Girl Scout Cookie Madness! Thin Mint Brownies

I was driving from point A to point B the other day, listening as I do to NPR.  It's always on in my car, 90.3 WAMC FM in the Capital District and beyond.  This year I finally bit the bullet and actually made a donation during the fund drive, since I've been a parasitic listener for a number of years.  Now a bonafide "member," I'm always checking out (online) more about especially interesting stories.   On March 4, I was listening to All Things Considered and learned how Girl Scouts are transitioning to selling their cookies online.  The story highlighted recipes for all kinds of things created from cookies - bread pudding, fried shrimp, and the dish featured here -- Thin Mint Brownies.

The Girl Scouts and I have a long history.  As a kid, I wasn't an especially good scout.  Didn't give it a chance.  My girls, however, were very involved, rising through the ranks from their earliest Brownie experiences.  The Scouts provided my girls wonderful opportunities for community involvement.  They earned enough through fundraising for trips to Philadelphia and Disney World (twice!).  I started out as the Brownie leader but soon realized I wasn't cut out for it, so my good friend Cathi Jackson took over and took off with it, creating life-long memories for "her girls."  I did, however, continue on as "Cookie Mom" which was a very big job.  Every March we'd manage hundreds of orders and it was a lot of work.  It was all worth it when we saw how much the girls were rewarded for their enthusiasm and efforts. 

Girl Scouts provide the ground work for success.  Cathi's troop has produced a physical therapist, a college registrar, a lawyer, business women, wonderful and dedicated mothers, and independent women.  She's so proud to call them "her girls."  I'm glad I had a hand in that cookie jar.

THIN MINT BROWNIES

Ingredients: Yields 6 servings


1/2 box of crushed Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies
1 box of brownie mix
2 eggs (3 eggs for cake-like brownies)
1/4 cup of water
1/2 cup of vegetable oil

(or instead of the previous 4 ingredients, your own brownie recipe for a 13x9 pan of brownies)

Directions:

Crush Thin Mints into medium size chunks. Mix all ingredients into mixing bowl. Do not use electric mixer— batter will be stiff. Spread batter evenly in greased baking pan (13 x 9 x 2 inch). Bake in center of oven at 350 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting.  Girl Scout suggestion:  serve with mint-flavored tea.
 
Recipe courtesy of: http://s3.amazonaws.com/www.littlebrownie.com/cookies/recipes/ThinMintBrownies.pdf
 
Photo image: http://www.dietsinreview.com/images/cache/303x300_girl-scout-thin-mint-cookie.jpg

Katharine Hepburn's FAMOUS Brownie Recipe!

One day at work a few years ago, one of my favorite professor friends in the English Department at Skidmore College brought in a crinkled foil package and placed it on the counter in my office. Suspicions aroused, I immediately investigated the contents of the package and was hit with the most intense chocolate aroma. Asked if she'd made the brownies, she confessed she had, and said that these weren't just any brownies, they were Katharine Hepburn's brownies. The best she'd ever tasted. Knowing that this professor is a chocolate fanatic if not epicurean snob (that's a compliment), I tried the recipe and agree completely. These are the best brownies I've ever baked.

This recipe is written, from what I understand, in Katharine Hepburn's exact words! You can almost hear her distinctive voice say "and beat like mad!" Please make these. You just have to.

Seriously!

Katharine Hepburn's Brownies

2 squares of unsweetened chocolate (2 oz.)
¼ lb. sweet butter (1 stick) (aka unsalted butter)
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of walnuts
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
¼ cup flour (yes, just ¼ cup)
¼ tsp. salt

Melt unsweetened chocolate and butter in a heavy sauce pan. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Add eggs along with vanilla and beat like mad. Stir in flour, salt, and chopped walnuts – not smashed up, you know, but just chopped into fairly good sized pieces. Now mix that all up. Butter a square tin (8x8 inches) and dump the whole thing quickly into the pan. Stuff this pan into a preheated 325 degrees oven for 40 minutes. Take out the pan and let it cool. Cut into 1 ½ inch squares.

Photo credit: http://www.katharinehepburntheater.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/chs_nn_katharine-hepburn-seated-possible-with-golf-club-4.jpg