The Girl Scouts of America was founded in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low to teach girls valuable life skills, give them a sense of belonging and friendship, and to help them learn to reach goals — most notably an annual cookie quota. The scouts began door-to-door cookie sales during the 1920s, when “scout-made” sugar cookies sold for 25-30 cents per box. The Girl Scouts of West Central Florida will kick off the official launch of 2012 cookie booth sales on Feb. 24, when thousands of Girl Scouts will go into cookie-dealer mode in front of area Publix, Target and Home Depot stores through March 18.
To find the booth nearest you, utilize the Cookie Booth Locator system at girlscoutcookies.org. Simply enter your zip code, head to the nearest location, and have a box of Tagalongs in your hand within minutes. Or, from February 24 on, tech-savvy cookie fans can download the free Girl Scout Cookie Locator app by calling **GSCOOKIES, or by searching for the Cookie Locator app via the iPhone App Store or Android Marketplace.
The “cookie monster” of the Girl Scout lineup is the Thin Mint. Known as the Chocolate Mint until 1951, Thin Mints are produced in batches of 4.5 million per day during cookie-selling season, and for good reason. There’s no mistaking that trademark chocolate cookie wafer doused in dark chocolate, kissed with the perfect touch of peppermint oil.
This year, toast the Girl Scout’s 100th anniversary by whipping up one of these Girl Scout cookie-inspired cocktails. These luscious libations taste exactly like a Thin Mint — but with no cookies required.
Dirty Girl Scout
Courtesy of drinksmixer.com
Ingredients:
1 ounce vodka
1 ounce Kahlua coffee liqueur
1 ounce Bailey’s Irish Cream
1 ounce white Crème de Menthe
Directions:
1. Mix the vodka, Kahlua and Bailey’s Irish Cream.
2. Pour over ice.
3. Pour the Crème de Menthe down the center of the glass.
Girl Scout Cookie #1
Courtesy of barmeister.com
Ingredients:
1 part Kahlua coffee liqueur
1 part Bailey’s Irish Cream
1 part Crème de Menthe
1 part Crème de Cacao
Directions:
1. Pour the Kahlua into the shot glass.
2. Layer the Bailey’s Irish Cream on top of the Kahlua.
3. Layer the Crème de Menthe on top of the Bailey’s Irish Cream.
4. Layer the Crème de Cocoa on top of the Crème de Menthe.
5. Serve as a layered shot.
This article appears in Feb 23-29, 2012.