If you like the famous Thin Mints from the Girl Scouts, you will love this decadent, homemade version!
I have had a lifelong love affair with Girl Scout cookies, but I find that either they have changed or I have changed. The homemade variety are much more appealing on the palate, and I really like that the ingredients can be better and better for me. These chocolate shortbread cookies are flavored with mint and then dipped in copious amounts of semisweet chocolate also flavored with mint so that each bite tastes how it is billed. Since they are hand dipped and then drizzled with even more chocolate these not-so-thin mints are full of texture, too. If you love Samoas, try my Troop Beverly Hills Samoas recipe.
Equipment: cutting board; dry and wet measuring cups; measuring spoons; food processor; rubber spatula; plastic wrap; rolling pin; 2-inch round cookie cutter; parchment paper or silicone baking sheets; sheet pans; offset spatula; cooling rack; double boiler or microwave-safe mixing bowl; small whisk; fork; wax paper; paper cornet or small plastic bag for chocolate decoration
Dough Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
½ cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon mint extract
pinch of kosher salt
Coating Ingredients:
2 cups chopped semisweet chocolate
1 tablespoon melted fat (lard or oil) ½ teaspoon mint extract
¼ cup dark chocolate, melted
1. In a food processor, pulse the flour, softened butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, mint extract, and salt until a ball of dough forms.
2. Gather the dough and form into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 60 minutes up to a few days.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare one large sheet pan or two half-sheet pans with parchment paper or nonstick baking liners. Set aside.
4. Remove the disc of dough from the refrigerator. Sprinkle a scant amount of flour on your work surface and place the unwrapped dough on top. Roll the dough to ¼-inch thickness using a rolling pin. Cut circles using a 2-inch round cookie cutter. Gather the scraps and continue to cut circles until you have no dough left, Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet(s).
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are set. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the pan for 5-10 minutes before placing on a cooling rack.
ILOC tip: once the sheet pans have cooled, line them with wax paper for the next step of dipping the cookies in chocolate.
6. Melt 2 cups of chopped semisweet chocolate either on the stovetop in a double boiler or in the microwave in a bowl. Add the mint extract to the oil or melted vegetable lard and stir it in to the melted chocolate. Dip each cookie in the melted chocolate, coating on all sides, using a fork. Lift each cookie from the chocolate using a fork and carefully place each cookie on the wax-lined sheet pan. Once all the cookies have been dipped, place them in the freezer or refrigerator for 15 minutes to set and chill.
ILOC tip: stirring the mint extract into melted Crisco or vegetable oil will prevent the melted chocolate from seizing as the mint extract is added.
7. Melt the remaining ¼ cup chocolate and place in a paper cornet or small plastic bag (snip the corner with a scissor). Remove the cookies from the refrigerator or freezer. Drizzle the chocolate over the cookies.
8. Store in an airtight container at room temperature, or in the freezer or refrigerator for up to one week.
"You can eat these right out of the refrigerator or the freezer!"
Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.
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