Dessert Ready in a Prosecco

August 18, 2019 / theblindpig11 / Leave a comment

This week I am pulling back the curtain on this post. It is going to be solely authored by me, Rhonda. No “we” or “us” as I narrate this post. I am just going to own it and go for it on my own. Don’t worry, Craig will be back next week. 😉

With that direct candor out of the way, I am excited to share an oldie that has been twisted up a bit — Prosecco Summer Dessert. This dessert has been around for awhile. I am not going to lie. It is close to the perfect dessert for late summer. During these hot, hot days of summer, who wants to turn on the oven to prepare a dessert? Not me! The good news is that with this tasty gem, you don’t have to add any extra heat to your house. In fact, this recipe is so easy that my 16 and 17-year-old sons could make it!

This dessert is a faithful go-to when headed to a potluck or special occasion. In fact, earlier this summer I took this dessert to a gathering that also had Nothin’ Bundt Cakes. Many of us cannot resist choosing those cute, yummy bundtinis when passing through the food line. However, I must profess that at the end of the dinner my serving bowl was EMPTY and there were still some bundt cakes left. How is that for a crowd pleaser?

To make this dessert you need only a few simple ingredients: fresh strawberries, angel food cake (I purchase mine from the store), a box of instant vanilla pudding, a container of cool whip, milk and a mini-bottle of prosecco. You can also add other fresh fruit, such as, blueberries, blackberries or kiwi.

This dessert can and usually is made sans the prosecco. I got the idea for adding prosecco to this recipe when I made Strawberry Prosecco Cake this spring. The cake soaks up the prosecco and adds to the overall yumminess factor.

First, cut the angel food cake into bite size cubes. Slice your strawberries and other fruit. Set aside. Make the package of vanilla pudding according to directions. Blend the container of cool whip into the vanilla pudding.

For this recipe I purchased a small bottle of prosecco. These little bottles come in very handy. As you know I have quite an affinity for Aperol Spritzes, but I don’t want to open a full bottle of prosecco each time. These small bottles are perfect to keep on hand for recipes, such as this.

Place a layer of angel food cake in a large glass serving bowl or trifle bowl. Pour a small amount of prosecco over the layer of cake. Top the cake layer with strawberries and other fruit. Pour a layer of the vanilla pudding mixture over the cake and berries. Continue layering the ingredients for 2-3 layers. Garnish the top with fresh berries. Place in a refrigerator until ready to serve.

If you are viewing this post via email, visit us at www.theblindpig.blog for a complete printable recipe of Prosecco Summer Dessert.

Try out this easy, tasty, fresh recipe. I am sure that it will quickly become one of your hosting secrets!

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Bourbon Toffee Cups

March 3, 2019 / theblindpig11 / Leave a comment

We are optimistically looking toward warming weather and Spring. To get you in the mood for warmer weather, we are featuring a delicious season transitional treat: Bourbon Toffee Cups. We first found this easy recipe years ago on Southern Living Magazine. We twisted it up and bit to make it our own. We hope it satisfies your taste buds as much as it did ours.

To make this yummy dessert you start with a basic brownie mix. Mix the brownie mix as usual, and then add in two mashed bananas. Bake according to package directions.

While the brownies are baking, stir together sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt, and heavy cream in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat stirring often. We cooked ours for about 45 minutes. You can see how the color began to change the longer we cooked the mixture. As the color starts to turn, add bourbon to pudding mixture.

As the color changes to amber, stir in 1 cup of heavy cream and increase the heat to medium. Cook stirring constantly for about 5 minutes. The mixture will begin to thicken. Remove from heat and cool.

Cut the cooled brownies in small cubes. Layer brownies, toffee pudding in small jars or dessert bowls.

Beat remaining heavy cream with 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of bourbon in a bowl that has been chilled in a freezer for 30 minutes. Beat with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.

Spoon over cups of brownies and pudding. Sprinkle with Heath or toffee bits.

If you are viewing this post via email, visit us at http://www.theblindpig.blog for a complete downloadable recipe.

Bourbon Toffee Cups are so sweet and savory. It is best to serve them in small portions. We used small preserve jars and small dessert cups for ours. It was just the right amount!

The extra cooled sauce can be saved as a topping for ice cream later. (You know we love an excuse to eat ice cream!)

