wow

As I promised at the end of the Carmel deLites post, I recently attempted to make Thin Mints from scratch. And you know what? These are quite less labor intensive than the deLites (although, in my personal humble opinion, not quite as tasty). These are still pretty good though, and carry a “wow” factor much like their sister cookies. Speaking of sisters, I’m bringing these to my very own sister’s Bachelorette party this Saturday. hash tag exciting!

Also speaking of sisters, I’m no longer sobbing over the fact that girl scout sisters do not voyage up the five flights of stairs that lead to my apartment to knock on my door and try to sell me their cookies. At this point, I’m convinced I don’t even need them. The quest to make homemade Girl Scout Cookies has become a project of sorts for me, and I like the challenge of trying to re-create something so beloved and ionic. I think I may actually make it a goal of mine to attempt to re-create every flavor, or at the very least, all my favorites. So far, so good, so I’m gonna keep on keeping on!

Below you’ll find the recipe for the homemade thin-mints, which according to the Girl Scouts website, are the #1 selling cookie, accounting for 25% of their annual revenue.

The cookies that come out of your kitchen will lack high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and palm oil that the conventional cookies have. This is a good thing. They also lack the portion-controlling sleeve. Now there’s no “holy fuck I just ate a whole sleeve of Thin Mints I gotta put the box down” afterthought to slow your consumption. But to keep yourself from eating yourself into a minty diabetic coma, I suggest sharing with friends. I don’t think they’ll mind.

i found peppermint oil at target for $4.99 and coconut oil at trader joes for $5.99 #gooddeals 🙂

For the cookies:

• 1 lb (2 sticks) butter, brought to room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 2 egg whites, at room temperature (baking tip: egg whites dry out baked goods, which is what we want for a crunchy cookie. for a moist cookie or a richer dessert, yolk is used
• 1 and 1/4 cup flour
• pinch of salt

baking tip: you want the butter and eggs at the same temperature (room temperature) when baking so they cream evenly. if at different temperatures, they dough will get lumpy! let them sit out for a few minutes before you bake, or warm butter gently in the microwave for 10-20 seconds

For the mint-chocolate glaze:

• 12 oz (one and a half bags) high-quality semi-sweet chocolate chips (i used ghardelli)
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil (butter or vegetable shortening would also work)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract (available at Target & Whole Foods if you can’t find it in your local grocery store)

Directions:

1. Cream butter and white sugar using a kitchen-aid mixer or hand-mixer at high speed for several minutes until fluffy and fragrant.
2. Add powdered sugar in two portions, mixing well after each addition.
3. Add cocoa powder in two portions, mixing well after each addition.
4. Add egg whites and mix.
5. Mix flour and salt in a seperate bowl, then add to the butter mixture, folding in gently with a spatula. (Do not overmix! Or you will get a tough cookie)
6. Roll the dough into a log that is just over an inch in diameter. Yes, it will look like a big piece of poop.
7. Wrap the log in Saran Wrap and stick in the freezer until frozen (about an hour) or overnight
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees about 20 minutes before you want to bake the cookies
9. Remove log from oven.
10. Slice into thin circles, about 1/8 inch wide (just eyeball it – go for what a thin mint looks like/is shaped like!)
11. Arrange cookie dough slices about an inch apart on cookie sheets.
12. Bake 8-10 minutes until the kitchen smells chocolatey and cookies are slightly darker and raised.
13. Allow cookies to completely cool on a cooling rack.
14. Melt chocolate chips & coconut oil in a large bowl in small increments (30 secondsish) in the microwave, stirring after each increment until smoothly melted. This can also be done on a double boiler on your stovetop. Once melted, add the mint extract and stir well.
15. Dip each cookie into the chocolate mixture, and wipe off excess chocolate with a knife or with your fingers.
16. Place chocolate-dipped cookies on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper and stick into the freezer. Let these freeze until hard. The cookies should be able to peel right off the parchment paper when they’re frozen.
17. Pop into an airtight container or plastic bag and store in the freezer or fridge until you are ready to enjoy them 🙂

Happy eating! What Girl Scout Cookie should I attempt next? Peanut Butter Pattie? I actually have been thinking about how I could do this, and think I have it figured out. And it’d be pretty simple.

happy baking and happy eating!

kbakes out.