Every year at this time, I get a bit nostalgic. Memories flood through my heart and I can’t help but smile. It’s Girl Scout Cookie time!
As a former Girl Scout myself (40+ years ago) and a former Troop Leader (my daughter went from Daisy’s to Juniors) I love seeing the groups of girls assembled outside different grocery stores or tucked into corners of retail establishments. I know the hard work and dedication that goes into organizing cookie sales. The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-run business in the world where girls gain leadership and business entrepreneurial skills. In fact, more than half of women in business are Girl Scout alumnae and say that the Girl Scout Cookie Program was beneficial to the development of their skills today! Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low initiated the cookie sale as a way for Girl Scouts to be self-reliant and to fund their own activities. Our troops used cookie money for camping trips, equipment, field trips and funding sporting events! These are some of my old pins and badges!
When I was approached by Melissa’s Produce with the idea of creating a recipe using some of their fantastic fruit, combined with girl scout cookies from The Greater Los Angeles Girl Scout Council, I took some time to think about my experiences as a Girl Scout. My favorite part about being a Girl Scout and later a Troop Leader was going to camp! S’mores, campfires and sleep-overs were not only fun, but they were learning experiences. You were responsible for helping with everything. You had to pitch your own tent, learn to roll a sleeping bag, plan, prep and cook meals for the troop and do the dishes! In the morning, you had to get things done, despite being tired from staying up late and giggling with your friends. (P.S. Girls? Leaders do that too!) Then it came to me! Mornings at home almost always meant cold cereal, but mornings at Girl Scout Camp, always, always meant pancakes!
I took my grandmothers 0ld-fashioned pancake recipe and incorporated one of my favorite Girl Scout Cookies, Savannah Smiles to make a special Lemony version of Camp Pancakes! Savannah Smiles are crispy, zesty lemon wedge cookies, dusted with powdered sugar. I would have loved these pancakes at camp!
The original pancake recipe had sugar, but by replacing the sugar (and part of the flour) with Savannah Smiles Cookies, pulsed through a food processor and adding fresh lemon juice and lemon zest from Melissa’s Meyer Lemons, these pancakes came out with soft centers and crisp edges. The lemon flavor from the cookies adds a bit of extra zing compared to traditional pancakes!
You don’t have to go to Girl Scout Camp to try these pancakes. Just grab a box of Savannah Smiles and a few of Melissa’s Produce Meyer Lemons and you’re on your way to your own special breakfast!
Savannah Smiles Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 6 oz box Savannah Smiles Girl Scout Cookies divided and crushed.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons milk
- juice and zest from one Meyer Lemon
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, place half the contents of 1 6-oz box of Savannah Smiles Cookies. Pulse until the cookies resemble coarse sand.
- In a large mixing bowl, place 1/2 cup of the cookie crumbs, flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together to incorporate.
- Add the milk, juice, zest, egg and melted butter to the dry ingredients.
- Mix until batter is smooth.
- Heat a lightly oiled griddle over medium heat.
- Use scant 1/4 cup measurement for each pancake.
- Cook until edges are bubbly, flip pancake and cook for an additional minute or until nicely browned.
- Serve hot!
- *Use any remaining cookie crumbs to sprinkle over ice-cream or fresh fruit!
Did you know the first Girl Scout Cookie was a simple sugar cookie (similar to today’s Trefoil Girl Scout Cookie), and it was sold for 25 to 30 cents per dozen? It’s true! Girl Scouts baked them using a recipe published in The American Girl magazine in 1922. Looking for your favorite Girl Scout Cookies? Girl Scout Cookies are on sale in Greater Los Angeles through March 6, 2016. Find a cookie sale near you by going to girlscoutcookies.org. Cookies are $5/box. Girl Scout Cookies are the ultimate feel-good treat because of what you support when you buy them!
“I’ve got something in my pocket, it belongs across my face.
I keep it very close at hand, in a most convienient place.
I’m sure you couldn’t guess it if you guessed a long, long while.
So I’ll take it out and put it on, it’s a great big GIRL SCOUT smile!”
Follow Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles on social media: @GirlScoutsLA / facebook.com/GSGLA
So tell me, what’s YOUR favorite Girl Scout cookie?
Ah! What a delicious idea! I never thought to add crushed cookies to pancakes – YUM!