Everybody loves Girl Scout cookies, but did you know you can bake up the exact recipe of the very first Girl Scout cookies with your kids? A far cry from today's mass-produced varieties, this sugar cookie from the 1920s was made at home, packaged in wax paper bags, and sold door to door for 25 cents per dozen. And also unlike today's cookies, it's made with real butter, milk, and eggs -- no artifical ingredients here!
THE EARLY GIRL SCOUT COOKIE RECIPE
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar (plus extra for the topping, if you want)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour (plus extra for rolling)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
Cream the butter and sugar together with a mixer. Bet the eggs in a separate bowl and add them, then add the milk, vanilla, flour, salt, and baking powder. When it's mixed together, form it into a flattened ball, place it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least an hour (to help it set).
When you're ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 375°. Place the dough on a well-floured surface and roll it out to 1/4" thick for softer cookies, or thinner for crisper cookies. The dough will be sticky, so you'll need to keep adding flour to the surface and rolling pin but be careful -- too much flour or re-rolling will result in dry or tough cookies.
Cut it into small circles (about half-dollar size). Gather the scraps, re-roll, and cut out more cookies. Place them on a cookie sheet and sprinkle some sugar on top if you'd like. Be sure to leave some space between them, as they'll spread as they bake.
Bake them for 8-10 minutes. If you prefer them softer, take them out after 8 minutes -- they won't look done, but they will be. If you prefer crisper cookies, bake them until the edges begin to brown. When they're done, remove them to a cooling rack immediately.
After they've cooled, the thinner ones are crisp, buttery, and delicate while the thicker ones are more cake-like.
ALTERNATE METHOD: We also found that these made wonderful cookies when rolled into walnut-sized balls. We dipped the tops in sugar and then baked as usual. This method made thicker, more cake-like cookies that were very good.
FUN FACT: The original recipe called for the cookies to be cut into "Trefoil" (cloverleaf) shapes.
Want to get a box of modern Girl Scout cookies? Just ask your favorite girl scout or contact your local GS office. In Minneapolis, contact the Brooklyn Center Service Center at 1-800-845-0787 or visit their website.
This recipe makes about 6 dozen cookies, depending on how large you make them. If you make 72 cookies, each will be 49 calories.
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