Recipe of the Day - Thin Mints

Courtesy of Come on, Ilene
(http://comeonilene.com/2011/05/05/unwrapped-thin-mints/)

Difficulty Level: Medium
Rating: 4 stars

Ok, I could eat a whole box of girl scout thin mints - in one sitting! So, I was so excited when I found the recipe for these cookies. I gave them a try - so yummy! Not exactly girl scout version, but so good. I definitely recommend putting them in the fridge after to harden up. Hope you enjoy:



Cookie Dough Ingredients
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 1/2 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons of mint extract

Chocolate Coating Ingredients
• 12oz bag of dark chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons of shortening
• 2 teaspoons of mint extract

Directions
In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add cocoa powder, baking powder and salt and beat until combined. Beat in the egg, vanilla and mint extract. Slowly add in flour one at a time.
Divide the dough in half and roll dough into two 2″ wide logs. Wrap logs in wax paper. Chill in the fridge for at least 1hour or in the freezer for 20 minutes. You want the dough to be firm enough to cut. You can also chill the dough overnight or freeze half of it to bake on another day.

Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1/8″ slices. The thinner you cut the dough the better. These cookies are called Thin Mints after all:

Place cookies on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. You want the cookies to be crisp. They should continue to crisp when removed from the oven. Let cool to room temperature:

Now let’s get the glaze ready! In a double broiler, add the chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli dark), extract and shortening in a bowl. (You can also microwave the chocolate in short 30 intervals but with this much chocolate, I find it safer to use a double boiler):

Stir over medium heat until chocolate is melted and becomes smooth and glossy:

Using a spatula or knife, spread melted chocolate evenly over the top and sides of the cookies. Let cool and harden on a wire rack:

I put mine in the fridge to help speed up the cooling process.