A Bluestocking Knits

So if, as sometimes turns out, you have too many Shortbreads/Trefoils left over at the end of your Girl Scout troop's cookie sale, you start to wonder, "What can I make with these?"  I respectfully suggest Chocolate Hedgehog.

I think Hedgehog is an Australian invention, in which case we have yet another reason to be thankful for Australians.  This version was sent to me by friends in Melbourne; I had to substitute margarine for the Copha, but the ingredients list is otherwise unchanged.  I've modified the preparation a bit.

Chocolate Hedgehog

4 oz butter
4 oz margarine or butter-flavored spread
8 oz sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 lb. plain cookies, such as Girl Scout Trefoils/Shortbreads
chocolate icing or frosting

(Note: You can also use Thanks-a-Lots or Thin Mints, in which case the cocoa powder is optional.  The ones in the photograph were made with Thanks-a-Lots and no cocoa powder.  Peanut Butter Sandwiches/Do-Si-Dos would probably be good too.)

Grease or butter a 9×13 inch baking dish.  Put the cookies into a sealable plastic bag and break into smallish pieces.  Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat gently.

In a large saucepan, combine the butter and margarine.  Melt slowly, then add the sugar and vanilla, stirring.

Add about half a cup of the melted butter mixture to the beaten eggs, whisking with a fork to combine.  Pour this back into the rest of the butter mixture in the saucepan, stirring.  You may see some streaks of egg white, but don't worry.  Add the cocoa powder, if using.

Return the pan to the heat until it begins to bubble around the edges, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and stir in the broken cookies.  Press into the prepared dish, and cool.  Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour before icing.

Make a chocolate frosting or icing of your choice, and spread on the top of the hedgehog.  Cut into pieces.

I'm calling these my "cookie booth" socks — in one skein of Wisdom Yarns' Marathon Socks Seattle, in "Seattle Fifth" — plain socks with a wedge toe, knitted for the most part while chaperoning booth sales.  It seems a fairly sturdy yarn, a bit rough to the touch but with no flaws along the way.

I also had the idea of using up some of the extra Girl Scout cookies in that Oreo Truffles recipe that's been around for a few years.  These are made with Lemonades, on the left — they taste rather deliciously like lemon cheesecake — and Peanut Butter Sandwiches (Do-Si-Dos).  They are easy enough that the troop can make a batch or two themselves as part of a meeting …