Girl Scout Cookies and Booze

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It’s almost that hallowed time of year again–Girl Scout Cookie time! Time for those little purveyors of deliciousness dressed in green to knock on our doors and take our orders for Girl Scout Cookies.

We wait all year for them to return. I think sometimes we take them for granted until they’re not around anymore. When my daughter was in grade school, we had endless access to Girl Scouts to supply us with cookies. Once she got older and her friends were no longer Girl Scouts, we had to really work hard to find someone to sell them to us.

When we lived in Virginia, there just did not seem to be a lot of Girl Scouts around. We were reduced to downloading an app that showed when they would be in town selling them in front of Lowe’s or a local grocery store. You kind of start of feel like a panicky junkie when you can’t find your cookie fix come February. 🙂

Now that we’re back in Texas we don’t have any trouble finding cookies. Thank goodness.

I don’t know if you’ve followed social media the last couple of years about the trend of pairing Girl Scout Cookies with wine. What goes best with each cookie? There is endless speculation, and some people love it and some think it’s just nonsense.

My husband has always liked to pair Thin Mints with red wine, so I guess he’s an influencer and didn’t even know it. 🙂

In addition to pairing the cookies with wine, I decided to use this year’s cookie lineup to introduce you to some liquors you may not have tried, and if you decide to pair them, then even better!

Before we get to that, let’s take a look at this year’s cookie offering:

• Lemonades–shortbread with tangy lemon filling

• Lemon Ups–new this year, cripsy lemon cookies with inspirational messages inscribed on each

• Caramel deLites/Samoas–a crispy cookie drizzled with chocolate and caramel, and covered with toasted coconut

• Thin Mints–the classic round mint flavored cookie dipped in chocolate

• Do-si-dos/Peanut Butter Sandwich–another classic, crunchy oatmeal cookie with peanut butter filling

• Tagalongs/Peanut Butter Patties–a crisp cookie layer, topped with peanut butter, then dipped in chocolate.

• Shortbread/Trefoils–this iconic cookie is just pure shortbread

• Thanks-A-Lot–shortbread cookies with a layer of fudge on the bottom, with “Thank You” embossed in different languages including English, French, Chinese, Swahili, and Spanish

• Caramel Chocolate Chip–a gluten free chewy chocolate chip cookie with caramel and sea salt

• Toffee-tastic–another gluten free cookie, buttery with sweet toffee bits sprinkled throughout

• S’mores–a graham cracker cookie double dipped in creme icing, and coated in chocolate

So. Those are our choices this year. If you want to pair your cookies with wine, I’ll share the suggested choice. I’ll also share a boozier option that draws inspiration from the cookie flavors.

If you like the lemon flavored cookies, the suggested wine pairing is a a dry Riesling or a Savignon Blanc. Both contain citrus notes that pair well with the flavors of the cookie.

If you want a lemon flavor liquor to try, I can vouch for limoncello, which is an Italian lemon liqueur. You can buy it pre-made, or make your own.

I can also readily suggest Deep Eddy Lemon Vodka, made right here in Texas. We love to mix it with a splash of sparkling water and Sprite. A great refreshing cocktail. If you want to try it with your Girl Scout Cookies, go ahead! 🙂

 

If the Caramel deLites are your thing, the suggested wine pairing is champagne! How fancy!

If you’d like a drink inspired by the flavors, there is an actual Samoa cocktail that combines a chocolate/caramel/vanilla liqueur with vodka and butterscotch Schnapps.

 

Thin mints. Who doesn’t love those? If you want to pair a wine with them, the suggestion is a malbec or a cabernet savignon. These deep reds compliment the chocolate and mint flavor of the cookie.

For some reason when I pondered a cocktail that reminded me of thin mints I thought of something called a Leprechaun’s Kiss Martini. There isn’t any mint in it, but I think you could easily add a splash. The drink is rich and chocolatey, just like Thin Mints. Here’s how you make it:

• 1 ounce of chocolate liqueur
• 1 ounce of cream de cacao
• 1/2 ounce of vanilla vodka
• 1/2 ounce of Irish Cream liqueur
• 1 1/2 ounces of half and half
• 1 Hershey’s kiss (how about a mint chocolate Hershey’s kiss for that mint flavor?)
• sugar and honey for garnish

Add a tablespoon of honey to a shallow dish. In another dish, create a circle of sugar in the color of your choice. Rim the edge of a martini glass first in honey, then dip it in the sugar.

Put a Hershey’s kiss in the bottom of the glass. In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine the liquids and shake vigorously. Strain into the prepared martini glass. Enjoy!

 

If you love the peanut butter flavored cookies, the suggested pairing is a nice port. The reasoning behind that is that the berry flavors of port are kind of a no-brainer for that peanut butter and jelly combo we all love.

If you’d like a peanut flavored liquor, my husband has recently become a fan of Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey. It’s just what it sounds like–whiskey infused with peanut butter. He asked our local liquor store to order it for him when he couldn’t find it anywhere. They did and told us it has become a really good seller for them. We’ve yet to receive any finder’s fees, but oh well. 🙂 And try it over ice cream. YUM.

 

For those who love the shortbread cookies, the suggested pairing is a light bodied white wine like a chardonnay. And if you want that shortbread flavor in liquid form, there is an actual liqueur just for you called Millionaire’s Shortbread Cocktail. Shortbread, caramel and milk chocolate served over ice.

 

The caramel chocolate chip and toffee flavored cookies are suggested to pair with a bold red wine to complement their flavors. And for your cookie flavor inspired liquor, you can give Dooley’s Toffee Creme Liqueur a try. It combines Belgian toffee, Dutch cream, and vodka. Yes, yes, and yes. 🙂

And finally, S’mores. The suggested wine pairing is madeira. If you want to try a liquor that evokes the same flavors, you can try an Adult S’more, which is a vodka drink that includes the graham cracker, chocolate and marshmallow flavors.

There’s also a S’mores beer made by Shiner here in Texas. Chocolate, marshmallow, and ale. Three good food groups. 🙂 My husband doesn’t like it but my daughter and I do.

 

So there you have it. Cookies, wine, and some hard stuff. Once those cookies orders start arriving, I encourage you to experiment and see what you like best, together or apart. If you read my blog a few weeks ago about The Bartesian Christmas present, you can imagine that I’m going to do some experimenting with cookies and the cocktails I can make in my new machine. 🙂

What are your thoughts on Girl Scout Cookies and booze? Feel free to leave a comment!

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