Try this easy, delicious dessert this week. You won’t be disappointed that you did!

Posts you might have missed.

When Life Gives You Roses

You Say Tomato… We Say Bloody Mary

Rosa Spritz

Roasted Breckenridge Cherries

Love You More Cookies

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Pecan Whiskey Ice Cream

September 7, 2018September 5, 2018 / theblindpig11 / Leave a comment

pecan whiskey ice cream

We have a soft cold spot in our stomachs for ice cream. It is one of our family’s favorite treats and desserts. (Kerrygold Ice Cream, Cafe Bourghetti PBIF Pie, Choco Menta Shake, Mojito Ice Cream, Tequila Strawberry Lime Ice Cream Pie) For a final farewell to summer, we wanted to share with you a delectable grown-up dessert: Pecan Whiskey Ice Cream. When you see how easy this treat is to make, you will want to scream for more– ice cream that is!

To make this you need only a few simple ingredients — vanilla ice cream, toasted pecans, and Templeton Rye Whiskey. That’s it — only 3 things.

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First you will need to toast the pecans. We placed ours on a cookie sheet and placed the oven on broil. You need to leave the pecans in the oven for about 5 minutes. If they stay too long, they will burn.

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Stir together 1 quart of softened vanilla ice cream, toasted pecans and 1/4 cup of whiskey. Place back in the freezer until hardened or at least a couple of hours. Serve to friends. Yummo!

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If you are viewing this post in your email, you will want to visit us at www.theblindpig.blog to get a printable version of this recipe.

The rye whiskey has a sweet flavor that pairs nicely with the vanilla ice cream. This dessert goes down smooth. Will you make the world’s easiest dessert this weekend? Let us know if you do.

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Rye Rye Miss American Pie

August 6, 2018 / theblindpig11 / 1 Comment

caramel rye pie Hey friends, how was your weekend? We are behind on getting our post for this week published because our weekend was C-R-A-Z-Y busy! We had soccer games with Piglet #2 and a hockey party at our house for Piglet #3, plus all of the regular this and that we do on a weekend.

However, we are excited to share our new gem-of-a-dessert with you: Caramel Rye Pie. The deliciousness of salted caramel with a twist of rye whiskey makes this dessert your new “go-to” for guests. We had the pleasure of sharing this pie with the charming and beautiful Baxtley family as they joined us for dinner one evening. One word of warning, though – this pie is sweet and rich. ( Actually that is more than one word. Oops.)

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Prepare a Pillsbury pie crust according to package directions. Let the crust cool for an hour.

While the pie crust is baking and cooling, you can make the salted caramel sauce. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cook the sugar and water without stirring until the mixture is a deep amber color. Be patient with this part it takes a little while.

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Remove from heat. This next part is a little tricky. You will want to use a long handled whisk, but even with that, the steam can still get you. Work cautiously. Gradually whisk cream into the caramel mixture until smooth. Next whisk the whiskey (Funny right? “Whisk the whiskey!”) and salt into the caramel. Let the sauce cool for a minimum of 30 minutes. It can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month. We had plenty left over and have been using it for ice cream sundaes!

Next prepare the filling. Whisk together egg yolks, cornstarch and 1/4 cup of half-and-half in a medium bowl.

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Stir together brown sugar, salt and remaining half-and-half in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and slowly whisk hot brown sugar mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat whisking constantly and making sure to reach all of the bottom of the pan. Boil whisking constantly for 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in butter pieces, whiskey and vanilla. Cool for 30 minutes.

The filling becomes very thick as it cools.

Spoon filling into cooled pie crust, and chill for at least 4 hours.

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About an hour before serving, prepare whipped cream topping. Spread whipped cream over the top of the pie. Real whipped cream is a treat, but can be difficult to work with. You can substitute whipped cream with Cool-Whip for the topping, and you may have a better result than we did.

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When ready to serve, drizzle caramel sauce over the top of the pie. Delish!

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If you are viewing this post in an email, you will need to visit our site to view and download the recipe.

Are you ready to try Caramel Rye Pie? Make sure to let us know if you do. We’d love to hear about it!

Enjoy your week. Can you believe that it is August already? Eeek!

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Bonus Post: Templeton Whiskey Cake

April 27, 2018 / theblindpig11 / 3 Comments

It is bonus post time! Since we missed posting an extra post in March, we are making up for it with a doubly delectable post in April — Templeton Whiskey Cake.

