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Girl Scout cookies are one of the highlights of the year: Their scarcity (along with their deliciousness) makes them a seasonal treat to look forward to each year. But if you’re craving a Girl Scout cookie in the middle of the summer, check out these copycat recipes for homemade versions that are just as tasty as the originals (though perhaps not quite as uniform).

Related Reading: Paint the Colors of the Rainbow with This Recipe for Italian Tricolor Cookies

Slim Mints are the new Thin Mints. Peppermint oil, vanilla extract, and unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder form the basis of these tiny chocolate delights. The semisweet chocolate coverture is silky and delicious. Make a double batch and keep some of the cookies in the freezer for a spur-of-the-moment treat. Get our Thin Mints recipe.

This take on Samoas has all the key characteristics: shortbread, caramel, coconut, and chocolate. Use a small cookie cutter to cut these into doughnut-shaped rings, or make any shapes you want—they’ll still taste just as good as you remember them, as long as you make sure to toast the unsweetened, flaked coconut until it’s nice and brown. Get our Samoas recipe.

These are even better than the traditional Tagalong, with the addition of natural peanut butter and milk chocolate coating. If you want to change it up a little, use crunchy peanut butter or choose a brand that’s salted. Additionally, you can flavor the shortbread base – think cocoa powder or mini chocolate chips for extra decadence. Get our Tagalongs recipe.

Do-Si-Dos are the most addictive peanut butter cream sandwich cookies you’ve ever come across. The filling in our Do-Si-Dos recipe is a combination of butter, powdered sugar, and crunchy peanut butter, but you can use smooth if you prefer. And if you don’t want to pipe the filling, just use a spoon to place it between the cookies.

A simple lemon-y sugar cookie, Savannah Smiles are really easy to make at home—good thing, since they were discontinued in 2019—and go beautifully with a cup of hot tea. This recipe only has five ingredients: flour, butter, powdered sugar, fresh lemon (juice and zest), and a little bit of salt. Flatten the dough balls on the baking tray and shape into half moons to keep the look authentic—or don’t; they’ll still be delicious. Especially if you roll them in extra powdered sugar when they cool. Get the Savannah Smiles recipe.

Trefoils are actually just a basic, extremely simple shortbread recipe! Roll the dough out and use a cookie cutter (any shape you want) to cut out the cookies, or go freehand. If you want to get fancy you can add in some herbs or other flavorings to the shortbread, but then it wouldn’t be a proper homage to your beloved Trefoil. Keep the dough wrapped tightly in plastic in the freezer and you can keep these on hand to bake fresh for guests in only ten minutes. Get the Trefoils recipe.

This take on Lemonades is extremely close to the traditional Girl Scout cookie. The lemon icing is what really differentiates them from the pack. Roll the dough into logs and use plastic wrap to help you shape them evenly. You can even stamp the cookies with a cookie stamp if you want them to look just as pretty as the originals. Get the Lemonades recipe.

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This cookie is multilingual and scrumptious. A chocolate-dipped shortbread, this is a simple recipe that you can personalize with different messages and stamps on the top (the original version expresses thanks in five different languages, but you do you). Be sure to wait until the cookies are completely cooled before you try to dip them in the melted chocolate or it won’t adhere properly. Get the Thanks-A-Lot Cookie recipe.





One of the newer additions to the Girl Scout cookie family, their s’mores cookies actually come in two varieties: one is crispy and coated in layers of white frosting and chocolate frosting; the other is a classic sandwich cookie with marshmallow icing and chocolate inside. This S’mores Sandwich Cookie recipe follows the latter format, but has a totally different texture, with soft and chewy graham-flavored cookies sandwiching toasted marshmallow fluff and thick dark chocolate. Basically, there’s no wrong way to combine these three flavors! And if you’ve ever wondered where s’mores came from in the first place, you actually have the Girl Scouts to thank for that too.





A rich butter cookie packed with toffee bits (and magically gluten-free!) this take on the toffee-tastic cookie is still gluten-free, but uses old-fashioned rolled oats as the base. Heath milk chocolate baking bits are what make these so good—and they’ll last up to two weeks stored in an airtight container so feel free to make a big batch. Get the Toffee-tastic Cookie recipe.





In 2019, the Girl Scouts added a new gluten-free offering with rich caramel, chocolate chips, and a hint of sea salt. Here’s hoping they bring them back whenever cookie season kicks off again—but in the meanwhile, this Gluten Free Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe should hit the spot.

See even more of our favorite copycat recipes for everything from Trader Joe’s staples to Olive Garden soup.

Related Video: These Tagalong-Inspired Peanut Butter Chocolate Blondies Are Amazing





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