Jackson Brownie Troop 316 took a tour of the Jackson Dairy Queen Restaurant Tuesday during DQ's nationwide Girl Scout Appreciation week, July 7 to 13.

The Brownies liked touring the DQ Restaurant for different reasons. Troop member Claire Essner said her favorite thing was decorating a cake. "I did the bottom part green. I'd like to do it again," she said. Thin Mint is now her favorite Blizzard flavor since she had the opportunity to make one. "Before that it was cookie dough," she said.

Troop member Hannah Mandeville didn't try the Thin Mint Blizzard. Instead she stuck with her favorite — a cookie dough Blizzard. Making the cookie dough Blizzard was her favorite part of the tour.

Troop member Leah Schnurbusch said making an ice cream cone and cookie dough Blizzard were her favorite parts of the tour. "I'm not crazy about Thin Mint cookies. Peanut butter patties are my favorite," she said.

The debut of DQ's new Thin Mint cookie Blizzard and Blizzard cakes is part of a month-long celebration of Girl Scouts at DQ. Scouts have the opportunity to develop their business and leadership skills through tours and contact with staff members who answer questions and provide demonstrations.

Jackson Dairy Queen manager Scott Glastetter led part of the tour, demonstrating how to make a Blizzard cake. Soft-serve ice cream was placed in a mold. "We use a spatula to get all the air out," he said. A cake is then placed in the center and the remaining space is filled with a Thin Mint Blizzard. "It has to freeze for two hours before decorating it," said Glastetter, who then took a ready-to-decorate cake out of the freezer. Girls were helped with squeezing the colored icing bags to create the cake design.

Part of the tour took the girls through a subzero walk-in freezer where 20-pound cases of crushed-up Thin Mint cookies are stored. The girls enjoyed the chance to cool off, but were soon ready to leave the freezer when ice vapors made it difficult to see and temperatures became uncomfortable.

Thin Mint blizzards will be available for the month of July or while supplies last, said Greg Essner, the Jackson store's general manager. "There's been a lot of excitement from the start," Essner said. He said the store has used about two cases weekly and expect to sell about 300 Thin Mint Blizzards in a week.

The debut of the Thin Mint Blizzard is "really neat," but long overdue, according to Essner. "It's been talked about for years. Every time the cookie drive comes around the discussion comes about," he said.

Thin Mint cookies are at the top of Essner's list of favorite Girl Scout cookies. When he gets creative he places ice cream between two cookies for an ice cream sandwich or just spreads peanut butter on them. The Girl Scout Web site, www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/faqs.asp#bestselling, names Thin Mints as the best-selling Girl Scout Cookie.

Essner believes the limited availability of Thin Mint Blizzards is a good thing. "It builds excitement for the following year. I'm hoping the Girl Scout cookie flavors are an annual thing," Essner said.

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133