. So I was under 10. Times were different. I wore my uniform and with that I was fearless. Kind of like superwoman only my costume was more modest. Still it protected me! In those times, it was all about selling the most cookies, not worrying about the deviant at the door. I got through my sales unscathed except for the development of my fondness for Chocolate Mint Cookies (now Thin Mints). Yum! Thin Mints make up over 24% of Girl Scout Cookies sales. No surprise to me. 

A little history of the Girl Scouts. Juliette Gordon Low rounded up her first troop on March 12, 1912, a time when few women held jobs and only six states allowed them to vote. "Girl Scouting from its inception was forward-looking. Although it was  rooted in domesticity, it always opened further paths to women."

The first Girl Scout handbook, published in 1913, encouraged girls to shoot rifles and gave instructions for tying up intruders. My kind of group! The original Scouts took camping trips and played basketball on outdoor courts shrouded from public view by curtains hung so that men couldn't glimpse the girls in their bloomers. O.K., I'm not much for group sports, but luckily by my time that wasn't necessary since we had gym in school. Outdoor activity also included gardening, and learning the difference between poisonous and non-poisonous mushrooms was in the first handbook. Good to know.

Lest you think that the first Girl Guides in the US (later changed to the Girl Scouts) were not also being trained to be wives and mothers, Juliette Gordon Low had the Girls learn about cooking and preserving food. She wanted them to know how to run a sterile kitchen. She taught about nursing—taking care of invalids and sick children—and sewing. Anything that a wife and mother should do she thought she could train her girls to do better.


Low understood how it was possible that any woman might find herself in the situation of needing to take care of herself. So, she emphasized career training for girls. Some of the early badges were about flying, typing, telegraph skills and farming.

Hillary Rodham Clinton was a Girl Scout, as was Laura Bush. Barbara Walters, Peggy Fleming, Venus Williams and Mariah Carey all wore Girl Scout uniforms, as did at least seven astronauts, 13 current and former members of Congress, and numerous executives and CEOs.

I'm proud to count myself within the ranks!

Girl Scout Cookies

The first cookie sales by an individual Scout unit was by the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma in December 1912. In 1922, the Girl Scout magazine The American Girl suggested cookie sales as a fund-raiser and provided recipes. The first Girl Scout cookie recipe was a sugar cookie. 

Early Girl Scout Sugar Cookie® Recipe

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar plus additional amount for topping (optional)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder


Cream butter and the cup of sugar; add well-beaten eggs, then milk, vanilla, flour, salt, and baking powder. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Roll dough, cut into trefoil shapes, and sprinkle sugar on top, if desired. Bake in a quick oven (375°) for approximately 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Makes six- to seven-dozen cookies.


In 1934, Girl Scout Cookies went commercial when the Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia Council (my council, but not my time) became the first council to sell commercially baked cookies in the city's gas and electric company windows. By 1937, over 125 councils nationwide held cookie sales, with the trefoil-shaped Shortbread as the first official Girl Scout Cookie. Cookie Sales taught girls leadership and life skills such as entrepreneurship, money management and goal setting.

Despite flour, butter and sugar shortages caused by World War II, the Girl Scout Cookie program prevailed. In 1942 there were 48 cookies per box, available in either vanilla or chocolate. Customers were limited to two boxes during some war years.

In 1951, two other Girl Scout Cookies were introduced to the world—in addition to Shortbreads, the public could also purchase Cream-filled Sandwiches and in 1954 Chocolate Mints (now called Thin Mints) were introduced. Some bakeries even offered optional flavors to their respective councils.

Read more about Girl Scout Cookies.

I stopped by the bank the other day, and there were Girl Scouts selling cookies. I resisted this time, as I already have a supply of Thin Mints purchased from neighborhood children. However, if you don't run into any Girl Scouts (how can you avoid them?), you can make this home-made version of Thin Mints that Pattie Tierney posted on Dying for Chocolate a few years ago.

And I found this great sign on etsy that I must have.

Of course, I just have to post another recipe here--Thin Mint Truffles from The Hungry Housewife. This recipe calls for a final coating of cookie crumbs, but you can also dip the truffles in dark chocolate with chocolate sprinkles or roll them in cocoa.

Thin Mint Truffles

1/2 box of Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies (1 sleeve) + 3 cookies
4 oz Cream Cheese, softened

In food processor, process 1 sleeve Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies until they resemble course sand.
Transfer mixture to large bowl and add cream cheese. Mix together by hand until fully incorporated. Scoop out by tablespoon (or use small scoop) and roll into nice ball in your hands to form truffles.
Pulse extra 3 cookies in the food processor until resembles course sand and place in small bowl. Roll truffles in processed cookie crumbs to coat.
Chill coated truffles for at least hour to set up.... or overnight for flavors to really develop with the cream cheese.

Girl Scouts 100th Anniversary: Thin Mint Truffles

Today is the is the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Girl Scouts. The original registration book shows 102 girls enlisted within just a few weeks. By 1914 there were 1000 Girl Scouts, then 5000 just a year later. By 1917, enrollment had swelled to 13,000, and today the girls number 3.3 million nationwide.

