When I ordered our Girl Scout cookies, I bought some Do-Si-Dos and Thin Mints - both are family favorites. My husband's favorite cookies are the Do-Si-Dos, a lovely peanut butter sandwich cookie. I took on the challenge of making this cookie in a gluten free version in April. Now it's time to tackle my favorite Girl Scout cookie - the Thin Mint. I used to like to eat this cookie fresh from the box or frozen, either way they were delicious.Inspired by Heidi at 101 Cookbooks and a recipe that I found at Epicurious.com, I set out to work up a gluten free version of the Thin Mint. After deciding on what ingredients I would use for my attempt, I headed off to Whole Foods to pick up the things I didn't have on hand. Then I began to work...
Recipe
Chocolate Wafer Cookie
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup oat flour (Cream Hill Estates)
1/4 cup arrowroot flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 cup cane sugar
12 Tb butter
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 tsp kuzu/kudzu powder, crushed
1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract or oil
1 tsp vanilla
Chocolate Topping
6 to 7 ounces dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate morsels
1/2 tsp peppermint extract or oil
1. Making the Cookie Dough: Cover a cookie sheet or another flat working surface with a sheet of parchment paper. Then in a medium mixing bowl, place the flours, cocoa, salt, sugar and blend. In small bowl or mortar and pestle crush the kudzu powder until fine crumbs. In another bowl beat the egg and add the kudzu powder, then blend together. In a large mixing bowl, place the butter and beat until creamy. Stir the egg and kudzu mixture, then add to the butter. Then add the peppermint extract, vanilla and blend. Slowly add the dry ingredients. Once the mixture makes a ball, remove the dough from the bowl and place on the parchment paper.
2. Rolling out the Dough: Slowly mold the dough into a ball. Then ease the dough across the parchment paper until it begins to make a log. Roll out until the dough is about two inches in diameter.3. Chilling the Dough: Once the dough is rolled out, wrap it in the parchment paper. Place the wrapped dough in the refrigerator for at least two hours before slicing.
4. Slicing the Dough: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Then remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it and place on a cutting surface. Using a sharp knife, cut 1/4 inch slices off the log and place on the parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Place the slices about one inch apart.5. Cooking the Dough: Cook for 15 minutes or until the tops and edges appear dry. Allow them to cool before removing from the cookie sheet.
6. Making the Chocolate Topping: Place several cups of water in the bottom of a double boiler and bring to a simmer. Place the top of the double boiler on and place the chocolate in it. Stir the chocolate and once melted add the peppermint extract. Blend together. Turn off the heat.
7. Glazing the Cookies: You can glaze the cookies in chocolate or cover them in chocolate. To glaze the cookies: dip a fork or spatula into the chocolate and wave it back and forth across the cookies. To cover the cookies: place a cookie in the chocolate and then turn it over. Once it is covered, pick it up with tongs and allow some of the excess chocolate to drip off. Then place on the parchment paper to cool.
8. Cooling the Cookies: Allow the cookies to dry on the counter overnight. Once dry you can place some in the freezer for a frosty treat.How did they turn out? Beautifully. When they are first made the cookies have a dark and intense chocolate flavor with a hint of peppermint. By the next day the cookies have mellowed and are milder in flavor. I froze one of the cookies that we dipped in chocolate and it reminded me of a frozen Thin Mint. My daughter thought the cookies were too intense. My son thought they didn't quite taste like a Thin Mint, but they were really good. My husband agreed with him and added that my cookies had a more intense chocolate flavor. He preferred the dipped cookies to those that were glazed with chocolate. We all agreed that the frozen cookies tasted the most like Thin Mints.
This one is a keeper.
