With my homemade Thin Mints recipe you can make these famous chocolate mint cookies in your own kitchen with quality ingredients. These copycat Girl Scout cookies are so much better than the originals!
That’s right, my Thin Mints recipe is even better than the originals (sorry Girl Scouts!) My chocolate sugar cookie base is tastier, and the chocolate peppermint coating is richer (the originals don’t contain chocolate at all!) But don’t get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for Girl Scouts. I was a Girl Scout (my mother was a leader) both my daughters were Girl Scouts, and I’ve sold more than my share of cookies. Maybe it’s just me, but I definitely find that Thin Mints have lost their magic in recent years. Let’s just say it’s time to move beyond the green box to a truly special homemade Thin Mints recipe. You’ll never turn back!
Let’s dig in
- Why make a homemade Thin Mints recipe?
- Homemade Thin Mints recipe ingredients
- Peppermint extract
- How to make Thin Mints, step by step
- Tips for this Thin Mints recipe
- Homemade Thin Mints questions?
- Storing and freezing homemade Thin Mints
- This Thin Mints recipe is the perfect copycat
- MORE CLASSIC COOKIE RECIPES
Why make a homemade Thin Mints recipe?
Thin Mint cookies are probably the best known Girl Scout cookies of all time. They’re crisp chocolate wafers dipped in a chocolaty mint coating famous for their delicious flavor combination. They have a cult following and people have been known to hoard them. They also taste amazing straight from the freezer.
- The Thin Mints journey began in 1939 as “Cooky-Mints”. (Yep, they spelled cookie “cooky” in the 1930s!)
- They consistently rank as the top-selling Girl Scout cookie, accounting for roughly a quarter of all sales!
- Only two commercial bakeries are licensed to make Thin Mints.
- Did the Thin Mint recipe change? Yes! The Thin Mint recipe was reformulated to become vegan-friendly in 2015.
- IMO Thin Mints are not nearly as good as they used to be, have you noticed that too? This is why I developed a copycat Thin Mints recipe!
Homemade Thin Mints recipe ingredients
- all purpose flour
- cornstarch
- adds crispness to the cookie and helps prevent spreading.
- unsalted butter
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- I used Dutch process dark cocoa powder which gives your Thin Mints a deep rich color and chocolate flavor. Hershey’s Special Dark is commonly available.
- sugar
- egg
- vanilla
- salt
- dark or semi-sweet chocolate
- use bar chocolate, or melting wafers. I like Ghirardelli Dark Melting Wafers.
- vegetable or coconut oil
- this thins the chocolate for dipping. The presence of oil also helps the coating not seize up when you add the mint extract.
- pure peppermint extract
Peppermint extract
I use McCormick’s peppermint extract. Peppermint (not spearmint) is the standard choice for achieving the classic thin mint flavor.
Official Girl Scout Thin Mints are made with peppermint oil. You can use it, but be cautious because it’s very potent and you will only need a tiny bit. Add to taste.
How to make Thin Mints, step by step
step 1. Mix up your dough
- Cream your butter, sugar, cocoa powder and egg. Then add the flour and cornstarch to form your dough.
step 2. Roll out between sheets of parchment paper, chill
- Roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper to about 1/8″ thick. Chill for an hour.
step 3. Cut out the cookies
- Cut out the cookies using 2″ cookie cutter.
step 4. Bake
- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Let them cool right on the pan.
step 5. Dip in mint flavored chocolate
- Dip each cooled cookie in melted chocolate and set on parchment paper to harden. This is the step that turns a plain cookie into a Thin Mint!
- Dipping technique:
- drop the cookie top down into the chocolate.
- Use a fork to flip it over.
- Lift the cookie with the fork and tap against the side of the bowl to allow the excess chocolate to drip off.
- Tip the fork to slide the cookie off and onto a lined surface to harden.
Tips for this Thin Mints recipe
Rolling the dough between 2 large pieces of parchment paper prevents sticking and is less messy. You can roll it out on a lightly floured surface if you prefer.
Roll the dough to 1/8″ for traditional crispy thin mints. But you can cut your cookies a little thicker if you prefer. I enjoyed them at 1/4″.
Let the cookies cool on the pan. They will firm up as they cool.
You can make the dough ahead of time. Roll, chill, and cut the cookies. Then wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.
Use your favorite top quality chocolate for truly gourmet Thin Mints. Official Girl Scout cookies are made with cocoa powder only (no chocolate) in the cookie and coating. When you use real melted chocolate you take a big step up in quality and flavor, and it’s part of what makes your homemade Thin Mints recipe so fabulous.
Don’t forget to add the oil to the chocolate coating whether you use baking chocolate, chocolate chips, or chocolate melting wafers. It helps to prevent ‘seizing’ of the chocolate when you add the mint extract.
