The spouses club hosted a lunch for the guys at the squadron this week, so I thought I would try out a recipe for homemade thin mints (of Girl Scouts cookie fame, of course). I find it best to bake cookies for situations like this, when you can get 4 dozen of them out the door right away and leave just a few (or more) for yourself.
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| Cookie crisps, ready for a warm hug of chocolate coating. |
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| They finally get a globby chocolate hug eight hours later after baby goes to bed. |
The verdict: Eh, pretty close. I think it could use a few more drops of mint extract, but overall not bad. [I was getting tired of dipping and coating them by the end, so the lazy side of me would put this recipe on the backburner for a while.] They would not win a taste test versus the real thing and the coating gets soft when not refrigerated, but they serve their purpose. Plus they are a smidgen healthier than the real thing and have no preservatives or packaging. I found this recipe via a Pinterest link for the Baking Bites blog.
Cookie:
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
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
- 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 the extracts. Mixture will look curdled.
Gradually add in the flour mixture until fully incorporated.
- Shape dough into two logs, about 1.5 inches in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1-2 hours, until dough is very firm. [Rolling out the dough incited a few small giggles from myself as the logs took on a scatological appearance. Try to be more mature than me.]
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Slice dough into rounds not more than 1/4 inch thick – if they are too thick, they will not be as crisp – and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cookies will not spread very much, so you can put them quite close together.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, until cookies are firm at the edges. Cool cookies completely on a wire rack before dipping in chocolate.
- Shape dough into two logs, about 1.5 inches in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1-2 hours, until dough is very firm. [Rolling out the dough incited a few small giggles from myself as the logs took on a scatological appearance. Try to be more mature than me.]
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Slice dough into rounds not more than 1/4 inch thick – if they are too thick, they will not be as crisp – and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cookies will not spread very much, so you can put them quite close together.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, until cookies are firm at the edges. Cool cookies completely on a wire rack before dipping in chocolate.
Chocolate Coating:
Microwave 10 ounces of dark or semisweet chocolate with 1/2 cup room temperature butter on 40 second intervals, stirring to create a smooth runny fudge consistency.
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