Kookaburra: How To Make the Long-Lost Girl Scout Cookie

One year in the early '80s, my sister was a Brownie, my mom was the cookie chairman and there existed a Girl Scout cookie called the Kookabura which was everything I loved in a cookie.

Girl Scout cookie season is upon us already this year, which has me reminiscing. As cookie chairman, my mom was responsible for literally a mountain of cookies which sat in our house awaiting their intended Brownie. But like all mass orders, there were some extras —  including several boxes of Kookaburras. 

I used my allowance to buy some of those overflow boxes — and it remains the best cookie year of my life so far.

If you weren't lucky enough to experience the Kookaburra first-hand, they are rectangle-shaped treats made with crispy rice, caramel and chocolate. Not Rice Krispie treats, but chewy cookies with a touch of caramel.

I was waxing poetic about these cookies at a recent New Times meeting and the editor threw down the gauntlet, "Why don't you try making your own version?"

I (dauntingly) take that challenge!

The first hurdle, there is almost nothing on the Internet about Kookaburras. Another problem, I'm not a very experienced baker. That said, I thought the best way was to start with a traditional Rice Krispie treat and add caramel and chocolate.

Verdict: I tried to add a layer of caramel, which resulted in super-chewy (a.k.a. filling ejecting) cookies. Without the layer, they aren't quite Kookaburras, but they are a good amount of chewy...and if I say so myself, delicious.


Kookaburra Redux Cookies

Ingredients:
3 cups Rice Krispies
1/4 cup butter
3 cups marshmallows
1 1/2 cups caramel cubes
1 1/2 bags of milk chocolate chips

Directions:
- Oil a 13 x 9 pyrex dish
- Melt butter, marshmallows and caramel (image 1) in a large saucepan over medium heat. When everything is fully melted and incorporated, add the Rice Krispies and stir until all coated
- Press mixture evenly into the pyrex dish and let cool (image 2)
- Cut the now hardened rice into rectangles (about 1 inch x 2 inches)
- Melt a bag of chocolate in a double boiler until it reaches 105 degrees. Take off of heat and stir in the rest of the chocolate chips and continue stirring until the temperature lowers to about 90 degrees (it takes awhile)
- Dip your squares into the melted chocolate and let cool on a cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper (image 3 & 4)

Makes about 20 cookies.