Make Your Own Girl Scout Cookies

Published on Friday, March 5, 2010, by CHOW Test Kitchen / Edit Post

Make Your Own Girl Scout Cookies

Our versions of Samoas, Tagalongs, and Thin Mints

Girl Scouts, your youthful entrepreneurial ambitions are lofty. But you dominate the minty-cookie market, and some healthy competition would be good for you. So we present our versions of three of your most anticipated springtime treats. Your Tagalongs cannot compete with our real-peanut-butter Left-Behinds. Your Thin Mints are thin on flavor compared to our Slim Mints. Our Fijis will take down your Samoas. We think our cookies deserve a badge all their own.

Thank you to Mary Brady of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, for the use of the 1950s-era Girl Scout sash pictured.

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POST A COMMENT |19 Comments

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  • Every year when they come out and I track them down, I think to myself, maybe I can make a healthier version. By the time I get to the car, I'm like, yeah, right. I'll just have to limit myself to two (that is the serving size....) and wait until next year. Maybe not...

  • So delicious,my god!I like chocolate very much.

    http://www.espow.com/wholesale-car-electronics-car-dvr.html

  • This is very cool. Must do this at home and post a blog :)

  • What about the new marketing idea: GS mobile app. Why would the Council of GS even consider an app that tells anyone where to find young girls camped outside a public store selling cookies? You think supervision is going to be reliable 100%? As for what the GS cookie sale does for young girls and young women, that's debatable. I have seen dozens of scenarios where coworkers bring cookie sale...+READ

    What about the new marketing idea: GS mobile app. Why would the Council of GS even consider an app that tells anyone where to find young girls camped outside a public store selling cookies? You think supervision is going to be reliable 100%? As for what the GS cookie sale does for young girls and young women, that's debatable. I have seen dozens of scenarios where coworkers bring cookie sale forms to the job and sell for their kids. It's a "who can sell the most boxes" contest for many Troops. Where the money goes is also debatable depending on who you ask.

    Making my own version of GS cookies is not that difficult but the idea that any cookie sale would take away from the GS organization is just silly. How they are marketing those cookies in this day and age is remarkable...and I have no doubt increasing sales.

    Just do away with the mobile app-bad idea.-COLLAPSE

  • IF IT IS SOOO HEALTY WHY DON'T YOU POST IT

  • Best!)

  • I like the taste of Tagalongs, but i am not happy with the trans oils they use, so I don't buy them. However, with this recepie I can make my own without using the trans oils.
    Thanks for posting it.

  • @winecafe95, the name you are looking for is Do-Si-do.

  • By refusing to buy from the girls, you are missing the whole point of having them do the cookie sale. Besides making money for troop activities, the product sales teach the girls leadership skills, dealing with the public, safety, public speaking, budgeting and planning and a host of other skills and experiences, like working towards goals, doing the work to get what you want. Yes, it is true,...+READ

    By refusing to buy from the girls, you are missing the whole point of having them do the cookie sale. Besides making money for troop activities, the product sales teach the girls leadership skills, dealing with the public, safety, public speaking, budgeting and planning and a host of other skills and experiences, like working towards goals, doing the work to get what you want. Yes, it is true, that some of the money goes to keep the offices running, but those offices provide program and supplies and troop oversight, as well as training for the leaders. The Girl Scout movement provides extensive training for anyone who will have contact with other people's children. We should be thankful for that. When was the last time you heard of a Girl Scout leader (male or female) molesting their young charges?-COLLAPSE

  • Donate to your local troop and forget the cookie sales. I quit buying GS cookies long ago because of the way the profits are distributed.. Far too much money goes to administration and not to the girls themselves.

    I copied a bit of the BBB charity review for Girl Scouts. NOTE the salary of the CEO..



    Governance


    Chief Executive : Kathy Cloninger, Chief Executive Officer
    ...+READ

    Donate to your local troop and forget the cookie sales. I quit buying GS cookies long ago because of the way the profits are distributed.. Far too much money goes to administration and not to the girls themselves.

    I copied a bit of the BBB charity review for Girl Scouts. NOTE the salary of the CEO..



    Governance


    Chief Executive : Kathy Cloninger, Chief Executive Officer
    Compensation*: $526,999

    Chair of the Board: Connie L. Lindsey
    Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation: Banker

    Board Size: 30

    Paid Staff Size: 441

    *September 30, 2006 - October 1, 2007 compensation includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances.-COLLAPSE

  • Why make them yourself? That's easy to answer. Because in 2010 the Samoas sold by the Girlscouts are horrible...inedible... terrible ...not anything like what they once were.

  • I am all about supporting your local Girls Scouts! My daughter is a Brownie but can't even eat any of the Girl Scout Cookies she sells. She has wheat, gluten, corn, soy, dairy & canola sensitivities. Some of her friends have various allergies. So it would be a nice treat try to change up some of the ingredients so they could have them. Which I'll be trying out this weekend! So thanks! :)

  • How nasty to take this tradition away from the girl guides. in all that's holy why mess with the girl guides. this is a program that has been of benefit to countless young girls. everyone should support them in their efforts. not take away from this very worthy cause by finding a cheaper way to eat a product ,that i feel, the guides should own.k.m.Ontario.

  • Agreed with the previous poster (shindiganna), while I love to cook/bake I think girl guide cookies are iconic and as such are a fundamental way for the girls to fundraise - this goes beyond the cookie flavours and it's really about supporting the kids. I usually buy too many and put them out at the office... only to support the cause.

  • These cookies are a labor of love. While I'm in favor of DIY for many reasons, including quality of ingredients, DIY 'Slim Mints' don't really do it for me. Support your local Girl Scouts. Buy too many boxes of Thin Mints, stash them in the freezer, and enjoy icy cold pepperminty goodness on a hot summer day.

  • Need your peanut butter, mint or samoa fix year-round? You don't even need these recipes. Go to your nearest Dollar General and visit their cookie aisle. Dead ringers for Girl Scout cookies are only $1.85 a box, made by their Clover Valley brand (if they're in stock on the shelf). I've known about the Samoa clones for a couple of years but I only recently discovered that the Thin Mint and Peanut...+READ

    Need your peanut butter, mint or samoa fix year-round? You don't even need these recipes. Go to your nearest Dollar General and visit their cookie aisle. Dead ringers for Girl Scout cookies are only $1.85 a box, made by their Clover Valley brand (if they're in stock on the shelf). I've known about the Samoa clones for a couple of years but I only recently discovered that the Thin Mint and Peanut Butter clones are just as delicious.

    But please still donate to Girl Scouts! My plan next year is to directly donate $5 or $10 to my local troop. I usually only buy a couple of boxes every year, so that's far more than they would receive from me normally. And I'll make up the difference with the DG cookie savings!-COLLAPSE

  • What about the iced lemon cookies? They are my favorites!!!

  • How about the peanut butter sandwich cookies without chocolate...named after the country dance move, swinging around and around? The cookie is oatmeal-ish...but not a traditional oatmeal cookie....please help!! They are my husband's favorite!

  • You can make your own cookies with your yummy recipes, or simply buy a package of Keebler Grasshopper cookies!
    After looking at lots of sites on the net, the local Girl Scout troop would only have received $0.40 - 0 .60 per box sold. So I have decided to give the girls a larger contribution that will stay in their troop.