A HARTE APPETITE: GIRL SCOUT COOKIE SALES BEGIN FRIDAY

This Friday is one of the most eagerly anticipated days of the year at our house. It's the start of the annual Girl Scout Cookie sale. And apparently ours is not the only household which looks forward to this American tradition, for statistics show that during the first quarter of every year, when Girl Scouts go door to door peddling them, Girl Scout Cookies rank number two in sales, rivaling Keebler and Nabisco.

The custom of selling cookies to raise funds to subsidize Girl Scout camps and other programs is almost as old as Girl Scouting itself. It wasn't long after the organization's founding in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low, otherwise known as Daisy (one of this year's cookie varieties, Reduced Fat Iced Ginger Daisies, is named after her) that individual Girl Scout troops began selling home baked cookies. The original version was a simple shortbread cookie made with equal amounts of butter and sugar, a couple of eggs, some flour, and a little milk.

As early as 1928 an issue of Girl Scout Leader magazine reported that one enterprising troop had raised as much as $1400 through cookie sales, an impressive figure, especially in pre-depression dollars. In 1932 the organization made available an official Girl Scout insignia cookie cutter so that troops around the country could produce a uniform product. Before long the girls had to turn to commercial bakeries to fill the increasing demand for their cookies.

Laura Hinkebein, Resource Development Director for the local 73 Otahki Girl Scout Council, is hoping that the demand will remain high for this year's eight cookie varieties and that sales will be even greater than last year when nearly 185,000 of the 175 million boxes purchased nationwide were sold by the girls in the 11 counties over which the Otahki Council has jurisdiction. (By the way, if a Girl Scout doesn't come to your door, you can call 334-7741 to place your order.) And, as if we needed further inducement to buy them, Laura points out that in addition to being eaten straight out of the box, Girl Scout Cookies can also be used as an ingredient in a variety of dishes.

For example, when crumbled they can be used to make crusts for pies, swirled through your favorite cheesecake batter, combined with butter and sugar to make a streusel topping, or used to coat chocolate truffles. In fact, for a more sophisticated taste, try substituting Thin Mints (the best selling variety by far) in almost any recipe which calls for Oreos. And if you're looking for a good excuse to buy some extra boxes of Girl Scout Cookies to store in the freezer, consider the following approaches to "cooking with cookies."

Lemon Cookie Chicken Salad

Recently the Joplin Globe sponsored a contest in which local chefs were invited to invent a new dish using Girl Scout Cookies. This recipe from Tom Danner of T.J. Mot's Restaurant was one of the winners in the "Cookie Cook-off."

Ingredients:

6 Girl Scout Lemon Pastry Creme cookies

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar

4 artichoke hearts, quartered

1 tomato, diced

1 medium onion, slivered

2 boneless chicken breasts, diced

1 head Romaine lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces

1 teaspoon garlic

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 small bunch green onions, chopped

Directions:

Scrape cream centers from cookies, reserving both centers and cookies. In a skillet heat olive oil to moderate temperature. Add onion, garlic, artichokes, and chicken and saute until chicken is just cooked through. Add tomatoes, lemon cream centers, and vinegar. Blend mixture to make sauce. Add olive oil as needed to make sauce desired consistency. Toss with lettuce and green onions and top with grated cheese. Serve with reserved cookies in place of crackers. Serves 6.

Spicy Thai Pasta with Chicken

This recipe from Kerry Bullette also placed in the Globe's contest. The crushed cookies take the place of the chopped peanuts which would normally adorn such a dish.

Ingredients:

1 clove minced garlic

2 boneless chicken breasts

1/4 cup sesame oil

4 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

juice of 1/2 lime

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup crushed Girl Scout peanut butter sandwich cookies

1 pound linguine

Directions:

Prepare linguine according to package directions. While pasta cooks, mix together garlic, oil, ginger, peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, lime juice, and red pepper flakes. Grill chicken breasts, julienne and toss in bowl with drained pasta and sauce. Sprinkle crushed cookies over top. Serves 4.

Chocolate Coconut Caramel Dessert

This recipe is courtesy of ABC Bakers of Richmond, Virginia, the oldest of two bakeries licensed to supply Girl Scout Cookies nationwide and the one which provides the cookies sold in this area. Their affiliation with the Girl Scouts dates back to 1939.

Ingredients:

1 box Girl Scout Caramel deLites

3 tablespoons margarine, melted

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk, divided

1 1/2 cups thawed non-dairy whipped topping, divided

1 package (4-serving) instant coconut cream pudding mix

1/4 cup toasted coconut

3 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate mini morsels

Directions:

Place cookies in processor or blender and process into fine crumbs. Spray bottom of a 9-inch square pan with non-stick cooking spray. Combine cookie crumbs and margarine and press evenly in bottom of pan. Beat cream cheese with sugar and 2 tablespoons milk until smooth. Blend in 3/4 cup whipped topping. Spread evenly over cookie layer. Combine pudding mix and remaining milk and beat 1 to 2 minutes until smooth. Pour over cream cheese layer. Chill several hours or overnight. Just before serving spread remaining whipped topping over top of dessert and sprinkle with toasted coconut and mini morsels. Serves 12.

Got a recipe you'd like to share with our readers? Are you looking for a recipe for something in particular? Send your recipes and requests to A Harte Appetite, c/o The Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO., 63702-0699 or by e-mail to tharte@semovm.semo.edu.

~Tom Harte is a professor at Southeast Missouri State University and writes a food column every other week for the Southeast Missourian.