Scouting Sweetness: Neapolitan Cream Pie in a Samoas Cookie Crust

Recently, I was handed a secret spy mission by a super-sweet establishment.

Oh, you've probably heard of them...or at least their cookies.

Yup: I'm talking about the Girl Scouts. Of Western Washington, to be specific. When these sweet Scouts announced their recipe contest, in advance of their cookie sale to the public (March 2-18, and you can find them via cookie locator, as well as an app, which will be updated closer to the date of the sale), I knew I had to be part of it.

But before anything else...I received a super secret spy package (spoiler: it included cookies). Cue the "Mission: Impossible" music, and off to baking.

Would I make a grasshopper pie, using a Thin Mint crust? Would I make Samoas cupcakes? Would I make 'em into milkshakes and call it a day?

No, no, no.

First, I tried a lemonade cake festooned with the lemony crescent meltaway cookies known as Savannah Smiles...and while it was tasty, it was a little garish, and not quite special enough.

And then, it hit. Perhaps inspired by recent CakeSpy contest winner Molly, mixed with a little bit of these candies that I adore, I decided to go for a Neapolitan Triple-threat. 

And O.M.G. was this thing good. Employing a Samoas cookie crust, which became crisp and caramelly and so rich it almost (but not quite) hurt, it got even better with three flavors of milky, creamy pudding on top--and then got even more delicious (and cuter, in my opinion) with a garnish of whipped cream and even more cookies on top.

If you're scouting sweetness, you've certainly found it with this recipe!

Neapolitan Cream Pie in a Samoas Cookie Crust

For the Crust:

• 2 boxes of Samoas cookies--save 4-6 cookies, but with the rest, ground coarsely by hand or in a food processor
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted

For the filling:

• 1 large package instant vanilla pudding (5.1 ounce size)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup chocolate milk
• 1/2 cup strawberry milk

To Finish: Whipped cream, and lots of it.

Methodology:

1. Make the crust. Directions Mix the cookie crumbs and melted butter until well blended . Press mixture into a 9 inch greased pie plate (you need more butter or shortening to grease it because the caramel from the cookies will make them stick to the pan!). Also, you might want to flour or wet your hands first, because this business gets sticky. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 5-7 minutes. Cool for at least an hour, or until the shell is at room temperature. You can put it in the fridge to chill more rapidly, too.
2. Divide the pudding mix into three equal portions. Place each portion in a medium-sized bowl.
3. First, mix 1/2 cup of strawberry milk with one portion of pudding mix, whisking until smooth; pour on top of  baked pie shell.
4. Next, mix 1/2 cup of regular whole milk with a second portion of pudding mix, whisking until smooth; pour on top of the chocolate pudding layer, and gently spread to cover the layer entirely.
5. Finally, mix 1/2 cup of chocolate milk with the final portion of pudding mix, whisking until smooth; pour on top of the milk layer, and gently spread to cover the layer entirely.
6. Finally, top it all off with a very generous helping of whipped cream right before serving. Garnish with your left-over Samoas!

Connect with the Girl Scouts of Western Washington online: http://www.facebook.com/GirlScoutsWW and https://twitter.com/#!/GirlScoutsWW; the Twitter hash tag is: #GSCookieRecipe.

Scouting Sweetness: Girl Scout Cookie Sandwiches

It's true: more often than not, no matter what you're talking about, frosting will make it better.

But cookies in particular benefit highly from adding frosting--because then they become a cookie sandwich, which as we all know is basically society's way of granting us permission to eat two cookies, at once, with frosting, and not be judged.

And as cookies go, it is my learned and esteemed opinion that every type of Girl Scout Cookie is improved by being served in sandwich form--even the Lemon Chalet Creme cookies, which, if you want to get technical about it, are kind of already sandwich cookies.

Here's a simple recipe for Girl Scout Cookie Sandwiches--you can use whatever type of Girl Scout Cookies, and whatever type of frosting you'd like, with a pretty certain guarantee of sweet success.

