The Chefs Black Book

Girl Scout Cookies® Thin Mints

If those cute little cookie peddlers aren't posted outside
the market, it may be tough to get your hands on these -
the most popular cookies sold by the Girl Scouts each year.
One out of every four boxes of cookies sold by the girls is
Thin Mints. This recipe uses an improved version of the
chocolate wafers created for the Oreo cookie clone in the
second TSR book "More Top Secret Recipes." That recipe creates
108 cookie wafers, so when you're done dipping, you'll have
the equivalent of three boxes of the Girl Scout Cookies favorite.
(See? That's why you bought those extra cookie sheets.)
You could, of course, reduce the recipe by baking only 1/3
of the cookie dough for the wafers and then reducing the
coating ingredients by 1/3, giving you a total of 36 cookies.
But that may not be enough to last you until next spring.

Chocolate Cookie Wafers

1 18.25-ounce package Betty Crocker chocolate fudge cake mix
3 tablespoons shortening, melted
1/2 cup cake flour, measured then sifted
1 egg
3 tablespoons water
Non-stick cooking spray
Coating
3 12-ounce bags semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
6 tablespoons shortening
1. Combine the cookie ingredients in a large bowl, adding the
water a little bit at a time until the dough forms. Cover
and chill for 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a portion of the dough
to just under 1/16 of an inch thick. To cut, use a lid from a
spice container with a 1 1/2-inch diameter (Schilling brand is good.)
Arrange the cut dough rounds on a cookie sheet that is sprayed with
a light coating on non-stick spray. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove
the wafers from the oven and cool completely.
4. Combine chocolate chips with peppermint extract and shortening
in a large microwave - safe glass or ceramic bow. Heat on 50
percent power for 2 minutes, stir gently, then heat for an addition
minute. Stir once again, and if chocolate is not a smooth
consistency, continue to zap in microwave in 30-second intervals
until smooth.
5. Use a fork to dip each wafer in the chocolate, tap the fork on
the edge of the bowl so that the excell chocolate runs off, and
then place the cookies side-by-side on a wax paper - lined baking
sheet. Refrigerate until firm.
Makes 108 cookies.

Girl Scout Cookies® Shortbread

Since they only sell these once a year, right around
springtime, you're bound to get a craving sometime around fall.
And if you're still holding onto a box, they may have begun
to taste a bit like used air-hockey pucks. Now you can toss out
those relics and fill the box with a fresh batch, made from
this clone recipe for the first variety of cookies sold by the
Girl Scouts back in 1917.

1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons beaten egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plus an extra 1/4 cup reserved for
rolling)
1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the shortening, sugar,
vanilla, and salt with an electric mixer.
2. Add the egg and beat mixture until it's fluffy. Add the baking
soda and mix for about 20 seconds, then add the buttermilk and mix
for an additional 30 seconds.
3. In another bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.
4. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix well with an
electric mixer until flour is incorporated.
5. Roll the dough into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap, and chill
it for 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
7. Roll dough out on a well-floured surface to 1/8-inch thick and
punch out cookies with a 1 1/2 to 2-inch cutter (a medium-size spice
bottle lid works well). Arrange cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet.
8. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes 60 cookies.