Homemade Thin Mint cookies are the perfect copy cat Girl Scout cookie that’s even better than the original!
Were you a Girl 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 Thin Mint cookies.
Even so, when I came across this wacky scheme to make Thin Mint cookies 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.
This Thin Mint cookie recipe is the perfect copy cat
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
Thin Mint Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 cup 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
- 1 tsp pure 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!)
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.
Nutrition
they were amazing! I used cocoa powder 50%, and the chocolate kind that is made for dipping: I melted it in water bath, no oil. The bath was pretty easy too, but you have to let the cookies get cold, otherwise they will break. Mine weren’t too bitter, they were perfect! Thanks for the recipe…
Thanks for the feedback Ana, I appreciate your taking the time to let us know!
Hi, I tried to do the chocolate for dipping and as soon as I added the peppermint extract to the melted chocolate, it turned into sludge. Thick, unusable sludge….any suggestions?
I revised the recipe to mention that you can, if you have trouble, add a little vegetable or coconut oil to the chocolate before melting. Chocolate is fussy, and will ‘seize up’ if there is even a drop of moisture that comes in contact with it. Be sure you use an oil based extract, too.
I just finished making these. I used 3/4 cups of unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons of peppermint, and 20oz of chocolate. I ran just a little short on chocolate. I would recommend using 24oz. And if I ever did this recipe again I would use milk chocolate due to the bitterness. Other than that the recipe was spot on. It only took 3 hours. Lol
Thanks for your feedback, Arielle, I know it’s a big help to others attempting to make these 🙂
These look very good but there’s certainly way too much cocoa powder, specially so if you use Dutch-processed. I live in Belgium so maybe the unsweetened cocoa we have here is different but If I were to use the same ratio of cocoa to sugar, they would turn out with about the same amount of sweetness as an 75% dark chocolate. I’m wondering if the reason some people found them bitter wasn’t this :-/ I’ll definitely try them though, I’m very curious to know why people are so obsessed with Thin Mints ^.^
I was very excited to make these but after I tasted the baked cookies (like a lot of other commenters) I found that it was extremely bitter, I thought dipping in chocolate would help mask the bitterness and it did a little bit there is still a terrible bitter after taste. And no I don’t think I’m extra sensitive to bitter taste I think it must be something in the recipe since me and and many others experienced the same problem.
Ive never been sooooo frustrated in my life than making these ? they were hard so so so bitter ?
Thanks for such a great recipe!
I made these the other day and my hubby went nuts for them. We have barely gone through the first batch and he is asking me to make more.
I did do a couple of things differently though…I thought I had enough cocoa in the house, but I only had 3/4 cup of regular cocoa (not dark), which turned out to be more than enough. Maybe if people are finding the cookies bitter, they could try this amount of regular cocoa instead.
I didn’t have any baking chocolate and I don’t own a microwave, so I used 3 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips and a double boiler. The double boiler ensures the chocolate melts easily and stays smooth and thin enough for dipping.
We are going to try the Tagalong cookie recipe soon. I have never had them, as they don’t sell them in Canada, but they sound delicious.
my boyfriend and I made these tonight and unfortunately they did not taste good. They looked delicious, but we’re so bitter we couldn’t even finish a cookie. Not sure what went wrong since we followed the directions exactly and they looked fantastic! Should we have added more sugar or something? We still had fun making them though!
While these are pretty darn good, they don’t taste like Thin Mints…I was able to eat one and then the other and they are definitely different. I think next time I would try putting some peppermint extract in the cookie dough, too. The biggest benefit?? I don’t have to eat the GMO-filled ones anymore 🙂
When you cool the baked cookies, do you remove them from the baking sheet to the rack?
Yes, I usually let cookies cool for a few minutes on the pan, and then remove them and let them finish cooling on the rack.