I was both a Brownie and a Girl Scout, and I'm a huge fan of Thin Mints (it's Girl Scout Cookie Time), so I had to do a post on this important Anniversary. As a Brownie and Girl Scout, I trudged around selling cookies door to door by myself. There were no cookies being sold on street corners, nor were there any fathers (or mothers) coercing colleagues or employees to buy multiple boxes, although as a pediatrician, my father could have sold a lot of boxes for me. No, we were responsible for the sale--and the delivery- of those boxes. Since I wanted to sell a lot in order to be the 'highest' seller in my area (I never was), I remember going very far afield one year. My mother actually had to help me deliver that year, and she was astounded by how far I had gone. We lived in the city, where neighborhoods changed block by block. No matter, it never occurred to me not to knock on any doors. Good thing I didn't read adult mysteries or watch the news then. I must have been a Brownie, because I was only a girl scout after we moved to the suburbs. So I was under 10. Times were different. I wore my uniform, and I had no fear. Kind of like superwoman only my costume was more modest. Still it protected me! In those times, it was all about selling the most cookies, not worrying about the deviant at the door. I got through my sales unscathed except for the development of my fondness for Chocolate Mints, now known as Thin Mints. Yum! Thin Mints make up over 24% of Girl Scout Cookies sales. No surprise to me. 

A little history of the Girl Scouts. Juliette Gordon Low rounded up her first troop on March 12, 1912, a time when few women held jobs and only six states allowed them to vote. "Girl Scouting from its inception was forward-looking. Although it was  rooted in domesticity, it always opened further paths to women."
The first Girl Scout handbook, published in 1913, encouraged girls to shoot rifles and gave instructions for tying up intruders. My kind of group! The original Scouts took camping trips and played basketball on outdoor courts shrouded from public view by curtains hung so that men couldn't glimpse the girls in their bloomers. O.K., I'm not much for group sports, but luckily by my time that wasn't necessary since we had gym in school. Outdoor activity also included gardening, and learning the difference between poisonous and non-poisonous mushrooms was in the first handbook. Good to know.

Lest you think that the first Girl Guides in the US (later changed to the Girl Scouts) were not also being trained to be wives and mothers, Juliette Gordon Low had the Girls learn about cooking and preserving food. She wanted them to know how to run a sterile kitchen. She taught about nursing—taking care of invalids and sick children—and sewing. Anything that a wife and mother should do she thought she could train her girls to do better.

Low understood how it was possible that any woman might find herself in the situation of needing to take care of herself. So, she emphasized career training for girls. Some of the early badges were about flying, typing, telegraph skills and farming.

Hillary Rodham Clinton was a Girl Scout, as was Laura Bush. Barbara Walters, Peggy Fleming, Venus Williams and Mariah Carey all wore Girl Scout uniforms, as did at least seven astronauts, 13 current and former members of Congress and numerous executives and CEOs.

I'm proud to count myself within the ranks!

Girl Scout Cookies

The first cookie sales by an individual Scout unit was by the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma in December 1912. In 1922, the Girl Scout magazine The American Girl suggested cookie sales as a fund-raiser and provided recipes. The first Girl Scout cookie recipe was a sugar cookie. 

Early Girl Scout Sugar Cookie® Recipe

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar plus additional amount for topping (optional)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder


Cream butter and the cup of sugar; add well-beaten eggs, then milk, vanilla, flour, salt, and baking powder. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Roll dough, cut into trefoil shapes, and sprinkle sugar on top, if desired. Bake in a quick oven (375°) for approximately 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Makes six- to seven-dozen cookies.


In 1934, Girl Scout Cookies went commercial when the Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia Council (my council, but not my time) became the first council to sell commercially baked cookies in the city's gas and electric company windows. By 1937, over 125 councils nationwide held cookie sales, with the trefoil-shaped Shortbread as the first official Girl Scout Cookie. Cookie Sales taught girls leadership and life skills such as entrepreneurship, money management and goal setting.

Despite flour, butter and sugar shortages caused by World War II, the Girl Scout Cookie program prevailed. In 1942 there were 48 cookies per box, available in either vanilla or chocolate. Customers were limited to two boxes during some war years.

In 1951, two other Girl Scout Cookies were introduced to the world—in addition to Shortbreads, the public could also purchase cream-filled Sandwiches and in 1954 Chocolate Mints (now called Thin Mints) were introduced. Some bakeries even offered optional flavors to their respective councils.

Read more about Girl Scout Cookies.

I stopped by the bank the other day, and there were Girl Scouts selling cookies. I resisted this time, as I already have a supply of Thin Mints purchased from neighborhood children. However, if you don't run into any Girl Scouts (how can you avoid them?), you can make this home-made version of Thin Mints that Pattie Tierney posted on Dying for Chocolate last year.

And I found this great sign on etsy that I must have.

Of course, I just to post at least one new recipe here. You must try Thin Mint Truffles from The Hungry Housewife. This recipe calls for a final coating of cookie crumbs, but you can also dip the truffles in dark chocolate with chocolate sprinkles or roll them in cocoa.

