By Tracey
Homemade Thin Mints
adapted from 101 Cookbooks
Ingredients:
Cookies
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
Chocolate Peppermint Coating
- 1 lb semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar and continue mixing until completely incorporated, scraping down the side of the bowl once or twice as necessary. Mix in the vanilla, salt and cocoa powder until well combined – the dough will be thick and smooth, almost frosting-like in texture. Add the cake flour and mix just until the dough comes together – it may be a little crumbly, that’s fine. Turn the dough out onto your work surface and knead it once or twice just to make it uniform. Divide the dough in half and flatten each piece into a 3/4-inch thick disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
(Note: you can chill the dough longer if necessary, but it’s really important that you let it warm up on your counter before trying to roll it out. If the dough is too cold, it’s going to crack and be super crumbly as you try to roll it out.)
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll to a thickness of 1/8-inch. Use a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter to cut circles of dough (or whatever shape you want). Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart (they won’t spread much). I re-rolled the scraps once and cut more cookies. Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes, or until the edges are set. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool for a few minutes before removing them to the rack to cool completely.
While the cookies cool, prepare the chocolate coating. Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30-second bursts at 50% power, stirring in between each, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Stir in the peppermint extract. You can use more or less than I suggested above – maybe start with a little less and add until it tastes as minty as you’d like.
To dip the cookies: Drop a cookie in the melted chocolate and use a fork to flip and coat all sides. Lift the cookie out of the chocolate with the fork and allow the excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl (you can tap the fork on the side of the bowl to help but be careful, I broke a cookie or two by banging too forcefully). Transfer the cookie to a baking sheet lined with wax (or parchment) paper. Repeat with remaining cookies. If the chocolate hardens before you finish dipping, just pop the bowl back in the microwave briefly to soften it up. Transfer the cookies to the refrigerator to set the chocolate. Store them in the refrigerator or freezer (I liked them best from the freezer).
Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
