Cookie Recipies

Girl Scouts Thin Mints
Chocolate Chips (Semi-sweet, Milk, or White)

Place thin mints in a ziptop bag and hit with a heavy object to crush them up a bit.   Over a gentle water bath (the water should be just simmering), melt the chocolate chips.  Stir the crushed cookies into the melted chocolate and spread out thinly onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or waxed paper.  Place in refrigerator until chocolate sets.   For a quicker set, place in freezer.  Break bark into pieces.

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Trefoil Toffee

1 c. Butter
1 c. Brown Sugar
12 oz. Chocolate Chips
1 1/2 c. Chopped Nuts

Line a 9 x13"  baking dish with aluminum foil and grease with butter or margarine.  Place a single layer of whole trefoils across the bottom of the prepared dish.

In a saucepan, combine the butter and brown sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring.  Continue to boil for 3 minutes.  Slowly pour the syrup over the trefoils and spread gently to coat completely.  Bake at 350 for 7 minutes or until bubbly.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. When the chips  have melted, spread the chocolate evenly over the top. Sprinkle with nuts. Refrigerate until complete cool and set, then break into pieces.

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Strawberry Baked Alaska

Crust:
1 box Trefoils
2/3 cup melted unsalted butter

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Wrap foil around outside of 10" diameter spring form pan. Combine cookies and melted butter in food processor. Using on/off turns, blend until crumbs begin to stick together. Press crumbs onto bottom of spring form pan. Bake crust 10 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool while preparing filling.

Filling:
2 pints strawberry sorbet
1 quart strawberry ice cream

Line 4-quart, 10" diamter bowl with plastic wrap, leaving 8-inch overhang. Spread sorbet in even layer over bottom (not sides) of bowl. Spread ice cream over sorbet. Slide crust atop ice cream, pressing slightly to compact. Cover with plastic wrap overhang. Freeze at least 4 hours or overnight.

Unfold plastic wrap and invert onto serving tray; remove plastic wrap. Working quickly, spread meringue over dessert, swirling to form peaks and covering completely. Freeze for at least 30 minutes.

Before serving, brown meringue with a blowtorch or in a 500 degree oven.
For mini-strawberry baked Alaska, use a whole Trefoil for each crust and shape filling with a small ice cream scoop.

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Tri-Layer Peanut Butter
Mint Bombe

2 boxes Tagalongs®
2 boxes Thin Mints
2 boxes Trefoils
6¾ cups milk
¾ cup milk chocolate
¾ cup dark semi-sweet chocolate
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 tablespoons cornstarch
9 tablespoons sugar(granulated)
¾ cup white chocolate
pinch of salt

1. Separately grind Tagalongs®, Thin Mints, & Trefoils (rough grind)

2. To make pudding filling: (you may use instant pudding mix)

   a. Put 2 cups milk, ¾ cup milk chocolate (cut into medium size chunks), 3T sugar, 1/8 tsp salt, add 1 tsp vanilla extract, into small saucepan bring to a boil while stirring.

b. In a separate container, combine ¼ cup milk with 3-1/3 T cornstarch, mix together well.

   c. Slowly add cornstarch mixture to boiling milk while stirring. Stir until thick and immediately remove from heat. Scrape into medium size mixing bowl and set aside in a cool place.

   d. Repeat steps a through c using dark semi-sweet chocolate, and milk chocolate. Make sure to keep each batch of pudding in a separate bowl.

3. Add ground Tagalongs® to milk chocolate pudding. Mix well and place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

4. Add ½ ground Thin Mints to dark chocolate pudding, mix together and place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

5. Take ½ ground Trefoils and add 1 cup of vanilla/white chocolate pudding

6. Using two 16 oz. bowls, line inside of bowls with plastic wrap, creating as few wrinkles as possible.

7. In small amounts coat the inside of each bowl with approx. ¼ inch thick layer of Trefoil paste. Make sure layer is even throughout, and goes right up to top of the bowl. Then sprinkle with plain ground Trefoils.

8. Using Tagalongs® milk chocolate pudding, layer approx. 1" thick layer. Only go up to 1 inch of the rim of Trefoil. Then sprinkle inside of layer with ground Thin Mints.
9. Fill in middle with Thin Mint dark chocolate pudding.

