As a child, the refrain, “it’s Girl Scout cookie time,” filled me with dread. While I loved Scouting and stayed in the program for over twenty years, I absolutely hated selling cookies.
My earliest memories are trudging the neighborhood with boxes of sandwich cookies and trying to sell them for fifty cents a box. The delectables contained white filling; one row was vanilla and the other chocolate. The treats displayed the Scout trefoil. Of course, I was adorned in my green uniform, trying to make a good impression. Sales were dismal, and, naturally, my parents didn’t lift a finger to help.
When my girls were in the program, I half-heartedly encouraged them to sell and even took some to work. However, I never pushed and bought most of the cookies they were required to hawk, stacking them in the freezer.
Cookie sales have morphed from where they began in 1917. That year, the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma, baked cookies in their own kitchens and sold them in the high school cafeteria as a service project.
Today, there are strict rules about what age you must be to go door-to-door without a parent, and you are always to have a buddy. Troops can set up online sales venues and, of course, cookie stands in front of stores are popular. And parents continue to help sell. Has anyone at work or church approached you yet?
Do you have a memory of Girl Scout Cookies?
Original 1922 Recipe
- 1 cup of butter, or substitute
- 1 cup of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- 2 cups of flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
Cream butter and sugar; add well-beaten eggs, then milk, flavoring, flour, and baking powder. Roll thin and bake in quick oven. (Sprinkle sugar on top.) This amount makes six to seven dozen.
Modern-day tips (not part of the original recipe): Refrigerate batter for at least one hour before rolling and cutting cookies. Bake in a quick oven (375°) for approximately 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.
Source: https://www.girlscouts.org/en/cookies/all-about-cookies/Cookie-History.html
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