Homemade Thin Mints ~ this is the recipe you’ve been waiting for ~ the perfect copy cat Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookie that is even better than the original!
Were you a Scout? I was. But I was something of a rebel. I had stringy hair, wore my uniform skirt hiked up, my tie undone, sash askew, and my badges were sewn on crooked. I categorically refused to wear the beanie. It was the early 70s and that’s how we rolled. Both my daughters were Girl Scouts too. So I have ALOT of experience with Girl Scout cookies. I’ve schlepped them, loaded them, unloaded them, stacked them, stored them, inventoried them, counted, miscounted and recounted them, foisted them off on sold them to friends, relatives, and unsuspecting passers by, bribed teachers with them, gifted them, regifted them, froze them, thawed them, used them as dog treats, and of course eaten them. Many, many, many of them.
Lets just say I don’t have the purely nostalgic associations that some of you might have with these cookies.
Even so, when I came across this wacky scheme to make Thin Mints from scratch, I was intrigued. It might have had something to do with the fact that I was stuck inside all day during a freak March blizzard. But Thin Mints are truly unique cookies. They’re the all time top seller for the Girls Scouts, and people have been known to hoard them in their freezer. Couple that with the fact that no commercial bakeries are allowed to market them, and you’ll understand why I jumped on this one.
These cookies are exact copy cats of the original thin mints!
It’s not often that a recipe hums along, step by step, without a hitch. Especially when it’s a copy-cat recipe that depends on an exacting replica of the original. The color, shape, texture and taste of these cookies was perfect. Eerily perfect. I can tell you without hesitation that this is the perfect Thin Mint recipe. If you’re one of those people who loves Thin Mints, put your face right up close to the screen and listen carefully…run, don’t walk, to the nearest store to get what you need to make these. Seriously.
I could tell the minute I cut out the cookies that something special was about to happen. Even unbaked, the cookies already look like they’re going to be the perfect Thin Mint. An added bonus is that the dough itself is wonderful to snack on, and there are LOTS of little leftover bits in between all those perfect little circles!
I tasted one of the cookies just out of the oven. Still perfect. I was getting really excited.
By the time I dipped the cookies in the peppermint infused chocolate I was positively giddy. These are exact replicas of Thin Mints. Clones, actually.
I think I just earned my cooking badge.
More classic cookie recipes
- DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
- No Bake Vegan Thin Mint Cookies
- Harry and David Fruit Galettes
- Nutella Sandwich Cookies
- Maple Glazed Oatmeal Cookies
Homemade Thin Mints
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 cup 8 oz, or 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, I used Dutched dark cocoa powder which worked well
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour, fluff the flour before scooping and leveling the cup, too much flour will result in a dry dough
For the coating:
- 16 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
- 1 tsp vegetable or coconut oil
- Approximately 1 teaspoon peppermint extract or oil Make sure you get peppermint, not spearmint, and make sure you get extract, or oil, not flavoring I used McCormick's Pure Peppermint Extract
Instructions
- Set the oven to 350F
- Cream butter until light and fluffy, then add the powdered sugar and mix until combined. Stir in the salt, vanilla and cocoa powder. Mix until the cocoa powder is integrated and the batter resembles a thick frosting. Add the flour and mix just until the flour is combined, making sure to not over mix.
- Form dough into a ball. Knead a few times to bring together, then flatten into a disk between half an inch and one inch thick, cover in plastic wrap then place in freezer for 15 minutes.
- Remove dough from the freezer and roll it out really thin on a floured surface, about 1/8-inch. Cut cookies using 1 1/2-inch cutter (I used a small cordial glass that measured almost 2" and it was the perfect size).
- Place cookies on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack. While the cookies bake, make the peppermint coating. Chop the baking chocolate into very small, thin pieces. Place in a glass measuring cup or similar container along with the oil and microwave in short 15-20 second bursts. Stir in the peppermint extract. Feel free to add more peppermint as you see fit. (Don't add any more, the amount is perfect)
- Gently drop the cookies, one at a time, into the coating. Turn to coat entirely, then lift the cookie out of the chocolate with the fork and bang the fork on the side of the pan until the extra coating drips off. Place on a parchment or plastic wrap-lined baking sheet, and repeat for the rest of the cookies. Place the cookies in the refrigerator or freezer to set. (I didn't need to do this, they set up fine after about 1/2 hour at room temperature, but then again, we were having a blizzard, "room temperature" is relative!)
Cook's 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. This goes without saying, but use a measuring cup meant for dry solids, not liquids for measuring flour.
- Some people are having trouble adding the peppermint extract to the melted chocolate. I have updated the recipe to add a bit of vegetable oil to the chocolate, this should help. You can also try putting the extract right in with the chocolate before melting. Remember everything must be clean and dry, with no moisture in the bowl, and you must use an oil based flavoring, so definitely read the labels on your peppermint extract. Candy flavoring oils are also a good choice. I used McCormick's Pure Peppermint Extract. If you can't find it in your grocery store you can buy it from Amazon, HERE.
Don’t forget to pin these Homemade Thin Mint Cookies!
More Girl Scout Thin Mint love…
Easy No Bake White Chocolate Thin Mints
Lazy No Bake Thin Mint Cookies
144 Comments
Sarah Veloz
February 5, 2015 at 12:52 pmHi. Really confused. I’m making a second batch of the cookie part, but it still tastes to bitter. idk what’s going on! 1 cup cocoa powder, 1 cup powdered sugar… i don’t know…… i added a lot more sugar to the first patch, but after baking, the after taste is still there. i was hoping that maybe after i coat them with chocolate they will taste better?? you also said the dough taste good by itself, but heck no, this was just too bitter 🙁 please help me!
