7 Ways to Upgrade Dessert with Girl Scout Cookies

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Girl Scout Cookie season is precious and short, so it's no wonder we all frantically stock up on a dozen or more boxes of our favorites. We could just freeze our giant stash, but why not have a little fun by incorporating them into some sweet treats? Here are seven ideas for blending, crumbling, and mixing Girl Scout Cookies into delicious, upgraded desserts:

Abby Hocking What do you need to drink to function every morning? Coffee. What conveniently often comes in coffee flavor? Ice cream. Creamy, cold and caffeinated, this ice cream is everything your morning iced coffee should be. Thus, it is more than appropriate to eat it for breakfast. For those so inclined, decaffeinated coffee beans work well here, too.

1. Fold them into ice cream.

Stir crushed cookies into homemade or store-bought softened ice cream. Why? Because Coffee Ice Cream is so much better with Samoas and Tagalongs make classic Vanilla Bean Ice Cream irresistible. You could even make your own sundaes by swapping crushed Do-Si-Dos for peanut brittle in these Vietnamese Coffee Sundaes.

© Sarah Bolla

2. Pair them with cupcakes.

Use the new S'mores flavor instead of the chocolate-coated graham crackers in these s'mores cupcakes. Or, make your own twist on cookies and cream cupcakes by topping them with your all-time favorite Girl Scout Cookie instead of Oreos. Thin Mints, perhaps?

The ultimate candy mash-up recipe, this snack mix makes use of whatever you have around from 3 Musketeers to peanut butter cups and throws it all together in a sweet, salty treat that will keep in snacking all week.

3. Transform trail mix into treat mix.

Christina Tosi's Snack Mix is perfect for improvising. Got a few boxes of Samoas? Make your party mix a coconut-caramel mash-up by using chopped cookies instead of Reese's. Or, embrace the chocolate-peanut butter flavor of the original and double down with Tagalongs or Do-Si-Dos.

© Line Klein For any all day party or celebration, snacks are key. Obviously the meal is the main event, but having tasty snacks on hand to nibble on throughout is ideal. Celebrate the Fourth of July by indulging in easy and refreshing snacks, including ice pops, summer parfaits and crispy kale chips.

4. Make some cookie-coated chocolate sweets.

Melted chocolate is the perfect vehicle for crumbly cookies. These Ice Cream Bonbon Pops are just waiting to be coated in crushed Thin Mints. And, chocolate bark would be fantastic with a fun mix of cookies. After all, S'mores and Tagalongs are made for each other.

© Abby Hocking

5. Indulge in a cookie salad.

Do-Si-Dos make a delicious swap for Black & White cookies in this Midwestern treat. Actually, so do Thin Mints, Tagalongs, and the whole line-up of Girl Scout Cookies.

Christina Holmes

For this elegant, no-bake cheesecake, Nicolaus Balla ferments his own farmer's cheese (a kind of cottage cheese). Ricotta mixed with cream cheese makes a delicious substitute for the filling, which is incredibly light, delicately sweet and wonderful inside the crumbly graham cracker crust. This summer dessert is perfect for your warm weather dinner party.

6. Update cheesecake crust.

The crust of this Farmer's Cheesecake with Strawberries is easily adaptable and just waiting for some Trefoils to take the place of graham crackers.

© David Malosh

We know, we know, you probably plan to eat all those mini Snickers bars. But if you save a few, this Christina Tosi creation is like a milk shake, but better.

7. Make a cookie milkshake.

Need a more efficient way to get your cookies and milk fix? Samoas are the perfect stand-in for Snickers in decadent ice cream milk.