Rhonda originally found this recipe in the March 2017 Southern Living Magazine. After a few minor changes, it has become Templeton Whiskey Cake. This cake combines some interesting flavors of coffee, Templeton Rye Whiskey and bittersweet chocolate chips. Templeton Whiskey Cake takes a little more effort than our usual easy, tasty, fresh recipes, but it is well worth the extra time! If you are planning a celebration for someone special, we recommend you try out this recipe. Besides, it is chocolate, and you can’t go wrong with chocolate!

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You begin this cake by making the ganache first. It is important to note that the ganache needs 8 hours or overnight to sit at room temperature. Unfortunately, when we made this cake, we didn’t have the luxury of time. Our ganache could have used it.

Begin by preparing a chocolate-caramel ganache. Stir together chocolate chips, corn syrup, and Templeton Rye. Set aside.

Next stir together sugar, cold water, and cream of tartar in a large, heavy saucepan. Cook over medium, swirling pan until sugar dissolves and starts to change color. Increase heat to high and cook until mixture is a rich, golden caramel color, 4 to 5 minutes. At first we were a little skeptical, but after heat and stirring, the sugar mixture did turn in to caramel.

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After heating the caramel, you will blend the chocolate and caramel together. Then let the ganache sit.

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Next you will begin to prepare the cake. The addition of a cup and half of dark coffee gives this cake an amazing flavor and aroma. Yummy!

After mixing the remaining ingredients, you bake the cake for 20-25 minutes. Cool the cake completely.

Once cooled, place one layer of the cake on a serving plate and spread with a cup of ganache. Add the second layer of the cake and spread another cup of ganache on top, and cover sides. Top off the cake with fresh berries. Let stand at room temperature until ready to serve or place in the refrigerator overnight.

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This cake was a moist and delicious treat. The berries are an added bonus that compliments the rich chocolate ganache. We had some ganache leftover, so we saved it and drizzled it over fresh berries a week later. Yummo!

If you are reading this post through an email, click on the website to view the complete recipe.

What do you think about our Templeton Whiskey Cake? Give it a try, and let us know about it.

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Do You Fondue?

March 16, 2018 / theblindpig11 / 1 Comment

fondue 3 ways Do you fondue? We are surprised to learn many people have never tried this delicious and easy dessert with many variations. We show you three of our favorites today.

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Fondue is a Blind Pig Family favorite. We have many great memories of sitting outside near the fire in the evening and culminating the night by chowing down on some heavenly dessert fondue. We like all kinds of fondue, but it seems like the people in our family with the sweet tooth always win out and expect dessert fondue when they hear the name.

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Today we are bringing you 3 easy, fresh, and tasty ways to have fondue. These three delicious options take very little prep and if your house is like ours, there is very little clean up.

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Prior to making fondue, we always prep our dipping ingredients. Our family favorites are: sliced strawberries, chopped apples, marshmallows, cubed angel food cake, graham crackers, sliced bananas, and popcorn. Other great dippers are pretzels, raspberries, blackberries, sponge cake, and brownies. Basically anything that tastes good covered in chocolate or caramel — which is basically everything. Right?

Option 1: Kerrygold Chocolate Fondue. This creamy fondue is made with 1 12 ounce bag hershey’s milk chocolate chips, 1/4 cup of milk, 1 ounce of Kerrygold Irish Cream, and a tablespoon of peanut butter. Place all ingredients into a fondue pot or a small saucepan on the stove — low heat. Stir ingredients until smooth and creamy. When you are ready, pass out the skewers and let the dipping begin!

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Option 2: Espresso Chocolate Fondue. This is a great option for the coffee lovers in your life. Follow the directions listed above for Kerrygold Chocolate Fondue. Add 1 ounce of Caffe Borghetti Espresso Liqueur. Stir until smooth and then dip!

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Option 3: Nutty Butter Rum Fondue. This fondue takes a different turn and is not made with chocolate, but with caramel. The caramel flavor of Zaya Rum compliments this fondue nicely. Put 1 3/4 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil for 6-7 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of Zaya Rum and cook for about a minute. Remove from heat and stir in the 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter until melted. Stir in 1/2 cup of half and half until the mixture is smooth. Finally stir in 1/2 cup of chopped peanuts. This fondue is great with popcorn and apples. It makes an excellent Fall treat.

