Thin Mints

based mostly off of this recipe



I want to make all of the Girl Scout Cookies from scratch. Well, not really all of them, just the good ones--Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs and Do-Si-Dos. This was my first in the project!

I looked over a few recipes. I wanted a crunchy cookie, which wasn't hard (I think this cookie recipe would work if you want to make home-made oreos, just omit the mint!) but I wasn't sure about the chocolate coating. A lot of the recipes I looked at had comments saying the chocolate never hardened, so I didn't add much cream which made the coating quite thick. But really, the best part of thin mints is the outside, so no one complained!

These cookies got a lot of compliments and I'm totally going to make them again!

Ingredients:
Cookie
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted to remove clumps
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp mint extract
1 tsp vanilla extract

Coating
2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp mint extract

Directions:
1. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl.
2. Beat egg in fully.
3. Beat in mint and vanilla.
4. Whisk flour, cocoa and salt together in a medium bowl.
5. Beat flour into creamed mixture. The batter will be dry, but make sure it is fully mixed in.
6. From here, you can go 2 ways... What I did was to roll the dough into a log about 2-3 inches in diameter(fair warning, it looks totally disgusting and I had to ask my roommates not to watch me because I was self conscious about the disgusting-ness) and wrap it in wax paper. Then put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Slice into 1/4 inch rounds. OR you can roll the dough out with a rolling pin to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with a round cookie cutter. The first way is easier but the second way makes rounder cookies. Your choice!
7. Place cookies on parchment paper on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350. The cookies don't change color, so you really have to be careful to not overbake them. If you poke a cookie, it should feel solid but not squishy.
8. Allow the cookies to completely cool on a wire rack before frosting.

9. To make the frosting, melt chocolate chips, cream and mint extract over a double boiler, stirring constantly, until smooth and shiny.
10. Using tongs (not your fingers!! it's hot!!), dip the cookies in the chocolate, covering them fully on both sides.
11. Place cookies on wax paper and don't touch them until they are totally hardened.