Girl Scout Cookies

Greg was out of town for a couple days so I figured it was a good time to have a girl party. So yesterday afternoon I had a few ladies over and we made homemade girl scout cookies! We tried out recipes for Thin Mints and Samoas and they turned pretty delicious. The truth is you can't go to terribly wrong when you start with more than a pound of chocolate and a pound of butter. It was really fun to hang with the ladies and just visit. I didn't think it would ever happen, but I actually feel like I have friends here in Virginia.

The recipes are pretty long so instead of posting them both in their entirety, I'll just provide the links and a few comments and suggestions. So if you're feeling ambitious one day, give these a try!

Thin Mints - The flavor was spot on with these ones, but the texture of the cookie was just a little off. They just didn't quite measure up to the real thing. Instead of making logs and cutting slices like the recipe directed, I decided to roll them out and cut circles so they'd be perfect circles instead of the squished circle shape that I always get when I slice cookies. Maybe next time I'll try to roll them thinner than the 1/4 inch recommended so I end up with a more wafer like cookie in the end. Overall the flavor was good and they looked beautiful. 

Samoas - These were amazing. I guess they could've been more beautiful, but I think they were pretty true to the taste of the original (Disclaimer: I don't remember the last time I had a Samoa). The process is a little involved, but the end result is scrumptious. I think next time I wouldn't worry about cutting the middle holes and would add a little more caramel to my coconut to make it easier to spread. Besides that they were fabulous. I think it'd also be fun and easy to turn this cookie in to a bar cookie (press shortbread into 9x13, bake it, then top with coconut mixture and drizzle with chocolate).