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Fondue can be prepared ahead of time and reheated once you are ready to serve. It is fun to make the Kerrygold Chocolate Fondue as a base. Separate the fondue into small little ramekins or shot glasses for guests to use as their own dipper. Just make sure that you serve the fondue warm.

Kerrygold Irish Cream gives this chocolate fondue a creamy texture and taste.

Many of our followers ask us, “What do you do with the food and drinks you make for The Blind Pig?” The answer is that we eat it! If we make something that doesn’t pass our taste testers, we don’t share it with you. Here is a look at the rest of the story, after the posed pictures are complete.

Official Blind Pig Taste Testers.

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The pans were licked clean and there were only 2 lonely slices of strawberries left on the plate. They came and they conquered!

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Now that you know 3 easy ways to fondue, will you fondue? Which one will you try first?

What a week! It was spring break for 3/5 of The Blind Pig household, so there was a flurry of activity. Did you see the sneak peek we put on Instagram? Grandma Ruth was here and we made cinnamon rolls with a Blind Pig twist! No one makes cinnamon rolls like Grandma Ruth.

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Whiskey Bread Pudding

March 3, 2018March 4, 2018 / theblindpig11 / Leave a comment

All of the rain and cold weather that we had last week got us in the mood for some warm comfort food. Bread pudding has a homey feel and taste that makes us think of our grandmother. It’s a little bit like having a hug in a cup. We’ve adapted this recipe to put a little extra twist on this traditional winter dessert. We made a few adaptations to this basic bread pudding recipe that was originally found in the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. Whiskey Bread Pudding fits our blog criteria. It is easy. It is tasty. And because we added a few fresh ingredients, it is fresh.

To make this recipe you need dried bread. When we plan ahead of time, we save up the ends of our bread and let it dry out on the kitchen counter for a couple of days. If you don’t plan that far ahead, it’s okay. You can place bread cubes in a 300 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

In a mixing bowl beat together 4 eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, whiskey and vanilla. Place dry bread cubes in a round baking dish. Sprinkle dried cranberries over the bread.

Pour egg mixture over all. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool slightly. It’s that easy!

While cooling make the whiskey sauce. In a small saucepan melt margarine, butter, beaten egg yolk, water and whiskey. Cook and stir constantly over medium-low heat for 5-6 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and mixture boils. Remove from heat and stir in whiskey.

Scoop bread pudding into serving cups. Drizzle whiskey sauce over bread pudding and serve. Yes, please! This takes little effort and will delight your guests.

For a downloadable and printable version of our recipe. Visit our website.

We hope you try out our Whiskey Bread Pudding and let us know what you think. If you are new to our blog, thanks for stopping by. We hope you visit us again.

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Espresso Your Love

February 8, 2018 / theblindpig11 / 1 Comment

Make this delicious treat with Caffe’ Borghetti Espresso Liqueur.

Hello, Lovebugs! This week we are sharing an easy and delicious treat you can make for any of the honeys in your life. This recipe combines two delicious chocolates and the taste of espresso coffee with the only espresso liqueur made from real espresso coffee beans. We first shared our love of Caffe Borghetti with you when we made Caffe Borghetti PBIF Pie. The hint of espresso coffee intertwined with two kinds of chocolate will have you looking for love in all kinds of places.

We found this recipe on Pinterest from http://www.insidebrucrewlife.com. Of course, we put our own Blind Pig twist on it. We promise, if your sweet ones like fudge they are in for a treat!

Place a layer of wax paper or aluminum foil in a 9×9 inch pan.

Next, place chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for bursts of 15-30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir. Return to microwave again for a short burst. Remove and stir. Continue until the chocolate chips are melted and smooth.

Place a container of chocolate frosting in the microwave for 1 minute. Pour into chocolate chips and stir until smooth and creamy. Add 2 ounces of Caffe’ Borghetti Espresso Liqueur to the chocolate mixture. Pour mixture into 9×9 inch pan.

We let our chocolate bottom layer cool and rest for about 15 minutes before starting the next layer.

Melt white chocolate chips with the same process as you melted the chocolate chips. Heat and add white frosting to the white chips. Stir until smooth. Pour over the top of the chocolate layer. Let fudge set until firm. We placed ours in the refrigerator to solidify overnight.

