Baking with Girl Scout Cookies

I can’t resist Girl Scout cookies.

My weakness is for Thin Mints and Trefoils—but more than that, it’s for the girls (and their parents) who work countless hours during sales season.

Sales happen because Girl Scouts pound the pavement, spend chilly afternoons at folding tables outside grocery stores and call all their relatives asking if they would like a box—or 10.

I made my first purchase of the year from my neighbor in the Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma Troop 7658. I’ve also bought from family and friends’ kids. And not one box will go to waste, especially knowing the proceeds provide amazing leadership experiences for girls around Tulsa.

When I sold Girl Scout cookies as a kid, my mom always set aside a few boxes not for eating, but for baking. She used them in desserts that seemed to taste even better knowing they had Girl Scout cookies in them.

Now I do the same. I stash a few boxes in the freezer to use for crusts, parfaits and cakes. Here are some of my favorite ways to transform those cookies into a second sweet life.

Toffee and Chocolate Bark with Toasted Almonds

• 1 package Girl Scout Trefoils Shortbread cookies
• ¾ cup butter
• ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup sliced almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a greased 15-by-10-inch rimmed baking pan with parchment paper coated with cooking spray. Arrange cookies in pan.
2. Microwave butter until melted; whisk in brown sugar. Microwave 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until mixture is a thick caramel sauce. Pour sauce over cookies, covering each completely.
3. Bake until puffed up and bubbly, about 10 minutes. Do not allow to burn. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over hot caramel. Let stand for 5 minutes; spread chocolate over the caramel. Top with almonds.
4. Refrigerate baking pan until chocolate and caramel have hardened, about 1 hour. Break or cut bark.

Thin Mints Cookies and Cream Brownies

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate syrup
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 Girl Scout Thin Mints cookies, chopped

Ingredients for Mint Cream:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1/4 teaspoon mint extract
• 2 drops green food coloring
• Additional Thin Mints, crushed

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
2. Beat in chocolate syrup, then flour, just until blended. Fold in the chopped cookies.
3. Pour into a greased 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. (Do not overbake.) Cool completely on a wire rack.
4. For mint cream, in a small bowl, cream butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the milk, extract and food coloring.
5. Frost brownies; sprinkle with crushed Thin Mints.

Dulce Samoas

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 10 Girl Scout Samoas
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup dulce de leche

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar; beat in flour and salt until well mixed (dough will be crumbly). Press evenly onto bottom of an ungreased 8-by-8-inch pan. Bake until edges are golden brown and top is lightly browned, 12-15 minutes. Cool 15 minutes.
2. Chop Samoas into 1/4-inch pieces; combine with pecans.
3. Microwave dulce de leche on high until spreadable, 15-20 seconds. Spread dulce de leche over cooled crust. Sprinkle chopped Samoas and pecans evenly over dulce de leche, pressing down firmly. Cool completely, about one hour, before cutting into squares.

Do-si-dos Candy Bars

• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
• 1 package chopped Girl Scout Do-si-dos Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies, divided
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons bittersweet chocolate baking chips, divided

1. Line a 9-by-13-inch pan with parchment paper. Combine vanilla and baking soda.
2. In a large saucepan over high heat, stir together sugar, corn syrup and water until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to medium-high; cook until a thermometer reads 285 degrees. Immediately add vanilla mixture.
3. Meanwhile, microwave peanut butter and all but 1/2 cup chopped Do-si-dos until hot, about 2 minutes, stirring once. Quickly pour caramel into peanut butter mixture and stir just to combine. Immediately pour into prepared pan; spread evenly (candy sets quickly).
4. Top with 3/4 cup baking chips, reserving 2 tablespoons; spread to cover. Sprinkle with remaining chopped Do-si-dos. Melt reserved baking chips; drizzle over top. When cool, cut into bars.

Exploremores, Girl Scouts’ new cookie for 2026

Need Cookies? Start here!

• If you know a Girl Scout, reach out to her.
• If you don’t know a Girl Scout, go to girlscouts.org, choose the Cookie Finder and enter your zip code. There you can find a troop selling at a nearby booth, or you can purchase cookies to be shipped directly to you from troops nationwide.
• You can also text COOKIES to 59618 to stay informed about Girl Scout Cookie news.