Homemade Thin Mints questions?
Is this Thin Mints recipe hard to make?
- These cookies are easy to moderate in difficulty. The recipe involves common ingredients and straightforward steps. The required skills are rolling out cookie dough, melting chocolate, and dipping cookies in the chocolate coating.
How many cookies does this recipe make?
- About 3 dozen cookies, depending on how thin you roll the dough and the size of your cookie cutter. Mine is 2″.
Can I use a different type of chocolate for the coating in this Thin Mints recipe?
- Yes, you can experiment with various chocolate types (semi-sweet, milk, even white) for the coating. The flavor profile will change slightly depending on your choice.
Can I use chocolate chips for the coating?
- You could but I prefer bar chocolate or melting wafers. Chocolate chips have a thicker consistency when melted, which can make it harder to dip the cookies.
Can I make these gluten free?
- Yes, substitute a good quality gf baking mix for the flour and corn starch.
Can I make these without the mint?
- Go for it! You can make a classic chocolate covered cookie without the mint.
My chocolate coating is seizing (clumping). Why?
- Chocolate can seize up when you add flavorings or extracts which contain water or alcohol to it. I add oil to the melting chocolate which helps prevent this, so don’t leave it out. I use McCormick Peppermint Extract and have no issues with seizing. Peppermint oil can also be used, sparingly, and it does not cause chocolate to seize.
Storing and freezing homemade Thin Mints
The cookies can be stored at room temperature or refrigerated, and they’ll last about 10 days or so.
As you probably already know, Thin Mints freeze beautifully, and will last up to 3 months in the freezer. Separate layers of cookies with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
As you may also already know, these cookies taste amazing straight from the freezer ~ no need to thaw! Yum.
This Thin Mints recipe is the perfect copycat
The perfect copycat recipe? It mimics everything wonderful about the original, and sometimes goes a step further to improve it! In this case the homemade Thin Mints are made with higher quality ingredients than the ones that come out of a commercial bakery, so it’s a win win. The chocolate coating, in particular, is so much more satisfying
I think I just earned my cooking badge 🙂
MORE CLASSIC COOKIE RECIPES
Thin Mint Cookie Recipe
Equipment
- baking sheets
- parchment paper
- 2 inch cookie cutter
Ingredients
for the cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup Dutch process unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour ~ minus 2 tablespoons!
- 2 Tbsp corn starch
For the coating:
- 20 ounces dark or semi sweet chocolate bars, or melting wafers
- 2 tsp vegetable or coconut oil
- 1 tsp pure peppermint extract or oil, I used McCormick's Pure Peppermint Extract, you can also use peppermint oil, but use less of it, it's very strong.
Instructions
- Cream the soft butter, sugar, vanilla and salt together. Add in the cocoa powder and mix until the cocoa powder is integrated and the batter resembles a thick frosting.
- Beat in the egg, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Whisk the flour and cornstarch together and add to the bowl, mixing on low just until everything is well combined, but don't over-mix.
- Divide the dough into 2 halves and flatten into disks. Roll out each disk between two large pieces of parchment paper. Chill the dough for 1 hour.
- Set the oven to 350F.
- Cut the dough into rounds with a 2" cookie cutter.
- Place cookies on a baking sheet, an inch apart, and bake for 10 minutes. I like to bake one tray at a time for more even baking. Let the cookies cool on the pans.
- Make the peppermint coating. I do this in 2 batches, one for the first half of cookies, and the second when needed for the rest. Chop half of the bar chocolate into very small, thin pieces. Place in a glass measuring cup or similar container along with half the oil. Microwave for 60 seconds, then stir until completely melted. You can put it back in the microwave for 15 second bursts if necessary to get all the chocolate melted. Stir in the peppermint extract.
- Gently drop the cooled cookies, one at a time, into the coating. Drop face side down, then use a fork to flip the cookie to coat the bottom. Lift the cookie with your fork and let the excess chocolate drip off. Set the cookie down on parchment paper to harden. Repeat for the rest of the cookies, making a new batch of chocolate coating when needed.
- The cookies will set up in 30 minutes to an hour. They can be kept at room temperature for a week, refrigerated, or frozen for longer storage.
Video
Notes
- Be sure that your butter is truly at room temperature before you start. If your butter is cool the dough will not come together well.
- Use the ‘fluff and scoop’ method to measure out your flour. That means fluff up the flour in the canister or bag to loosen it BEFORE you scoop or spoon out your measurement. Level the top of the measuring cup gently with the back of a knife to get the most accurate measurement.
