Tasty Lemon Double-Dipped Strawberries

We’re all about Girl Scout cookies at my house. My daughter is a 5-year Girl Scout, so we have this cookie thing down. Or at least that’s what I tell myself every year, but then our garage fills up with cases after case of Thin Mints™ and Shortbread™, and the process seems daunting.

I’ve found eating some of the cookies helps me cope.

Emma is a pretty good cookie seller. It helps that my colleagues love her and the cookies, so there’s 100 sold with very little effort. We’ve also done door-to-door sales and standing outside local businesses, charming people who just want to buy their groceries in peace. Because of this, she’s sold more than 500 boxes two years in a row.

I only paid for only half of them.

(Kidding! We have a strict 10 box limit at our house.)

(It should be noted that strict means we plan to buy 10 boxes, but it ends up being more. At least it’s for a good cause, right?)

Faced with cookie overload every year, Gazette photographer Liz Martin and I did a food cover on recipes that feature Girl Scout cookies last spring. I’ve made several other Girl Scout cookie recipes since that assignment. In fact, I rarely eat the cookie straight out of the box. If you think the cookies are great alone, wait until you try them as a cupcake or sundae!

Google “Girl Scout cookie recipes” and you’ll find plenty on the Internet to help you get through that last box of Caramel deLites™. Here are a couple recipes to get you started:

Thanks-A-Lot™ Ice Cream Cake

• 1 package Thanks-A-Lot™cookies, crushed
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Combine Thanks-A-Lot™ cookies, butter and sugar in a 9×13 inch baking dish and press mixture into sides and bottom of dish. In a large bowl, combine ice cream and milk with electric mixer. Blend in pudding mix, then pour mixture into prepared crust. Top with whipped topping and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. Refrigerate until served.

Tasty Lemon Double-Dipped Strawberries

• 1 cup (8 oz.) white chocolate morsels
• 1 tablespoon shortening
• 1 pint medium strawberries, rinsed and well dried
• 6 Lemonades Girl Scout Cookies, coarsely crushed

Melt white chocolate morsels and shortening in microwave-safe bowl on medium-high power for 1 minute. Stir just until morsels are melted. If necessary, microwave at additional 10-second intervals and stir until melted. Dip strawberries into melted chocolate; roll in crushed cookies. Place on wax paper-lined plate: refrigerate until set. Store in refrigerator no longer than 24 hours.

Note: Strawberries should be dried very well. Pat with paper towel before dipping to remove excess moisture

Thanks-A-Lot™ Ice Cream Cake