How to Dress Up Your Girl Scout Cookies

It's that time of year. Girl Scouts across America are making their way door to door, smiling diligently at each potential customer. The cookies are hard to turn down, and it is even harder to decline an innocent and bright-eyed Girl Scout. You decided to order a box of everything this year, and you have no idea how you are going to eat all of these cookies once they arrive. There is no need to panic. You do not have to consume your Girl Scout cookies one box at a time.

Buying Girl Scout cookies has many rewards besides their comforting sweet taste. Girl Scout cookie sales help to support activities and programs for each troop, and they teach the scouts important life skills like setting goals and financial responsibility. According to the Girl Scouts of the Permian Basin, since the 1920s Girl Scouts have been raising money to achieve their goals. Your contribution and support aids the girls directly because every penny earned, after covering the cost of the baker, will remain with the local Girl Scout council.

Since Girl Scout cookies contain no preservatives, they can easily be frozen and used at any time. Buying a large quantity of cookies will reward you with sweet treats, and give you a sense of pride in knowing that you are helping your local Girl Scouts. You also can dress up your Girl Scout cookies, and make delicious treats and desserts that will satisfy almost anyone's taste buds. Turn your cookies into masterpieces with quick and innovative recipes that will impress your friends and family members.

Step 1
Turn your Thin Mints into delicious dessert hamburgers.

Lay out two vanilla wafers with their top sides facing down. Place 1/4 tsp. of white icing on 1 wafer, and 1/4 tsp. of red and yellow icing on the other cookie wafer. Add the Thin Mint cookie on top of the red and yellow icing, and top it off with the white icing wafer. The icing represents the condiments on the hamburger. Simply turn the hamburger over, and coat the top with egg whites. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top to give your Thin Mint hamburger the final addition.

Step 2
Make a milk shake with your favorite Girl Scout cookies.

Break the Girl Scout cookies into small pieces. Place the ice cream, milk and your favorite Girl Scout cookies in a blender. Use the low setting to blend them until the mixture appears smooth. Pour the milk shake into your favorite glass. Top your milk shake off with a crushed cookie, or add chocolate syrup to the shake for an even sweeter taste.

Step 3
Use Do-Si-Dos to make caramel apples.

The popular peanut butter cookie, Do-Si-Dos, makes a great addition for coating caramel apples. Place a wooden stick into the top of each apple . Then insert your Do-Si-Dos into a plastic baggie, and use your hands to break the cookies into small pieces. You will want the pieces to look like crushed nuts.

Melt the caramel in a double boiler, and dip your apples into the caramel carefully. Use a spoon to spread the caramel evenly over the apples. Dip the bottom of the apples onto the crushed Do-Si-Dos, and place your caramel apples on a sheet of wax paper with the cookie side facing down. After 30 minutes, you can enjoy these delicious treats.

Step 4
Create delicious fried Samoas shrimp.

Transform your Samoas cookies into a great dinner option. Use a sharp knife to chop the Somoas cookies finely. Combine the breadcrumbs and Somoas crumbs into a small bowl. Cover the shrimp in flour, dip them in the egg whites and then cover them with the Somoas mixture.

Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan to 350 degrees. Fry the shrimp until they appear golden brown, and garnish them with coconut flakes.

Step 5
Make peanut butter balls with your Tagalongs or Peanut Butter Patties.

Simply place the cookies in the blender on the medium setting until they turn into fine crumbs. Add the melted butter to the crumbs until the ingredients are well blended. Roll the mixture with your hands into 1-inch sized balls. Spread the peanuts on a cookie sheet, and roll the peanut butter balls over them until the balls become covered. Store your peanut butter balls in a covered container, and place them in the refrigerator.

Step 6
Create miniature cheesecakes with Trefoils cookies.

Combine the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla until a smooth mixture forms. Place liners in a cupcake pan, and add one Trefoil cookie to the bottom of each cup. Pour the cream cheese over the Trefoil cookies to fill each cup halfway. Bake these at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Allow the miniature cheesecakes to cool completely. Prepare your favorite pie filling, and add it to the top of each cheesecake.

Tip
The Girl Scouts work with two different bakers, therefore not all cookies are available in certain locations. The cookie names also change from each location due to the differences in the bakers.


How to Dress Up Your Girl Scout Cookies originally published on eHow.com

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