Girl Scout cookies are delicious by themselves, but they can be even better when you combine them with a few simple ingredients.

The cookies are always a special treat for me.

My mom and I went door-to-door in our neighborhood for years selling Girl Scout cookies.

It was always an adventure because people rarely just gave us their orders. We were typically invited inside to chat for a while.

We always saved Mrs. Streeter’s house on the corner for last because she told the best stories and we didn’t want to be in a rush to get to our next stop.

At first, I wasn’t sure adding the cookies to a recipe was a good idea. Sometimes it’s best not to mess with a classic.

But my mind changed quickly when I started searching for recipes on Pinterest. I decided to try three that used my favorite cookies — Samoas, Tagalongs and Thin Mints.

Some of the recipes I found were quite complicated, but the ones I attempted were fairly simple.

The Tagalong Gooey Bars were by far the best. You can’t go wrong pairing butter, chocolate and peanut butter.

Even though they took the most work, I would definitely make them again. They were pretty messy but tasted great.

Boxed cake mix, a stick of butter and an egg were used to create a crust. Chocolate chips were sprinkled on top before adding a mixture of peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk.

Crushed up Tagalongs were the final touch before popping them in the oven.

Those with a sweet tooth will love them. They might be a bit too rich for others.

The Samoa Brownies were extremely simple. Instead of pouring the batter into a square pan, I used a cupcake pan.

I whipped up a box of brownie mix and filled each slot halfway full before adding a Samoa and continuing to fill. A better baker might want to make their brownie mix from scratch.

After they were done baking, I drizzled caramel on top of each one. I admit, I cheated. Instead of buying caramel chips and melting them, I purchased caramel ready to serve from the ice cream aisle.

They turned out to be pretty good, but nothing out of this world. The Samoa taste was fairly faint.

The last recipe I attempted was Thin Mint Truffles. They were super easy to make and only required two ingredients, Thin Mints and cream cheese.

I don’t have a food processor, so I placed the cookies in a plastic bag and used the back of a garlic press to crush them up.

They were then combined with cream cheese and rolled into balls.

These lacked the punch I expected. The cookie taste didn’t translate well.

  Sarah Campbell is lifestyle editor of the Salisbury Post. Reach her at 704-797-7683.

Twitter: twitter.com/postlifestyles

Facebook: facebook.com/Sarah.SalisburyPost

  Tagalong gooey bars  • 1 box yellow cake mix

• 1 stick butter, softened  • 1 egg

• 1 cup chocolate chips  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

• 12 Tagalong cookies, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with foil and spray generously with nonstick cooking spray.

Place cake mix, butter and egg into a large bowl, mix until dough forms. Press dough into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

Top with chocolate chips. Stir sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter until well combined and pour over dough. Top with chopped Tagalong cookies.

Bake for 23- to 25 minutes. Let cool completely, cut into squares and serve.

Source: kevinandamanda.com    Samoa brownies

• 1 box of brownie mix  • 12-18 samoas

• 1 cup of caramel chips    Make brownies according to instructions on box.

Pour batter into cupcake pan, filling each slot about halfway.

Place Samoa cookie on top.  Continue to fill up each slot.

Bake according to instructions.

Heat caramel chips in the microwave for about a minute or until melted. Transfer to a plastic bag, snip edge and drizzle caramel over brownies.

  Thin Mint truffles  • 1/2 box of Thin Mints, 1 sleeve and three cookies

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened

In a food processor, process 1 sleeve of Thin Mints until they resemble course sand.

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the cream cheese. Mix together by hand until fully incorporated.

Scoop out by the tablespoon (or use a small scoop) and roll into a nice ball in your hands to form truffles.

Pulse the extra three cookies in the food processor until it resembles course sand and place in a small bowl. Roll the truffles in the processed cookie crumbs to coat.

Chill coated truffles for at least an hour to set up or overnight for flavors to really develop with the cream cheese.

Source: thehungryhousewife.com