Traditional Girl Guide Cookie Recipes and New Innovations
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The earliest beginning of Girl Scout Cookie baking was in the kitchens of the mothers of the young girls. They worked under the supervisory eyes of their mothers who act as volunteer technical advisers.
It was in 1917 that the first set of Scout cookies was baked, with the earliest mention of cookie sales made in a high school cafeteria in Muskogee, Oklahoma, as a service project.
According to historical records, in mid 1922, "The American Girl magazine, published by Girl Scout national headquarters, featured an article by Florence E. Neil, a local director in Chicago, Illinois. Miss Neil provided a cookie recipe that was given to the council's 2,000 Girl Scouts".
It is mentioned that Florence Neil was the one who drew up an estimate of the exact cost of producing about six dozen cookies, the ingredients required and the selling price per dozen.
According to records, her estimates brought the cost of those first sets of cookies to be between 26 cents and 36 cents. She suggested the cookies be sold by the Girl Guide troops for no more than 30 cents per dozen.
From then on until the 1930s, Girl Scouts troops in different regions of the country baked their own simple sugar cookies with their mothers. The cookies were neatly packaged in paper bags, sealed with a sticker, and sold door to door for 25 to 35 cents for a dozen.
Traditional Girl Guide Cookie Recipes
Girl Scouts baked these easy to make cookies with their mothers, packaged them all by themselves and sold them by the dozen.
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"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.
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Roll dough, cut into trefoil shapes, and sprinkle sugar on top, if desired.
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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".
(Source: Girls Scout.org)
Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients used back then are as follows:
- Butter = 1 cup
- Sugar = 1 cup
- Eggs = 2
- Milk = 2 tablespoons
- Vanilla = 1 teaspoon
- Flour = 2 cups
- Salt = 1 teaspoon
- Baking powder = 2 teaspoons
1927 Girl Scout Cookie Recipe
This simple cookie recipe was created by Christina Riespman in 1927, when a Girl Guide Company in Saskatchewan needed to raise money for a camping expedition for their troops.
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"Cream butter and sugar in a bowl. Beat in the eggs and cream.
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Mix the salt, baking soda, baking powder, cardamom and flour.
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Sift the dry mix into the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly into dough.
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Roll and cut with a small flour coated glass or cookie cutter.
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Sprinkle with sugar and bake at moderate heat in an oven, until done".
(Source: Anna Humphrey)
Ingredients used are as follows:
- Butter = 1 cup
- Sugar = 1 cup
- Eggs = 3no.
- Cream = 2 tablespoons
- A pinch of salt
- Baking soda = 1 teaspoon
- Baking powder = 2 teaspoons
- Ground cardamom = Half a teaspoon (an aromatic spice of a tropical plant)
- Flour = 3 (or 4) cups to make a soft dough
1930s Girl Guide Cookies
By the mid 1930s, the Girl Guide organisation started retailing commercially baked Scout cookies, with Greater Philadelphia becoming the first council to do such. A little over a year later, another large troop, the Girl Scout Federation of Greater New York raised money by selling commercial cookies and it was them who, buying their own trefoil shaped die, had the words "Girl Scout Cookies" printed on the package.
Soon, the National body began the process of licensing the first commercial baker to make cookies using the Scouts cookie recipe that would be sold by their girls in the councils. Soon the enthusiasm for Girl Scout Cookies spread throughout the nation and towards the end of the 1937s there were over 125 Girl Scout councils reportedly holding the now famous cookie sales.
1950s Scout Cookies
By the early years of the 50s there were these varieties of Girl Scout Cookies:
- Sandwich
- Shortbread (Trefoils)
- Chocolate Mints (Thin Mints)
- Vanilla-based filled cookie
- Chocolate-based filled one
Of all these classics, Thin Mints and Trefoils still remain favourites today.
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"To make the wafers, mix the wafer ingredients in a bowl. On a worktop dusted with flour, shape dough into two 1 1/2 inches diameter logs. Wrap logs in a plastic wrap or waxed paper and freeze for a couple of hours, until dough is firm enough to slice into 1/4 inch thick wafers.
