The BEST cookies Ever!!

For years, I've planned my yearly Girl Scout cookie purchases early as to acquire my favorite cookie of all time--the Samoas. They are heavenly to me. I would do the song and dance about how expensive they are--but I justified my bulk purchases because they were for a great cause--girl scouts. Then I had an eye-opening experience about the ridiculous costs of those yummy cookies when Ashley joined a Brownies group in first grade. I saw the break-down of how much each girl makes for selling a $4 box of cookies....(drum roll, please)--only 40 cents per box. For you mathematicians, only 10% of the sales' price actually goes to the girls who do all the work selling those treats. Girls have to sell hundreds, and hundreds of boxes to make a serious dent in their troop expenses. But that's another story.

Because I'm the proverbial cheapskate with an eclectic taste for expensive foods--I rationed the amount of cookies I could enjoy in one serving--as to try and make them last all year long. I usually can, minus a binge session here and there. But when the well runs dry, it's dry--you can't buy these little jewels just anywhere, you know.

Until.........(angelic choirs singing "hallelujahs" in the background), I came across what you might call a "counterfeit" in the real world. Keebler has come up with a "new" cookie that is remarkably similar to the annually sold Samoas. I didn't hesitate to buy a package and try them. Really--what could go wrong in the marriage of caramel, toasted coconut, cookies, and chocolate??? And much to my delight, the package of Keebler's Coconut Dreams were $3.29 but on sale for $1.89. And they were delicious!! (Background choir is getting louder in my head and there is a pinging bell--much like Pavlov's--that is making me salivate as I think about what this means to me). Bonus--I can get Keebler's Coconut Dreams at any grocery store, any time of day, all year round, for half the price of their Girl Scout inspiration. Ohhhhh....I'm usually shun "knock-offs" and "counterfeits" for moral and ethical reasons, but this was too good to be true. So my confession is--I'm a reformed Girl Scout Cookie Consumer. I only bought ONE box of Samoas this year (gasps and shocks, I know). But I needed a box to take a picture of for this blog entry.

I've had more epicurean joy this winter than the Girl Scouts would allow! Those Coconut Dreams are hidden in the pantry, in the island cupboards, in the master bathroom bathtub (fabulous place to hide things in bulk), and under the sink. For five unmentioned reasons who know how to read their mother's journals, they are hidden in undisclosed locations as well. Why under the sink? Because nobody looks under there!! I've shared some of these cookies with my dearest friends and admittedly indulge in them more than I should. They are NOT permitted in sack lunches or as after-school snacks. And much like the original cookies--I still ration them out from my arsenal, but only because 6 of 7 people in my family find them as delectable as I do. [Who is the odd person out, you wonder? Jeff. He has never been a fan of coconut. That's fine with me because he let's me have his cookies :]