Has your doorbell started to ring? Are the doors outside your supermarket adorned with colorfully draped tables manned by sweet, smiling faces? It's Girl Scout Cookie time. But it's not just the season for helping the troop and indulging in sweet treats. The sale of Girl Scout Cookies has a long history with important life skills to be learned by the girls who participate.
Although the Girl Scouts began in 1912, the sale of Girl Scout Cookies didn't start until 1917, when the Mistletoe Troop from Muskogee, Oklahoma, went into their own kitchens and, with the help of their mothers, baked the first cookies which were sold in the local high school cafeteria. Today, there are only 2 licensed bakeries that produce Girl Scout Cookies; ABC Smart Cookies and Little Brownie Bakers. Between them, they produce all 11 varieties.
Although there have been additions and variations over the years, 3 types of cookies are mandatory; Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies, also known as Do-si-dos and Shortbread Cookies, also known as Trefoils. This year, the other varieties on offer consist of Caramel Delights, also known as Samoas, Peanut Butter Patties, Lemonades, Savannah Smiles, Thanks a Lots, Dulce de Leche, Mango Cremes and Thank You Berry Much Cookies. The use of alternate names identifies which licensed bakery produced them. The cookies, however, are exactly the same.We have included a terrific recipe for Fried Samoas Shrimp, using Samoas Girl Scout Cookies and found on the Little Brownie Bakers website, at the end of this writing.
The sale and purchase of Girl Scout Cookies is a long standing tradition, providing funding for each individual troop's activities. What the girls take away from the experience is priceless; skills that will serve them well throughout their lives. From managing money and achieving goals, to building confidence and dealing with people effectively are all experiences gained through the sale of Girl Scout Cookies.
The Girl Scouts website has a complete overview of the organization, it's history, it's collective and individual achievements and ways to locate a troop close to you so that you can order your favorites. It also profiles each cookie variety and provides complete nutritional information. Each time you bite into one of these delicious treats, know that your support of this wonderful organization is both far reaching and meaningful. You'll be inspired by all of it, so take some time and peruse.
And now, directly from the Little Brownie Bakery, here is their recipe for Samoas Fried Shrimp....
Fried Samoas Shrimp
- 5 extra large shrimp, peeled and de-veined - we used 12 to serve 4!
- 5 Samoas Girl Scout Cookies, finely chopped
- 2 cups of seasoned bread crumbs
- 2 cups of flour
- 1 cup of coconut, flaked or finely shredded
- 4 lightly beaten egg whites
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
Toss together the coconut flakes, bread crumbs, cookies and cayenne pepper. Dredge the shrimp in flour, then the egg white and follow by dredging in the cookie/coconut mixture. Fry the shrimp in 350 degree vegetable oil until golden brown. Serve warm. Terrific as an appetizer, but we used the Little Brownie Bakery suggestion and served these succulent shrimp as an entree with plantains and wild rice. Scrumptious!
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