Prior to serving, cut into squares or thin slices. Store in a sealed container.

Yes, it really is that easy!!

We hope that your Valentine’s Day is the best yet! Give your loved ones a hug and kiss for us. If you are not subscribing to our blog, yet. What are you waiting for?

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Double Menta

January 22, 2018January 22, 2018 / theblindpig11 / 2 Comments

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Have the girl scouts been out and about in your neighborhood? They are in full force around the Dallas area selling their boxes of irresistible confections. Thin mints are one of our favs, but this year we are making our own grown up thin mints. We shared one of our favorite mint liqueurs with you in other posts like, 3 Hot Chocolates With a Twist and Who Needs Half-Price Shakes After 8?Who Needs Half-Price Shakes After 8? Branca Menta is the perfect amount of mint to give these chocolate cookies a little zip. Not a cookie person? No worries! We have a thin mint in a glass for you, as well.

branca menta We found the cookie recipe last March on Liquor.com with a few minor adjustments we made it our own. Start by whisking together the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

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Then beat the sugar and butter until creamy with a mixer. Slowly add the eggs and the extracts. Next add the flour mixture slowly to the mixer until combined. The dough is super sticky. (We will talk about that more in a moment.)

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Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. Do not skip this step or it will become very difficult to work with later.

Preheat the oven to 350° F. You will need to roll the dough into little 1 1/2″ balls. To make this easier, wash your hands carefully. Then spray your hands with cooking spray. (You will be glad you did!) Scoop a spoonful of dough out of the bowl and into your hands. Roll the dough until a nice ball forms. Since you chilled the dough and sprayed your hands with cooking spray, the balls form nicely and do not stick to your hands!

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After rolling the dough, flatten the balls with the bottom of a glass. Remember how you sprayed your hands with cooking spray? Spray the bottom of the glass before flattening the cookies. It keeps the cookies from sticking to the bottom of the glass. The recipe calls for making the discs about 1/4″ thick. We couldn’t get ours quite that thin.

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Bake the cookies, and flip them to the other side to bake after about 4 minutes. Bake for a total of 8 minutes. Let the cookies cool slightly on the tray and then transfer to a cooling rack.

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Meanwhile, you can melt the chocolate chips. Instead of using a double boiler, we usually melt our chips in the microwave. We set the cook time for no more than 30 seconds each interval. After 30 seconds is up, we remove the bowl, stir, and return to the microwave for 15-30 more seconds until the chips are melted and smooth.

Dip the cooled cookies into the chocolate one at a time to coat. Shake off excess chocolate and place on parchment paper to set.

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Now you are ready for some delicious homemade Thin Mentas! While these cookies do not taste exactly like the cookies the Girl Scouts sell, they are still a delicious treat.

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Thin Mentas

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup granulated sugar
5 tbsp butter, softened
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk brought to room temperature
3 tablespoons of Branca Menta
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
12-18 ounces of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a larger bowl on a mixer stand beat together the sugar and butter on medium speed until creamy. Reduce the speed and add first the egg and then the egg yolk, beating well after each addition. Beat in the extracts. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until just combined. The dough will be super sticky.

Shape the dough into a ball and chill for 30 minutes. After chilling the dough, shape the dough into 1 1/2″ balls and place on cookie sheets. Flatten with the bottom of a glass till about 1/4 inch thick. Bake the cookies for about 4 minutes, remove flip and bake for another 4 minutes until dry and crisp and firm around the edges. Let the cookies cool slightly on the cookie sheet and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave at 15 second intervals stirring until smooth. Dip cookies into the melted chocolate and turn to coat . Shake off any excess chocolate and place on parchment paper to cool.

The Thin Mint

Add one part Branca Menta and one part Seagram’s Cookies and Cream Vodka in a rocks glass. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Then sit back and drink your girl scout cookies.

Which will you try first? The drink or the cookies? We would love to hear about what you think.

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DISCLAIMER: THE BEVERAGES ON THIS SITE ARE MEANT FOR ADULTS 21 YEARS AND OLDER. WE DO NOT SUPPORT OR ENCOURAGE UNDERAGE DRINKING. ALWAYS DRINK RESPONSIBLY AND NEVER DRINK AND DRIVE.