Baking with Girl Scouts and Girl Scout cookies

This year’s Girl Scout Cookie Sale kicked off Jan. 10 and will run through March 30. Girl Scouts throughout our region will be selling six varieties of cookies including Thin Mints, Savannah Smiles, Samoas, Trefoils, Tagalongs, and Do-Si-Dos.

A box of cookies is $4.

The girls will be taking orders through Feb. 7. If you’d like to order cookies and don’t know a Girl Scout, call (800) 233-4845.

Those who’ve had the privilege of being Girl Scouts over the years know that cooking has always been an integral part of the scouting program.

“Whether it’s making a s’more over a campfire or a dish from another country, or cooking a simple dish showcasing local ingredients, Girl Scouting offers girls an opportunity to have fun, while learning about food,” said Ann McDonald, communications manager for Girl Scouts of Western Ohio. “Girl Scouts have been cooking since the organization was founded in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low.”

These days, she explains, younger girls learn how to make simple snacks and meals while older scouts learn that culinary possibilities are as diverse as the globe of people who cook them. They also learn the ways in which eating locally-grown, seasonal foods contributes to healthy eating, helps the environment and supports local farmers.

With the annual Girl Scout Cookie sale now underway, it seems appropriate to profile an area troop that loves to cook and bake.

“The ladies of Girl Scout Troop 30240 in Fairborn have been cooking together for years,” said Fairborn Girl Scout leader Andrea Wintrow. “For some, their cooking adventures began eight years ago on their first cookie camp-out. This year they kicked off the beginning of the cookie season by making six recipes, one for each type of Girl Scout cookie.”

We’re sharing some of those recipes in today’s Life section.

Last fall, Wintrow had the pleasure of turning her scouts loose at camp and had the chance to witness what they’d learned.

“They made every fire and cooked every meal with no help from me,” she says proudly. ” I enjoy their enthusiasm and willingness to try new things. They are making plans to travel to Europe in 2016, and I know that experiencing the culture will involve trying lots of new foods.”

Earning badges

The new badge system, Wintrow says, offers legacy badges that build on one another from year to year.

“So Brownies, for example, earn one called Snacks, Juniors earn Simple Meals, Cadettes earn New Cuisines, Seniors earn Locavore, and the one for Ambassadors is called Dinner Party.”

“As Cadettes — in sixth through eighth grades — our girls have worked on the badge New Cuisines that explores different types of food — from the past as well as from different cultures,” Wintrow said. “The Seniors who are ninth and 10th graders have worked on Locavore, which looks at the economics of local foods and the energy cost involved in shipping foods from far away.”

As part of these badges, she explained, the girls held an Iron Chef style competition where they worked in teams to create a unique spaghetti sauce. One of the secret ingredients of the winning team was cinnamon.

Their proud leader says her girls’ cooking truly excels over the campfire.

“For their Silver Project, the second highest award that a scout can earn, they created a video titled “Camping Girl Scout Style,” she adds. ” One section focuses on campfire cooking and includes pie-irons and doughnuts.”

We asked members of the troop about their cooking and scouting experiences

Q. What food do you most enjoy making?

A. I love making pancakes from scratch. I always add an extra pinch of sugar and mini chocolate chips. Sometimes I'll add cinnamon and vanilla, but chocolate chip is my favorite.

— Payge Adamson (Fairborn, STEM School, 14)

Q. Tell us about the Locavore badge you earned as a Senior Girl Scout?

A. My favorite part of the Locavore was being able to cook an entire meal for my Girl Scout troop. Finding the recipes to cook for the three-course meal was fun.

— Kelly Slonaker (Fairborn, Fairborn High School, 16).

Q. How about cooking at camp?

A. My favorite at camp is pie-iron pizzas. They are made with cast iron plates that hook together.

You use a piece of bread and butter it, putting the butter side down on the cast iron. On the non-buttered side, you put pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni and other toppings you like. Then you close it up and put it on the fire.

When it’s done, it looks like a grilled cheese sandwich and tastes like pizza!

— Terra Schaeffer (Fairborn, STEM, 14)

Q. What lessons have you learned about cooking since you joined the troop?

A. Don't touch the flame. It burns. Cooking can be dangerous, so you have to be careful. My favorite activity was the cookie camp-out where we made cookies all weekend.

— Kristen Henry (Fairborn, FHS, 15).

Q. As a Cadette, how has your cooking improved?

A. I feel better about my cooking because I used to be very afraid of stoves, but I've improved a lot and just this week I made grilled cheese on my own.

My favorite meals we’ve made as scouts were shish-kabobs over the fire.

— Carrin Ragland (Dayton, STEM, 14)

Q. How have you used your cooking to help others?

A. I've helped make pancakes for pancake suppers. Pancakes are my favorite thing to make. On camp-outs, I've helped younger scouts make meals for the entire troop.

When we cook with other scouts, we learn to work as a team.

— Kate Slonaker (Fairborn, Baker Middle School, 15)

Q. What are some of the things you made for the New Cuisines Badge?

A. We made old-timey chicken soup and cornbread. We also made Able-skivers for a Danish dish. We have them every Christmas morning. I also cook at home. Usually I like to make teriyaki stir-fry with my favorite santoku knife. I make my chicken alfredo from scratch, grilling the chicken with butter, onion, garlic, and add broccoli and serve it over penne pasta. Last night, I made my favorite Asian baby-back ribs.

— Damia Wintrow (Fairborn, FHS, 15)