10. Sprinkle ground Thin Mints over just Thin Mint pudding. Then coat over with Tagalongs® pudding, just to ½ inch to the rim of Trefoil.

11. Sprinkle top of Tagalongs® pudding with ground Trefoils. Spread out Trefoil paste on plastic round to fit top of bombe using same thickness as rest of Trefoil layer. Place over top and seal bombe.

12. Wrap tightly with plastic and freeze for at least 1 hour.

13. Melt 2 cups dark semi-sweet chocolate.

14. Wrap two plates tightly with plastic wrap.

15. Using small spoon, make a chocolate circle on plastic wrap that matches the size of bottom of the bombe.

16. Carefully pull bombe out of bowl, and remove all plastic wrap and place directly on top of melted chocolate circle.

17. Carefully drizzle melted chocolate over top of bombe until completely coated. Drizzle fast, as chocolate sets quickly.

18. Place bombe back in freezer for about 15 minutes. Remove from freezer, using a paring knife, trim off excess chocolate.

19. Slice bombe in half, present for service using remaining ground cookie for garnish, and/or whole cookie of each to represent each layer.

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Mocha-Samoa-Zuccotto

Chocolate Cake
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
4 ounces butter, melted
¾ cup sugar
3 eggs
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup cocoa powder, sifted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Line (2) 10" round cake pans with parchment paper. Combine the melted chocolate and butter. Whisk in sugar. Whisk in eggs. Whisk in cocoa powder and cinnamon. Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 min. Cool. Remove from pans. Remove parchement paper. Cut one cake into 10 triangular pieces. Line a 3-quart bowl with plastic wrap. Arrange the cake pieces in the bowl with the pointed ends at the bottom of the bowl. Set aside.

Mascarpone Filling:
3 egg yolks
¼ cup sugar
8 ounces mascarpone
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup espresso
¼ cup chocolate pieces
4 ounces caramel topping

Whip egg yolks and sugar until light yellow in color, soft and foamy in consistency. Add mascarpone,vanilla and espresso. Whip until smooth and slightly firm (approx 2 minutes). Foam should hold its shape, do not overwhip. Fold in chocolate pieces. Gently swirl in the caramel topping.
Fill the cake-lined bowl with the mascarpone filling. Make a well in the center for the chocolate ganache. Cover and refrigerate.

Mocha-Chocolate Ganache:
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, (chopped in small pieces)
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup butter (room temperature)
3 tablespoons espresso

Heat cream over low heat until bubbles appear on sides of pan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate, stir until melted. Add soft butter, stir until melted. Stir in espresso, let cool. Set until firm. Reserve ½ of chocolate ganache for later. Fill the center of the cake with ganache. Cover and refrigerate until firm.

Samoa-Nut Crust:
½ box of Samoas® cookies broken into pea-sized pieces
¼ cup pecan pieces
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar

Combine all of the ingredients. Line 10" round spring form pan with parchment paper. Press the Samoas® crust into the pan. Freeze. Remove from pan and remove paper.

Assembly:
1. Place on top of second chocolate cake.
2. Remove zuccotto cake from bowl and place on top of crust.
3. Use the remaining chocolate ganache for decorating and covering cake as desired.
4. Roll out 4 ounces of marzipan between 2 pieces of plastic wrap, 1/8" thin. Dust with confectioner's sugar. Cut into desired shapes. Place on top of cake.
5. Apply gold leaf to chocolate ganache when firm.
6. May use remaining Samoas® cookies for decorating or garnish.

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Mint Delight

1 pkg. of Thin Mint cookies (crushed)
3 tbsp. butter or margarine (melted)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) softened cream cheese
2 pkgs. (8 oz. size) instant chocolate pudding
3 cups milk
4 cups whipped topping

Combine cookies with melted butter or margarine, (save ¼ cup of cookies for topping).
Press cookie mixture on bottom of 13” x 9” pan.
Chill.  Combine cream cheese with 1 cup whipped topping.
Spread over cookie mixture.  Chill for 15 to 20 minutes. 
Prepare pudding with 3 cups of milk and pour over cream cheese mixture.  
Chill for 1 hour or until ready to serve. Top with remaining whipped topping and Thin Mint cookie crumbs.

(Makes 10-12 servings).

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