Ready or not, here they come. Valentines roses? Nope. Romantic dinners on February 14th intended to show your significant other of twenty-five years that you love them more that day than the day before? No, not at all. Carriage rides? Champagne, romantic movies? No, no. no. Girl Scout Cookies are in the hizzie. In my case, literally. As in cases of them in my living room and dining room.
I have to laugh when I mention to friends about mid-January, “Hey, cookies are coming do you want to place your order?” I usually get a “Whhhhhhhat? Already?” Try being married to a cookie Mom. That moment she tells you during the height of holiday hustle and bustle between Thanksgiving and Christmas, “I’ll be late getting home. I have a girl scout cookie meeting.” Seriously, y’all. Let me get done with my Christmas shopping before you start hitting me with that craziness.
I make all kinds of jokes about it, sure, but the reality is Girl Scout Cookies are a year round thing. This weekend Scouts and their parents across the region will pull up at a warehouse in Pooler and load up boxes and boxes of cookies. Then as soon as this Sunday, you’ll start seeing Girl Scouts all over town selling their addictive goodness. Quick aside, there is a new flavor this year. Oatmeal Raisin. They are called Rah-Rah Raisin and they may force me to move to a hotel while my living room and dining room are stacked full of cookies. They are amazing. But back to the campaign.
Cookie sales will run their course as they always do. You most certainly know someone whose daughter is selling. Or you can find them outside of a grocery store or certain places of interest downtown. If you want those cookies, you’ll undoubtedly find them. There is however, something different this year that will allow you to enjoy some cookies with a chef’s creative twist.
In honor of National Girl Scouts Weekend, February 27th-March 1st, nearly two dozen area restaurants are going to be participating in a contest. Each restaurant is going to make a dessert using Girl Scout Cookies. Participants are encouraged to use Samoas in honor of that particular cookie’s 40th anniversary, but ultimately they are free to use whatever cookie they’d like. The goal is to get you to try as many of these desserts over the course of a weekend and then vote for your favorite online. Now, unless you are going to go on a “Jesse-like” Eat It and Like It run through that weekend, then I don’t think anyone will expect you to eat twenty different desserts over two days. However, it does stand to reason that you could take your main squeeze on a belated Valentine’s Day date and sample a couple here and there. Why not? Winners of the online vote get a trophy and of course bragging rights. The Girl Scouts get some exposure and you get to eat what I am sure will be some amazing desserts inspired by the cookies. After all, contestants so far include 45 Bistro, Ele, Leopold’s Ice Cream, North Beach Grill, and many more. Those are some can’t miss spots. These desserts should be divine. Keep in mind this is the last weekend of February. Not this weekend. There will be a complete list of contestants as we get closer to that date.
Even if you don’t get out to one of these spots, be sure to pick up a box or three of these cookies over the next month or so. Those Rah Rah Raisins are wonderful, but then I’m sure you already have your favorite that will force you into decisions as bad as the guy calling plays for the Seattle Seahawks. Well, maybe not that bad. Can anything be THAT bad? No, probably not.
See you on TV.
Jesse