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Preheat oven to 375F and place the thinly cut wafers on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes until they are firm at the edges. Arrange cookies on a wire rack to cool.
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To make the coating, mix the chocolate chips, peppermint extract and shortening in a large microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl. Melt further on 50 percent power for a minute, bring out to stir gently, then heat for an addition minute and stir again until the chocolate is very smooth.
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Use a fork or kitchen tongs to dip each thin wafer in the chocolate/peppermint mix and then place them side-by-side on a wax paper-lined baking sheet.
Refrigerate until firm enough to eat".
(Source: Share What You Make)
Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie Recipe
This recipe is actually the way thin mint cookies are made, an imitation of the Girl Scout style. Enjoy this interpretation of the Girl Scout's classic thin mints.
Thin mints taste much better after they've been refrigerated for a minimum of twenty four hours, but of course it doesn’t mean you can’t eat them as soon as they are firm enough to eat after refrigeration.
Ingredients are as follows for the chocolate cookie wafers.
Chocolate Wafers:
- Fudge cake mix = 1 package
- Melted shortening = 3 tablespoons
- Sifted flour = 1/2 cup
- Egg = 1no.
- Water = 3 tablespoons
- Non-stick cooking spray
Chocolate/peppermint Coating:
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips = 1 (12 ounce) bags
- Peppermint extract = 3/4 teaspoon
- Shortening = 6 tablespoons
Trefoil Recipe: An imitation of the classic Girl Scout Cookie
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"Cream together the butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy. In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add this mix to the creamed butter/sugar mixture. Add the milk and vanilla extract.
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Split the resulting dough into halves, wrap in plastic or and refrigerate until the dough is firm. Preheat your oven to 350F/180C and line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone liners. Once the dough is firm enough to roll, and then roll it on a lightly floured work surface.
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Doing it the classic way the first Girl Guides did it, roll the dough to about an eighth or quarter of an inch thickness then use a cookie cutter to cut out the shapes your heart desires.
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Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. Remember to rotate the cookie sheet (180 degrees) halfway through baking to ensure that all trefoil cookies are an even light colour".
(Source: Share What You Make)
This recipe imitates the classic trefoil cookies and they are very easy to make.
Trefoils are the basis for a number of other Scout cookie recipes such as Tagalongs or Samoas.
Ingredients are as follows:
- Butter = 1 cup
- Sugar = 1/2 cup
- All purpose flour = 2 cups
- Baking powder = 1/4 teaspoon
- Salt = 1/2 teaspoon
- Vanilla extract = 1/2 teaspoon
- Milk = 2 tablespoons
It is good to note that using a lightly floured surface on cookie tray instead of waxed paper as wax paper.
This dough mix does get sticky pretty quickly.
See Also
Innovations & Recipes Using Girl Guide Cookies as Ingredients
Using Thin Mints
(mint-flavoured chocolate wafers with chocolate coating)
- "Crush Thin Mints into medium size chunks. Mix all ingredients into mixing bowl. Do not use electric mixer or batter will be stiff. Spread batter evenly in greased baking pan (13 x 9 x 2 inch). Bake in centre of oven at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting. Serve with mint-flavoured tea".
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- "Crush half box of Trefoils. Mix softened cream cheese and cheesecake pudding until smooth. Layer crushed cookies and cheesecake pudding in a cup and repeat layering of ingredients. Garnish with strawberries (or your favourite berries) and 2 full Trefoil cookies. Drizzle with chocolate syrup".
(Source: Little Brownie Bakers)
Ingredients (for six) is as follows:
- Crushed Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies = 1/2 box
- Brownie mix = 1 box
- Eggs = 2no.
- Water = 1/4 cup
- Vegetable oil = 1/2 cup
Using Trefoils
(Traditional shortbread cookie made in the shape of the Girl Scout trefoil insignia)
Ingredients (for eight) is as follows:
- Trefoils Girl Scout Cookies = 1 box
- Instant cheesecake pudding mix
- Soft cream cheese = 12 oz.
- Some strawberries
- Chocolate syrup
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