Sue
February 5, 2015 at 1:14 pmYou may be extra sensitive to bitter tastes, Sarah, I’m not sure. They will definitely taste sweeter after you coat them with the chocolate, so hopefully that will help you!
Sarah Veloz
February 5, 2015 at 1:47 pmeeeek! I am probably am. I’m going to go through with these cookies and hope other people like them lol, thank you!
Sue
February 5, 2015 at 4:03 pmYou’re welcome…it’s always hard to help when I can’t be there in person 🙂 I hope you like them better when they’re chocolate coated!
Kristen
December 21, 2014 at 8:48 amSo excited to make this recipe, I love Thin Mints! When you say “vanilla” are you referring to vanilla extract or something else? Thanks!
Sue
December 21, 2014 at 8:51 amVanilla extract, Kristen — hope you enjoy them!
Aldine S.
April 6, 2014 at 11:52 amHello Susan!
I’m from California and my boyfriend is an airman stationed in Virginia and he has been craving Thin Mints for the longest time. Upon stumbling on your recipe from Pinterest, I thought to myself that this would be a perfect addition to his care package. Although I haven’t tried baking it, I’m just wondering how long these cookies will survive or stay fresh if shipped to another state? Or are there any changes I can make in order to keep them fresh? Hope to hear from you soon, thank you so much. 🙂
Sue
April 6, 2014 at 2:07 pmHi Aldine — well, I don’t think it’s so much a matter of staying fresh, as it is a problem with the chocolate melting. I know companies won’t ship chocolate during the warm months because of this problem. In any case I would ship them as quickly as possible, and hope that the temp stays low!
Anna
February 14, 2014 at 5:11 pmHi, thank you so much for having this recipe on your blog. I found you through Pinterest. These came out wonderfully! I used a double boiler to slowly heat some bittersweet chocolate chips (65% cocao) with oil based peppermint extract, because of the bitterness of my chocolate I ended up using about a tablespoon of the extract to get the flavor I was looking for. I also used 100% whole wheat in the cookie mixture, my cookies were brittle when they first came out of the oven (due to the high butter content I believe) but I let them cool on the pan and once they came to room temperature they were fairly structurally sound. I was able to dip with minimal crumbs.The recipe yielded 56 cookies just under 2″ in diameter for me, but I only had enough chocolate chips to coat half of them so I would have needed about 20 oz to coat all the cookies. Overall I am very pleased with the recipe, thanks again for sharing it!!!
Leigh
December 27, 2013 at 12:44 amI loved these! I did have some issue with the dough being so dry so I added about a tablespoon of coffee that I had brewed this morning to bind everything together.
Donna
November 8, 2013 at 1:43 pmInstead of making the “cookie” , I use Ritz crackers. Works wonderful!!
Laurel
September 28, 2013 at 1:02 pmThe original recipe calls for peppermint OIL, not peppermint extract. Peppermint oil is FAR more potent than peppermint extract and would mix with the chocolate a LOT easier than extract. When I first read the recipe, my first thought was “why doesn’t that extract seize the chocolate”? After reading the comments, I realize it does. It’s also important not to heat the chocolate too fast or too hot. Sometimes slow is better. 🙂
Sue
September 28, 2013 at 5:25 pmI had no trouble mixing the extract with the chocolate…
Erin
August 3, 2013 at 6:56 pmI just made these tonight. They are very good, though not Thin Minty enough to call them the same. Reasons could be: I didn’t have dark cocoa so used regular (something about that always seems to come through in recipes…you can almost taste the powder), while my chocolate dip didn’t seize up, it wasn’t thin enough to dip – I ended up having to make a second batch of the dip to get them all covered. Not sure how to make it thinner – suggestions? I used Ghiradelli semisweet baking chocolate the first time around and Cadbury’s Dark Chocolate for the second batch. No difference in consistency between the two. I would make them again, but sadly I don’t see them as a substitute for Thin Mints.
cheryl
November 15, 2013 at 5:06 amuse paramount crystals to thin your chocolate….
Lisa
July 28, 2013 at 5:34 pmThe first time I made these, they were really crumbly, dry, and terrible. After rereading the recipe a billion times, I found it. This needs two sticks of butter (I read the 8 ounces as 8 tablespoons) if y’all had the same problem.
Sue
July 28, 2013 at 5:44 pmI just rewrote the ingredient so it’s extra clear, I’m so glad you kept at it! I’m actually planning to revisit this recipe and rework through it in light of people’s problems. I think it’s a good example of how reading (and writing) a recipe is tricky. Thanks for sharing your experience, Lisa!
Shawn & Kristin Lascelles
April 5, 2013 at 7:14 pmI see a lot of people had problems with the chocolate, but that was the only part that worked for me! I was a bit freaked out with the dough but I continued with it and it turned out right. I baked those perfect little circles and I was so excited that when the first set was cool i ate one plain…and it tasted terrible!! I have no idea why 🙁 I followed the recipe exactly and it all looked perfect. I even went ahead and melted the chocolate thinking the unsweetened cocoa powder would be ok covered, but it was not 🙁 any idea what happened?
Sue/the view from great island
June 1, 2013 at 11:23 pmAre you sure you added the powdered sugar to the cookie dough? That’s the only thing I can think of, because with the sugar you wouldn’t have any unsweetened chocolate taste. Hope this helps!