Thin Mint Truffles

1/2 box of Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies (1 sleeve) + 3 cookies
4 oz Cream Cheese, softened

In a food processor, process 1 sleeve of Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies until they resemble course sand.
Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the cream cheese. Mix together by hand until fully incorporated. Scoop out by the tablespoon (or use a small scoop) and roll into a nice ball in your hands to form truffles.
Pulse the extra 3 cookies in the food processor until it resembles course sand and place in a small bowl. Roll the truffles in the processed cookie crumbs to coat.
Chill coated truffles for at least an hour to set up.... or overnight for flavors to really develop with the cream cheese.

Girl Scout Cookies Lip Balm

My favorite Girl Scout Cookie is Thin Mints, of course. That shouldn't surprise anyone who reads DyingforChocolate.com, but this piece of chocolate news might.

Aspire Brands’ Lip Smacker has teamed up with Girl Scouts of the USA to develop their latest collection. The Girl Scout Lip Smackers inspired by Girl Scout Cookie flavors, features lip balms in five favorite flavors: Thin Mints, Trefoils, Peanut Butter (Do-si-dos), Chocolate Peanut Butter (Tagalongs), and Coconut Caramel Stripes (Samoas). Sold individually or in a set of five at Wal-mart.

In 2012, they will be available in liquid lip-gloss versions.

Which is your favorite lip balm cookie flavor?

Thin Mint Cookies from Pattie Tierney

Today I welcome back one of my favorite food bloggers, Pattie Tierney. Pattie and I share a love of mysteries and chocolate!  Be sure and check out her Blogs. Pattie has a passion for family, travel, dining, photography, gardening, making mystery and literary jewelry, and loves all things mysterious! Check out her blog Olla-Podrida for recipes, fabulous food photography and so much more. 

Girl Scout's Beware: You may lose cookie sales with this Thin Mint Clone!

THIN MINT COOKIES FROM PATTIE TIERNEY

Pattie Tierney:

This cookie is so easy to make you won't believe it, and you‚ll spend the rest of your life thanking me for giving you the recipe. Well, maybe you'll thank me just once, but profusely. To illustrate just how easy these are, let me set the scene in which I first prepared them.

It was Christmas night. My husband and I were involved in various preparations for our Boxing Day dinner the following day. He insisted, as usual, in standing in front of me at every turn. He also insisted upon helping me out by offering to make a couple of the sauces I needed for desserts namely caramel (that he burned beyond recognition) and mocha chocolate fudge (that came out just fine). I was trying to ice cookies that I'd made earlier in the day, and melt chocolate to sandwich others together. It was about 2 or 3 in the morning, who knows, really, as by this time it was all a blur; a Rocky marathon was running endlessly in the background, heaven knows why. I was punchy with exhaustion and happy to have finished what needed to be done. But when I looked into my little chocolate melting pan I found at least a cup of melted chocolate still remained. Not one to ever waste chocolate, yet knowing I couldn't put away this much by the spoonful, I remembered a little process my daughter-in-law had told me about wherein Ritz crackers are dipped into melted chocolate that has been flavored with peppermint extract, thoroughly coated, briefly refrigerated, and end up tasting like Thin Mints.

I was leery. Years prior I'd tried Semi-Homemade Sandra Lee's idea of doing this same thing with vanilla wafers. The reaction I got from my oldest son when he tasted one was, "Hey what is this? A vanilla wafer covered with chocolate?" Uh, yep, that's what it is.

Okay, it's worth a try, I thought. I pulled out a sleeve of Ritz crackers, dug out the peppermint extract (and felt fortunate that, first appearance to the contrary, the jar was not empty but had about 1/2 tsp. of extract coating the bottom of the bottle). I poured it into the chocolate, gave it a quick stir and began dropping the crackers into the melted mixture. It was almost too easy. I used a fork to flip them over in order to coat both sides, picked them up with my thumb and index fingers, and gave them a little back-and-forth shake in order to smooth out the top. I plunked them down on a piece of parchment and slid them into my packed fridge. Ten minutes later they were ready, but to add a little seasonal festiveness to an otherwise dullish appearance, I grabbed my bag of Ghirardelli green mint chips, melted about an eighth of a cup in a coffee mug in the microwave, dipped a fork into the mixture and just flung it back and forth over the tops of the cookies. They looked great, people loved them, and so did I!

I don't think there are really any specifics when it comes to amounts. I used a mixture of Ghirardelli semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips and enough mint extract to have the flavor land somewhere between the punch of Listerine and having you just say "Ahhhh."

All in all, chilling time included, I'd say these took me less than half an hour to complete. Leave the additional topping off and you can have a real treat in probably twenty minutes. Imagine! These were so good that I'll never buy a Thin Mint again.

Girl Scout Thin Mint Clone

1 12-oz. bag chocolate chips
3-4 drops peppermint oil
A sleeve of Ritz Crackers

Melt the chocolate over simmering water in the top of a double boiler. Add peppermint oil to taste. Dip crackers, coating well with chocolate, and place onto waxed paper to set.