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Girl Scouts bake some winners - next, the cookie sale Mail Tribune / Jim Craven No, these two Brownies from Phoenix aren't wrestling over a disagreement about recipes. Brianna Lee, 6, left, and Gracie Prechtel, 7, are learning to swing dance as part of the Girl Scouts' pre-cookie-sale event Sunday. First local bake-off fills ballroom with desserts heavy on the chocolate By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune The young ladies of the Winema Girl Scout Council would like you to know there's more than one way to munch a Thin Mint. To prove it, about 100 girls and their leaders gathered Sunday for the first-ever local Girl Scout cookie bake-off, an event designed to pump up pint-sized sellers and give them a taste of culinary competition before the annual regional fund-raiser begins Saturday. "Our secret is whipped cream," confided McKenna "Scout" Marston, age 9, one of the top contenders in the dessert derby. Of the seven desserts presented by the troops of Council Two, five relied heavily on the lure of Thin Mints. The top-selling Girl Scout cookie showed up in recipes ranging from a simple ice cream sundae to an elaborate chocolate log. The other two recipes, including a peach-studded Aloha Parfait from Scout and her crew, tried to tempt judges with a fruit flair. "We figured everyone would be using chocolate," said Abbie Dock, 9. In the end, the winning recipe was Mint Chocolate Mousse by senior Girl Scout Jennifer Goodlet, a dizzingly rich dessert displaying Thin Mints to sweet advantage. The dish will go on to compete for top honors at the council level in March, said organizer Janet Burt. The local region serves some 2,400 girls in Southern Oregon and Northern California. "This is really good experience for the girls," said Burt, whose daughter, Cari, 10, will join legions of cookie-sellers. "On Jan. 19, they're going to be knocking on everyone's door!" In the end, Sunday's event at the Evergreen Ballroom in Central Point was equal parts cooking contest, swing dance lesson and motivational seminar. Brownie scouts in beanies and Juniors in green vests spent Sunday afternoon learning the rules for door-to-door sales: Stay on the porch, don't give your name, smile and say "Thank you!" If previous figures hold true, more than 1,500 local girls are expected to sell more than 123,000 boxes of cookies during the selling season, typically held between January and April. Eight varieties of cookies, which go for $3 a box, will be available to order. Two new cookies have been added to the traditional lineup this year, officials said: There's the All About, a chocolate-dipped shortbread cookie, and the Ole Ole, a small coconut-pecan cookie rolled in powdered sugar. Thin Mints account for 26 percent of cookie sales nationally, according to the Girl Scout USA Web site, followed by Samoas with 19 percent of sales, Tagalongs with 13 percent, Do-si-dos with 12 percent and shortbread Trefoils with 11 percent. Other varieties make up the remaining 19 percent of sales. At least one girl gathered for the cookie kick-off was an equal-opportunity nibbler. "I like everything the same," said Hailey Anderson, a 6-year-old Medford Brownie. "But I've only had two." For more information about Girl Scout Cookies, contact the Winema Council at 773-8423. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.