Homemade CopyCat Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies

NOTE: the Homemade Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies are on our Christmas Tray *every* year!

I've been making my own Caramel D'lites, Thin Mints and Twix cookies for about 15 years now. I also make Salted Nut Rolls but they are such a messy pain in the back side that I figure it's worthwhile to buy them if I'm craving them... LOL. But as for the mint cookies? Here you go. One that is ultra fast and simple... and a more labor intense version for when they switched to a chocolate wafer a few years ago instead of the original cookie.

Faux Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies

Ritz Crackers
Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips or Chocolate Almond Bark
Peppermint Oil flavoring (more intense than extract)


Amounts are completely up to you based on how many you want to make.

Start with about 3/4 of a bag (or 6 oz.) of the chocolate chips and melt in the microwave, stirring often, or double boiler or over very low heat. Stir in about 1/4 t of peppermint oil (add by drops until you get a strong, delicious taste you like. Stronger is better than weaker but don't trust your taste buds after the first taste or two, employ a 'helper' to dip a cracker and do a taste test.) Work quickly so your chocolate doesn't set up while you are dipping, or keep it warming in a bowl or pan over another pan of hot water (double boiler style). You can get about 1 sleeve of crackers dipped with about 6-8 oz. chocolate chips. If your chocolate is too thick to dip correctly you can add 1 tablespoon of vegetable shortening and stir smooth. Don't add butter or water it will seize.

Using a fork, dip the Ritz crackers one by one to cover in the melted minty chocolate coating and let the excess drip off before laying on parchment paper or wax paper. Let harden or if you are in a rush, refrigerate to harden. With the scalloped edge of the cracker they look and taste like the 'real' thing for pennies on the dollar.


Ok... for those of you who want the chocolate wafers.

1 package chocolate fudge cake mix
3 tablespoons shortening
1/2 cup cake flour
1 egg
3 T water
nonstick cooking spray

Combine the cookie ingredients in a large bowl, adding the water a little bit at a time until it forms a dough. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a portion of the dough very thin (about 1/16 " thick). Cut out 1 1/2 inch wafers using a scalloped cookie or biscuit cutter. If you do not have one, use a juice glass, the lid of a spice jar or even a clean cutter from your kids play-doh set if they have one! Bake for about 10 minutes until crisp but don't let them burn. Let them cool completely and then dip the same way as stated above. If you make the chocolate wafers you'll need about 2 1/2 - 3 bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips to cover all the wafers.

Can be frozen for storage.





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Homemade Winter Squash Pasta and Spinach Pasta

Last week I blogged that my parents had come to visit and brought not only some cheese they had purchased in bulk from a local Mennonite auction, but a few other things, including containers my Dad had pulled out of the freezer and brought to me without my mother immediately knowing. They were labeled "Squash" on the top by a hastily scribbled marker. That's all I knew about them.


I honestly thought I'd probably whip up a cream soup out of the squash. It was already baked and scraped into this container, then frozen. But when I opened the container yesterday I had another idea. Pasta. I love making homemade spinach pasta, so why not take the same idea and use squash in its place? Let's go!


Homemade Spinach Pasta
Homemade Butternut Squash Pasta

1 egg
1/2 t olive oil
4-5 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and briefly cooked
or 1/2 - 3/4 c butternut squash puree - already baked and scraped from the shell

Place into the bowl of a food processor and whirl until smooth.

Add 1 1/2 c flour
1/2 t salt

Process just until it gathers to a ball. Let set 10 minutes before working with it.

Roll it out very thin on a lightly floured surface, or if you have an Italian pasta machine, roll it out in portions starting at 1 and thinning it down to a 3 or 4. If you have rolled it thin by hand, now use a pizza cutter to slice it into 1/2 inch strips, or even 1 inch if you like your noodles wide. With the pasta machine, make it into noodles if you have the attachment or lay it out and use the pizza cutter as well. This pasta is also perfect for making homemade ravioli with if you cut it into squares, fill and seal instead of slicing into pasta strips. Use right away by dropping in boiling water and boiling for about 8 minutes. Toss with butter, salt and pepper or your favorite sauce or use in a chicken noodle soup! If you want to let them dry, just let them dry on the counter overnight, flipping the next morning and continuing to dry or if you have a pasta drying rack, let hang over night or to the next day until dried. Store in a sealed ziplock in the freezer until use.

