Homemade Thin Mints

Oh Girl Scout cookies. In my book, probably the most irresistible cookies ever. Why else do we shell out so much money for these little boxes of cookies? Cakespy did their own homemade version of Thin Mints a few months ago. This, being one of my favorites (and most likely yours too), I attempted making these.

Ingredients

For the cookies:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup milk (any kind)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp peppermint extract
For the dark chocolate coating:
10 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1/2 cup butter, room temperature

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer on low speed, add in the milk and peppermint extract. Gradually, add in the flour mixture until fully incorporated.



Shape dough into two logs, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1 to 2 hours (I did mine overnight), until dough is very firm.



Preheat oven to 375°F.

For the most authentic texture, slice dough into rounds not more than 1/4 inch thick (they will not be as crisp if they are thicker, but they're still delicious) and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cookies will not spread very much, so you don't have to leave too much space around each one. 

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until cookies are firm at the edges. Cool cookies completely on a wire rack before dipping in chocolate.



Prepare the coating. I used the microwave to do this.  In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Melt on high power in the microwave, stirring every 45 to 60 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Chocolate should have a consistency somewhere between chocolate syrup and fudge for a thin coating. (Note: Reheat chocolate as needed to keep it smooth and easy to dip into.)



Dip each cookie in melted chocolate, turn with a fork to coat, then transfer to a piece of parchment paper or wax paper to set up for at least 30 minutes, or until chocolate is cool and firm.

To speed the cooling process, I put the cookies still on the parchment sheet in the fridge. 

The cookies turned out very good. They didn't taste exactly like Girl Scout Thin Mints, but for a homemade version, these were great. I also preferred the cookies that were more chewy than crispy. It seemed like the chewier ones tasted more minty than the crispier ones. Next time I do this, I will make more chewier ones by cutting them a little more than 1/4 inch thick.