Girl Scout Cookie Sandwiches

Makes 1 sandwich (easily duplicated)

• 2 Girl Scout Cookies
• 2 teaspoons (or more, or less, to taste) frosting

Suggested pairings: Peppermint frosting with Thin Mints; Vanilla buttercream with just about any variety; cream cheese frosting with Lemon Chalet Cremes or Samoas; Peanut butter frosting with Tagalongs or Do-Si-Dos; caramel or chocolate frosting with the classic shortbread cookies.

1. Place a dollop of frosting on top of one cookie (if it's a type that has a defined top and bottom side, such as Thin Mints, apply to the overturned bottom side).
2. Place the other cookie, bottom-side down, on top of the frosted half to form a sandwich.
3. Repeat with as many cookies as you'd like to make into sandwiches. Enjoy.

Just Dough It: Homemade Do-Si-Do Girl Scout Cookies for Serious Eats

Girl Scouts can teach you everything you will ever need to know about teamwork. How, exactly? Just look to the cookie. I'm talking, of course, about Do-Si-Dos (sometimes called Peanut Butter Sandwiches), where peanut butter and oatmeal cookie work together to make one beautiful baked good. And—even better—they're served in sandwich form, which means that you get to eat two at once, with frosting. Could there possibly be a more warm and fuzzy hand-holding experience of a cookie?

This homemade version, adapted from Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker, comes out a bit fatter and more moist than the original (not such a bad thing, right?), but the flavor is fairly spot-on: sweet, nutty, lightly salty, and very buttery. That is to say, dangerously addictive.

Not keen on the peanut butter and oatmeal pairing? Try your hand at homemade Thin Mints, Tagalongs, or Samoas instead!

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Scouting Sweetness: Homemade Samoas Girl Scout Cookies for Serious Eats

Fact: Samosas and Samoas, while both delicious, are not the same. In a nutshell, the former is a savory snack, often eaten before an Indian meal; the latter is a sweet cookie, sold by Girl Scouts, enjoyed basically any time.

Of course, there's no need to power through this homonym haze in some areas of the country, where these chocolate-coconut-shortbread-caramel confections are known as "Caramel deLites."

But regardless of geography and nomenclature, one thing is for sure: these cookies are tasty little morsels. And when you've reached the end of the box you purchased from your local Scouts, there's a surefire solution for sweet gratification: make your own batch (my recipe is adapted from recipes onBaking Bites and Batter Licker), and call them whatever you want.

Check out the full entry and recipe on Serious Eats!

Scouting Sweetness: Homemade Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies for Serious Eats

Once upon a time, Girl Scout Cookies were made by hand, by actual Girl Scouts. They were then sold door to door to teach the girls lessons about marketing and goal-setting.

These days, while the aim is still true—the proceeds go to a good cause—the Tagalongs*, Thin Mints, and Samoas are made commercially, making for confections that arguably fall into "don't confuse the experience with the product" territory.

The solution? Do buy cookies from those earnest young Scouts. But also make a batch of your own for a delicious home-baked treat. Start with these Tagalongs: slightly fatter and more substantial than the Scout version, you'll enjoy each chocolatey, peanut buttery, shortbready bite.

Not into Tagalongs? More of a Thin Mints fan? Make Thin Mints instead »

* In some regions, Tagalongs are packaged under the name "Peanut Butter Patty." Different licensed bakeries that supply the Girl Scouts call the same cookies different names. Wiki up on it here.

For more lore, and the recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Peppermint Sweet: Homemade Thin Mints a la Baking Bites for Serious Eats

Smug, smug little Girl Scouts. Those sweet little sugar pushers can be found all over around this time of year, lurking outside of drugstores and markets with their addictive little missives of sweet cookies.

Oh, they seem so friendly and accommodating now. But what happens in a month or so, when they're gone and you've got a serious jonesing for some Samoas or Thin Mints?

You make your own, that's what you do.

Armed with a recipe from Baking Bites, I tested out a batch of my favorite, Thin Mints. While I wouldn't say that they're a clone version of the boxed kind (the texture is a little different, and the taste a little...fancier), they will indeed give you that much needed fix. Now if only I could figure out how to make a little plastic sleeve for them to fit in...

For the full writeup and recipe, visit Serious Eats!