randomstring

This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.
America’s Test Kitchen

Makes about 70 cookies

TIME  1¾ hours, plus 45 minutes chilling and 20 minutes cooling

Thin Chocolate Mint Cookies

Everything Chocolate


WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

No longer wanting to count the days until the cookie season arrives, we decided to re-create the classic Girl Scout cookie, Thin Mints. To keep the mint flavor in check, we used peppermint oil in the chocolate coating only and omitted it from the cookie itself. Thin Mints get their crisp, short texture from palm kernel oil but we found that coconut oil, which is in the same family, did the trick. Baking the cookies until they were thoroughly dry ensured the proper crunch. For the shell, we knew we would need to temper the chocolate. We turned to our easy microwave method, which yielded a chocolate coating that was every bit as attractive and crisp as one made by the traditional method. Our spin on Thin Mints doesn't just live up to our expectations; it exceeds them—Scout's honor. 



Cookies
  * 1½ cups (7½ ounces) all-purpose flour
  * ½ cup (1½ ounces)unsweetened cocoa powder
  * ½ teaspoon table salt
  * ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  * ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  * ½ cup refined coconut oil, chilled
  * ¾ cup (5¼ ounces) sugar
  * 2 tablespoons milk
  * 1 large egg
  * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Chocolate Coating
  * 1 pound semisweet chocolate
  *   * (12 ounces chopped fine, 4 ounces grated), divided
  * ⅛ teaspoon peppermint oil


INSTRUCTIONS

FOR THE COOKIES: 
  - Whisk flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in bowl; set aside. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat oil and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add milk, egg, and vanilla; and beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Slowly add flour mixture and beat until just combined, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl as needed. Divide dough in half. Form each half into 4-inch disk, wrap disks tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until dough is firm yet malleable, about 45 minutes.
  - Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with 1 disk of dough at a time, roll into 11-inch circle, about ⅛ inch thick, between 2 large sheets of lightly floured parchment paper. Remove top piece of parchment. Using 1¾-inch round cookie cutter, cut dough into rounds; space rounds ½ inch apart on prepared sheets. Gently reroll scraps ⅛ inch thick, cut into rounds, and transfer to prepared sheets. Bake until cookies are very firm, 16 to 18 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Let cookies cool completely.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE COATING: 
  - Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Microwave finely chopped chocolate and oil in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring often, until about two-thirds melted, 2 to 4 minutes. (Melted chocolate should not be much warmer than body temperature; check by holding bowl in palm of your hand.) Add grated chocolate and stir until smooth, returning to microwave for no more than 5 seconds at a time to finish melting if necessary.
  - Working with 1 cookie at a time, place cookie on fork and dip bottom of cookie in chocolate. Using offset spatula, spread chocolate over top of cookie, creating thin coating. Transfer cookie to prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining cookies. Let cookies sit until chocolate sets, about 15 minutes, before serving. (Cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.)

https://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/13702-thin-chocolate-mint-cookies