What Are the Best Cheeses to Eat with Girl Scout Cookies?

Editor’s note: It’s Girl Scout Cookie season! We wondered what cheeses might pair with cookies and contributor Sheana Davis went one step further and paired the cookies with both cheese and wine. Our sincere thanks to Davis her daughter, Karina Davis, La Prenda and Girl Scout Elise Hill.

Last week my daughter Karina and I were playing around in the kitchen, since we have extra time during Covid Stay at home orders. We receive an order of Girl Scout Cookies and decided to pair them with cheeses and since we are Sonoma Valley, which is also wine country, we then decided to pair them with wines. On the same day we happened to be tasting wines from La Prenda Vineyards for our virtual upcoming cheese and wine classes, so it was quite convenient to have 12 bottles of wine open, we tasted all the wines with the cookies and narrowed our pairings down.

Since we are neighbors with La Prenda Vineyards and the Hill Family, we have selected Elise as our Girl Scout for our mail order pairings. Pairing Girl Scout Cookies had not really occurred to me until now with the cheeses. By incorporating the wines, we could really find a nice balance of the sweet cookies, the flavor of the cheese, and finish with a glass of wine. It was a really fun project and we have a few more like this up our sleeves, stay tuned.

Support your local Girl Scouts, your local cheesemakers and winemakers too. Here are our tasting notes. Enjoy!

Do-si-dos, Valley Ford Estero Gold, a drizzle of Honey & 95476 Chardonnay

“The Do-si-dos, with the richness of Valley Ford Estero Gold combined with the buttery Chardonnay was a perfect dessert."

Lemon Ups, Harley Farms Chevre, a drizzle of honey & Happy Wife White Blend

We really enjoyed the combination of the Lemon, Chevre and Honey with the Happy Wife Blend, as you could taste all of the flavors at once. We wanted to make a cheesecake with all of the ingredients. Note: the blend is described at bright and crisp with hints of green apple and butter.

Thin Mints, The Epicurean Connection Delice de la Vallee or Laura Chenel Chevre & 95476 Brut Secco

This was like eating brunch. Bubbles, Thin Mints with a spread of Delice de la Vallee on top was a meant to be pairing.

Toffee-tastic, Point Reyes Toma, Happy Wife Red Blend

The Toffee-tastic cookies really brought out the caramel flavor in the Toma along with the nice light style of Happy Wife Red will be perfect for an afternoon tasting, as the 3 were really meant to be a pairing. The wine has aromas of mixed berry pie and warm vanilla spice and has just enough oak and soft tannins to make it a substantial red.

Samoas, WM Cofield Cheddar & Sonoma Collection Pinot Noir

The Samoa was ready to pair with a Pinot Noir and finish off with a piece of the earthy and delicious Cheddar. This would make a great cheese board. A Carneros pinot noir, it’s medium body, dry and smooth, with plenty of acidity. It won Double Gold in 2020 at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair.

Tagalongs, Nicasio Reserve, 95476 Malbec

The wine was the lead on this pairing, as it brought out the flavor of the cookies, and the Nicasio Reserve balanced out the sweet and savory flavors. This was a beauty. Nicasio Reserve is a classic Swiss-Italian mountain cheese with a rich flavor, refined and luxurious, aged at least 5 months.

Trefoils, Lucy a goat milk Brie, dried fruits & Happy Wife Rose

The shortbread style cookies, Trefoils, were perfect with dried fruits and a Rose, the flavors all balanced together.

Girl Scout s’mores, Marin French Petit Blue & Fifth Hill Pickberry

S’mores go with anything, especially a Petit Blue and a Pickberry, a rich and full-bodied wine. The Petite Blue is best described as a cross between a brie and a blue cheese; a mold-ripened triple crème cheese. Pickberry is the name of a vineyard near Glen Ellen in Sonoma and the wine is typically a blend of reds such as merlot, cabernet sauvingon, cabernet franc and petite verdot