Three out of three Iveys agree: Faux Thin Mints are a mighty fine cookie.
The recipe (which I saw on Craft) was posted at A Billion Tastes and Tunes. Our only change was to add a little powdered sugar to the glaze and make sandwich cookies instead. In theory, sandwich cookies will store better (they are stackable) and not as messy to eat. In theory. The cookies have a great tender crispy texture that is hard to beat.
Faux Thin Mints
Cookie Ingredients:
1 cup Earth Balance or butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 T. cornstarch mixed with 2 T. cold water
1 t. vanilla extract
1 1/2 t. peppermint extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
Frosting Ingredients:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (there’s no dairy in Ghirardelli‘s)
1 t. vegetable oil
2 t. peppermint extract
powdered sugar to thicken (we used about 1/4 cup)
Directions:
Mix the cornstarch and water and set aside.
Mix margarine and sugar together until well-mixed and fluffy (I used a fork).
Add cornstarch mess and extracts and mix until smooth and consistent.
Add flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined (try not to over-mix, it breaks the baking powder). It’s stiff, but it’s worth it. So persevere.
Divide the dough in half. Put one half on a sheet of wax paper or plastic wrap. Roll it into about a 10 inch log, wrap it up in the wax paper and put it in the ‘fridge for about two hours until firm. If you are in a hurry, the freezer for an hour will work too. Do the same for the second half of the dough.
Preheat your oven to 350. Pull out out the dough, unwrap it and slice it into rounds a little thicker than 1/4″. Spread them out on a cookie sheet – they don’t need a lot of room since they don’t spread much.
Bake about 12 minutes. The cookies should look a little dry on top but still be soft enough to get a dent when you poke them accidentally. Let them cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet before moving them to a wire rack to cool all the way.
While they are cooling, make your filling. Put the chocolate chips and oil in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second increments until the chocolate chips are melty and the mess can be stirred until smooth. Mix in the peppermint extract (if your bowl is still warm, it shouldn’t seize). Stir enough powdered sugar to make the mixture spreadable and a little fluffy.
Using a dinner knife, spread the frosting over the bottom of one cookie. Stick another cookie (bottoms in for prettiness) on top. Repeat until all the cookies are sandwiches or eaten.
Speaking of Cookies. My sister is hosting a Virtual Cookie Swap! With PRIZES! Take a look and share a recipe. I need more cookie recipes.
