It is the season for Girl Scout cookies. My friend Diana is the President of the Board of Directors of the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana and regularly invites me to their annual luncheon. This is an occasion to honor members of the community who have supported the Girl Scouts, and of course, the Scouts themselves. I always leave feeling inspired. 
If you are not up-to-date with your Girl Scouts, things have changed since the days when I made rice crispy treats, campfire stew, and s’mores. There are now six levels of scouting: Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, Cadets, Seniors, and Ambassadors. The organization focuses on developing girls as leaders and preparing them to enter fields in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), and the badges are more relevant. For example, Scouts can earn a badge while learning about creating a business plan, making digital movies, or exploring fields in science and technology. Badges guide the girls to make a difference in their community and beyond. 
The annual cookie sale is an opportunity for Girl Scouts to learn financial literacy and life skills. An age-appropriate curriculum has been established to teach goal-setting, decision-making, money management, people skills, and business ethics.
This year, along with the favorite Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs (my personal favorite!), there is a new cookie: S’mores. Of course there should be a S’mores Girl Scout Cookie to remind us of those campfire days when we enjoyed that memorable blend of chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers!
At the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana luncheon, the dessert features the Girl Scout Cookies prepared with the chef’s special touch. Right away, I started thinking about how I could make a pie using the cookies!
People: Girl Scout leaders and women everywhere who support organizations that develop girls’ and women’s leadership skills, serve as role models, and advocate for opportunity for all.
Places: Communities with active Girl Scout programs.
Pie: Girl Scout Cookie Pie, Diana. I have named this pie for my friend Diana, who, long after her own daughters had finished in scouting, continued as a troop leader, volunteer in our community, and is now president of the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana. There are infinite possibilities for using Girl Scout cookies besides just eating them, and I decided to make a pie using Thin Mints and Tagalongs. The shell is made with Thin Mints, followed by a layer of crushed Tagalongs, and topped with a creamy vanilla custard. What is better than chocolate, peanut butter, and milk! Although it might be easier to crush the Thin Mint cookies in a food processor, get out the electric mixer to whip the boxed custard, and using a recipe for a stove-top custard might taste a bit better, I designed this recipe to use “girl power” so that with just clean hands, a rolling pin, and a whisk, a Brownie Scout could safely make this pie. Surely there is a badge for this!
- For the crust:
- 1 ½ cups Thin Mint cookie crumbs (about 24 cookies)
- ¼ cup melted butter
- .
- For the Filling
- 10-12 crumbled Tagalong cookies
- 2 3.4 boxes instant vanilla pudding; milk as per directions on the box, about 4 cups for the 2 boxes.
- 2 Tbsp. green sugar
- For the crust:
- Crush the Thin Mint Cookies by placing the cookies in a large plastic baggie, and using a rolling pin, crush the cookies into fine crumbs.
- Mix the butter and crumbs with a fork and press into a 9 inch pie pan. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes
- For the Tagalong peanut butter layer:
- Crumble 10-12 Tagalong cookies. These “crumble” best by tearing them into small pieces by hand. Press into the pie shell; refrigerate while making the custard filling.
- For the custard layer:
- Make the vanilla pudding per package directions for a pie filling. Pour over the Tagalong cookie layer. There likely will be extra filling which can be poured into custard cups for a treat later. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm. Just before serving, garnish with the Girl Scout Trefoil. The trefoil template can be found online and printed, traced to parchment paper. Cut out the trefoil image and gently place the parchment with the trefoil centered on the pie, lightly pressing edges of the image to the pie. Sprinkle with green sugar and gently remove the parchment.
