Craving Thin Mints? Make Them At Home

“Throughout this book, you may discover I have a little obsession with American supermarket cookies,” writes baker and author Edd Kimber in his new book, Small Batch Cookies. “Call it imagined nostalgia. Growing up and existing on a diet of American sitcoms and movies, I heard the names of American cookies hundreds of times before I actually traveled there and finally tried them.”

We’re happy to report that he wasn’t disappointed: “I tried my first Thin Mint, a Girl Scout Cookie, in San Francisco. I found a troop of Girl Scouts selling them around the corner from my hotel. My stomach overwhelmed my brain, and I bought three different boxes (I was traveling solo!), but the Thin Mints were my favorite. These are my homage to those cookies.” We’d like to thank that troop of Girl Scouts for inspiring Kimber to create this accessible, fun, and flavorful recipe that you can make at home using 10 ingredients. Oh, and did we mention these bad boys are dairy-free?

Vegan Thin Mints Recipe

Makes: 6

Ingredients

For the cookies

• 50g (1¾ oz/1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 7g (1/4 oz/1 tablespoon) cocoa powder, preferably black cocoa
• 1/8 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 40g (1½ oz/2¾ tablespoons) unsalted vegan block butter, softened
• 50g (1¾ oz/¼ cup) caster (superfine or granulated) sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract

For the coating

• 100g (3½ oz) vegan dark chocolate
• 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
• Cocoa nibs (optional)

Instructions

1. Line a baking tray (sheet pan) with parchment paper. 
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt (if the cocoa powder is lumpy, sifting this mixture is worth the added effort). In a separate bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat together the vegan butter, sugar and peppermint extract until soft and creamy, about 2–3 minutes. Add the flour mixture and mix just until the flour disappears into the butter mixture, forming a crumbly dough. You know you can stop mixing when the mixture turns from a dusty grey color to dark brown or black. Tip the dough out onto the work surface and use your hands to bring together as a uniform dough. 
3. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and roll each one into a ball. Place them on the prepared baking tray, then use a flat-bottomed drinking glass to press into flat discs, about 5cm (2in) in diameter. The edges of the cookies will crack once flattened, so use a round cookie cutter to scoot back into a neat round shape. Refrigerate the cookies for 15 minutes before baking.
4. Preheat the oven to 160ºC (140ºC Fan) 325ºF.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove and set aside until fully cooled.
6. To decorate, melt the chocolate using either a double boiler or a microwave and scrape into a small bowl, mixing through the peppermint extract. Dip each cookie into the chocolate, coating entirely. Use a fork to carefully lift the cookie from the chocolate, allowing the excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl. Place the cookie back on the baking tray and sprinkle with a few cocoa nibs if you like. Refrigerate until the chocolate has set. 
7. If stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator, these cookies will keep for 4–5 days.

Excerpted from Small Batch Cookies, by Edd Kimber, Kyle Books.