The Adventures of a Frustrated Baker

Good morning!  Today, we are going to learn to make toffee...real toffee...with a candy thermometer and everything!  Now wait, before you all run and hide - I swear, this will be easy and delicious!  It is even more worth it because we are going to be using the best ingredient EVER - Girl Scout cookies...Samoas to be more precise! It is that time of year...you know the one.  The one where girls begin to knock on your doors asking you in that adorable voice if you'd like to buy some Girl Scout cookies.  I was one of those girls once and I remember just how great it felt to set goals and meet them; to gain confidence that I could get over my shyness and gather my courage to ask someone I didn't know to support Girl Scouts.  It is still one of my favorite times of year but now I am the one behind the girl on the door step watching her grow in confidence and salesmanship.  Plus I'm the cookie mom...I get to play with all the cookies!  Good thing...

It's almost time for my favorite time of the school year!  Girl Scout cookie season!!  It comes at the perfect time, far enough away from January that you don't feel too guilty for giving into those adorable little faces in their sharp little uniforms that will greet you at the exit of every major store in your community starting on the 28th.  In effort to help kick off the season, Girl Scouts of Western Washington is again hosting an annual recipe contest, and I have been selected as a finalist!  Be sure to head to their website and vote for me!  Tell your friends! While of course Girl Scout cookies are delicious in their own right, they also can be turned into gloriously decadent treats.  I always have a leftover box or two of most of the flavors in my freezer year round but I especially love to keep some Trefoils on hand because they make the most delicious cookie crumb crusts for any dessert.  A personal favorite of mine is raspberry streus...