Stop processing when it forms a ball

Butternut Squash pasta, Spinach Pasta and a blended squash/spinach pasta dough

In order from the left; Squash/Spinach Pasta, Spinach Pasta and Butternut Squash Pasta

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Chocolate Chocolate Cake - Quick and Easy using Store Bought Products

Chocolate Chocolate Cake

1 box of moist supreme chocolate cake mix
1-1/4 cups of water
1/3 cups of canola oil
4 egg whites
1 can (15.75-oz) chocolate pie filling

1 can chocolate frosting
8-oz container of chocolate cool whip, thawed

Prepare the cake mix as directed using the water, oil and egg whites. Spread the batter into a prepared 9X13" pan. Drop the pie filling by the heaping teaspoonfuls evenly over the batter. Bake for 35 minutes at 350 degree until done in the center. Cool completely.

Combine the frosting and cool whip, blend well and spread over the cooled cake. Top with chocolate curls for garnish if you want even more chocolate!

Oreo Cream Pie or Cookies and Cream Pie

I admit... I'm probably one of the only Moms in America that doesn't buy Oreo's. It's true. I don't. I don't regularly purchase any cookies and very little 'junk' food. The kids tend to snack on healthier snacks. Perhaps because it's what I've always kept in the house, but they tend to choose cheese (lots of cheese!), crackers, pretzels, vegetables and ranch dip, yogurt, 100% fruit juice gummies, etc. for snacks - even when we have cookies or candies in the house. My 15 year old son asked for Oreo's when I went shopping last. I said I'd pick some up. He had them that evening with milk but here we were a week later and still had 3/4 of a package left. That was perfect because I saw a picture of a 'Cookies and Cream Fluff' recipe (that I couldn't make because I didn't have store bought pudding on hand) and my mind started racing with a pie idea.

Typical me... I didn't follow any recipe and I made it up, but really, when it comes to this sort of dessert it's pretty easy to 'wing it'.


Oreo Cream Pie
(Cookies and Cream Pie)


2 c graham cracker crumbs, fine
4 T sugar
1/3 c butter, melted

1 - 8 oz. package cream cheese, soft
1 c powdered sugar
1 1/2 t vanilla
2 c heavy cream
15 Oreo's, crushed into large chunks


Mix the graham crumbs, butter and sugar together and press firmly into a large deep dish pie plate or the bottom of a serving dish or pan. A 9X13 inch pan would yield thin bars, a 10" square would make thick 4" dessert squares... your choice. Putting another pan the same size on top and pressing down firmly is an easy way to make the crust even and ensure firm pressure all the way around. Let set while you mix up the filling.



In a large mixing bowl cream the cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add the heavy cream and pulse to mix for 30 seconds until it starts to blend. Mix on high until it thickens into a smooth whipped cream, about 1 minute in a large KitchenAid mixer. Fold in the crushed Oreo's and place into the graham crust. Smooth the top. Chill in the refrigerator. Can be eaten immediately but if you can, chill at least 12 hours. This makes for a delicious taste as well as the pie setting up perfect for slicing.

Garlic Cheese Spread... Lava Loaf... Garlic Bread

Our family eats so much garlic I sometimes buy the large container of peeled fresh garlic from Costco that restaurants use! I've found it's a budget friendly way to spend about $7 on what would have cost me at least $50 at the grocery store. I use them for a couple weeks and then when I suspect they need to be used up quickly to stay fresh I mince the whole lot of them and freeze the minced garlic in the deep freeze, cutting off or scooping out amounts I need over the next month or two.

We eat garlic bread about once a week. Typically it's a cheesy garlic spread of some sort. Garlic and cream cheese with either mayonnaise or sour cream is the basis of many... and here is one more!

Garlic Cheese Spread

1 - 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1/4 c sour cream
1/4 c fresh grated parmesan cheese
2 T mayonnaise
1 T parsley - dried
6 t minced garlic
1/2 t garlic salt
1/2 t onion powder


Mix and spread on one loaf of French bread, sliced on the diagonal. Bake at almost any temperature, best between 350 - 375 until the tops are bubbling and light golden brown, about 8-10 minutes.