Nutrition
I’m not sure what I did wrong, but when I tried to make these tonight, they turned out as a big flop. 🙁 The dough was extremely dry, and crumbled to bits when I tried to roll it. I got it back together by adding some water, but after they were cooked, they were dry and still crumbled apart. When I went to make the chocolate and peppermint coating, the moment I added the extract to the chocolate, it seized up to the point where it was impossible to dip anything into it. I ended up spreading it on as a frosting, but the pressure of doing that ended up making a lot of the cookies crumble to pieces. 🙁 Needless to say, I was really disappointed.
Sorry you had a bad experience A.G., this recipe is fairly complex, and with any baking project little things can go wrong. Sometimes the way you measure flour can make a difference, for instance you should always fluff the flour first and then lightly spoon it into your measuring cup, then level off with a knife. I hope you get a chance to try these again, they really are wonderful!
I had all the exact same problems, and I followed the recipe to a T!! I have been baking a while, so knew what I was doing, but for some reason this recipe and I did not mix. They still tasted good, just wasn’t enjoyable to make 🙁 I was disappointed as well.
Sorry to hear that Audrey— what were the problems you had, maybe I can help…
I’m making these today!
I just made these, I thought I was going to have the seizing problem everyone else had, (I used off brand chocolate chips, and the peppermint extract everyone else had) But with the right blend of heating and added milk, they turned out great!Thanks for the recipe 🙂
When I found this, I was SO excited. I’m like the biggest thing mint fan and to be able to make them? Heaven! I decided to make them today!
However, I was so disappointed I didn’t read the latest comments about the chocolate seizing… Mine did just that with McCormicks peppermint extract. It wasn’t runny enough to dip the cookies in.
I also must have done something wrong with the dough. I followed the directions exactly but they came out very bitter and crumbly. It tastes like too much cocoa, not enough sugar. Not sure why, since I added the right amounts.
I can’t vouch for my baking skills, but I’m not so inept that I can’t follow directions. Really disappointed that I couldn’t do this. Biggest waste of 3 hours and a bunch of ingredients.
how many does this make??
as to the seizing I used chocolate chips and it worked fine. When you put them in the microwave heat them up for 15 seconds ,stir them amd then add the peppermint extract and stir.Continue at the 15 second intervals until your chocolate is melted ,stirring in between. Hope this helps!!
Good advice, the short bursts in the microwave are key to melting successfully!
Heres the thing. These are freaking ridiculously close to the actual thin mints. Like, I’ve eaten atleast a zillion. I had Wilton Dark Cocoa Mint melts so I used those. Then when I ran out I used some andes baking chips melted with some shortening. SO GOOD. I popped them in the fridge for a bit. I like thin mints cold. Maybe because I usually eat them from the freezer. I mean, this recipe makes me feel bad for girl scouts. I’ll never have to buy again! Also, these would be a fantastic Christmas gift…it makes a TON like 2 or 3 gifts easily!I had bought peppermint extract to use, and my 16 month old totally hid it on me. But after reading the comments about seizing and asking King Arthur Flour (they recommend using flavoring OILS so chocolate doesn’t seize) I’m glad I happened to have the Wilton Melts-which were delish….and the andes baking chips were just as great so why not!Thank you for the recipe. I found you on pinterest and I’m delighted!
Looking for something simple, take a Ritz cracker, bag of Andes Mint Chips (the one in the baking aisle for cookies). Melt the Andes Mints down and coat the entire cracker, let set on wax paper and enjoy. You’ll find this taste very much like a Girl Scout Thin Mint also.
Hint: 2 Bags of Andes Mint Chips will just about do 1 box of Ritz Crackers.
Thanks!
I made these tonight and am disappointed 🙁 i was really hoping these would be perfect, the directions seemed so easy! The cookies part had GREAT flavor, but they didn’t harden properly. Instead of being crisp/hard, they were semi-firm and crumbled if you weren’t extremely gentle with them (which is hard to do if you have to dunk them in chocolate). Then, when I made the coating, the melted chocolate instantly thickened to almost icing-consistency as soon as I added the peppermint extract. Needless to say, I wasn’t able to coat the cookies, but instead iced them like sugar cookies. Again, the flavor was great, but the cookies did not hold up. I’m not sure how this went wrong—I was very meticulous with the instructions and ingredient list. Any idea why this didn’t turn out??
Possibly the cookies were rolled too thickly? I just laid my cookie on a fork and dipped them into the chocolate that way. As for the chocolate, make sure you don’t overheat it, and make sure you have oil based peppermint extract. Hope you give them another try!
My daughter has a peanut allergy and reacts to the girl scout’s thin mints (along with all other girl scout cookies). Soooo glad that I found your blog and moreover, this recipe! Now we can, once again, enjoy our oh so favorite thin mints, as I will be able to monitor the ingredients and bake them in a safe environment. Thank you 🙂
I have a nephew who has severe nut allergies, and now all the food companies are putting that nut disclaimer on their labels—it’s getting hard to buy anything nut free!