RECIPES USE GIRL SCOUT TREATS

It's Girl Scout cookie time! There will be some 2,897 local Girl Scouts out selling the yummy treats they have become famous for starting this Friday. The cookie sale ends Jan. 28.

How eager are the girls to sell the cookies? Last year the three top sellers from our local Otahki Council sold a total of 2,072 boxes. Overall the council sold 211,044 boxes of cookies last year.

The ABC Bakers Co. makes the cookies for our council, as well as many others across the country. A sample grocery list for the ABC Bakers Co. would include 17 million pounds of flour, 12 million pounds of sugar, 1.7 million pounds of coconut and 500,000 pounds of cocoa powder. With these ingredients and many others, there are eight different varieties of cookies available for $3 per box.

Your support of the Girl Scout Cookie Sale helps to support the many worthwhile programs offered through our local council.

When you purchase your favorite variety, and if you can keep from eating the entire box, there are many delicious recipes to try using Girl Scout cookies. The top selling cookie is also my favorite, the Thin Mint and is great in this Chocolate Mint Polar Freeze.

Chocolate Mint Polar Freeze

123 cups vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt

13 cup milk

6 Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies, crumbled

Whipped cream, optional

Maraschino cherries, optional

In a medium bowl, stir together ice cream and milk until smooth. Add cookie crumbs, reserving 2 teaspoons of crumbs for garnish, and stir until blended. Immediately, spoon into 2 glasses. Top each serving with whipped cream sprinkled with reserved cookie crumbs and a cherry.

The second most popular cookie is the Caramel deLites. It is a vanilla cookie drenched in caramel, toasted coconut and chocolate stripes. They are great in this next recipe.

Chocolate Coconut Caramel Dessert

1 box Girl Scout Caramel deLites cookies

3 tablespoons margarine, melted

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

14 cup sugar

114 cups plus 2 tablespoons milk, divided

112 cups thawed non-dairy whipped topping, divided

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

14 cup toasted coconut

3 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate mini morsels

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 in34 cup whipped topping. Spread evenly over cookie layer. Combine pudding mix and remaining milk and beat 1-2 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.

The reduced fat lemon cookie available makes a nice ingredient in the Lemon Crunch Parfait recipe.

Lemon Crunch Parfait

12 Girl Scout Reduced Fat Lemon Pastry Cremes

1 quart frozen reduced-fat or fat-free vanilla yogurt

1 (15-ounce) jar scalloped apples

12 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Place cookies in a small self-sealing plastic bag. With a rolling pin crumble cookies into small pieces; set aside. Spoon one-half of yogurt into six parfait glasses or dessert dishes. In a small bowl combine apples and cinnamon. Layer 2 tablespoons of apple mixture over yogurt in each dessert dish; sprinkle with half of cookie crumbs. Spoon remaining yogurt over cookie crumbs; layer remaining apple mixture on top. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

Another popular Girl Scout Cookie variety is the Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookie. Using that cookie try this ice cream sundae pie recipe.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream Sundae Pie

1 box (9-ounce) Girl Scout Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

5 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened

23 cup strawberry topping

13 cup peanuts, chopped

Chocolate fudge topping, optional

Place cookies in food processor or blender; process until fine crumbs. To make crust, combine cookie crumbs and butter. Set aside12 cup of crumb mixture and press remaining crumbs into bottom and sides of an ungreased 9-inch pie pan. Freeze until firm. Spread 2 cups ice cream in an even layer over cookie crust. Drizzle with13 cup strawberry topping and sprinkle with14 cup reserved crumb mixture. Top with remaining 2 cups ice cream and spread in an even layer. Drizzle with remaining13 cup strawberry topping. Sprinkle with remaining14 cup crumb topping and chopped peanuts. Freeze until firm. To serve, cut into 8 wedges. If desired, top each with drizzle of chocolate fudge topping.

The Upside-Downs Frosted Oatmeal Cookies are used in this next recipe for a pizza style dessert.

Upside-Downs Chocolate Mini Pizzas

1 (18-ounce) package refrigerated sugar cookie dough

16 Girl Scout Upside-Downs Cookies, cut in quarters

34 cup semi-sweet chocolate-covered raisins

12 cup shredded coconut

34 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon warm water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray two cookie sheets with non-stick cooking spray. Divide dough into eight equal portions. Place one portion on cookie sheet and press into a 5-inch circle. Continue with remaining dough leaving 2 inches between each cookie and placing four pizzas on each sheet. Press eight cookie quarters around the edge of each pizza. Sprinkle pizzas with raisins and coconut; press lightly. Bake 12 to 16 minutes or until golden brown on edges. Carefully loosen pizzas around edges. Leave pizzas on cookie sheets until completely cool. Then place powdered sugar and water in resealable plastic bag; seal bag and combine until smooth. Snip a small18-inch hole in corner of bag; drizzle glaze over pizzas.

I hope you enjoy these recipes using Girl Scout cookies. Be sure to purchase plenty to last you all year long. The cookies freeze and will keep fine for the year.

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Now that it is 2001, I'm just now getting into the 90's. Yes, just last week I finally got an e-mail address and now, you can send recipes to me through e-mail. Jodi Thompson will be happy to hear that, I'm sure. You can find me at suemac@showme.net and I look forward to hearing from you and your recipe files.

Next week I will be back to the mail you have sent in to include the Yucatan Roast Pork recipe from the former La Bamba restaurant in downtown Cape Girardeau. You will not want to miss that.

Have a wonderful week greeting Girl Scouts as they approach you with cookie sales and happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan, an administrator at Cape Senior Center, can be reached at Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702-0699. Recipes published are not kitchen-tested by the Southeast Missourian staff.