Recipe: Gluten-Free Thin Mint Cookies

The cookie monster strikes again!

But this time…for a good reason!

You see, one of the people I run with…a lot…had a birthday.  And he also recently ran yet another marathon, making 11 for this year, I believe.  Well, birthdays and marathons are things to be celebrated.

Originally, I was going to make a Boston Cream Pie to bring to the run group…but I just couldn’t figure out a way to make it dairy-free with the custard inside.  Well, I could…but it wasn’t going to be easy and time was a little tight.  So, I changed my mind at the very last minute, while standing in my kitchen, and instead threw together a version of the Girl Scout favorite (which I haven’t been able to indulge in since my diagnosis three years ago!).  Guess what?  They were a hit.

The recipe came together with a little help from Gluten-Free On A Shoestring.  So, check out the recipe and give it a go.  They brought back so many happy memories and made a lot of people happy that night.

Recipe: Gluten-Free Thin Mint Cookies

Servings: 30 larger cookies (I made 65 small cookies)
Time: Prep 15 minutes; Bake 7 minutes

Ingredients:

COOKIES

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used Earth Balance)
• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (I used Enjoy Life morsels)
• ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon pure peppermint extract
• ¾ cup high-quality all-purpose gluten-free flour (I used Better Batter)
• ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
• ½ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

GLAZE

• ½ pound dark chocolate, chopped
• pure peppermint extract, to taste

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 300° F.  Line rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper, and set them aside.

In a medium-size microwave-safe bowl, place the butter and all of the semi-sweet chocolate except for 3 to 4 1-1/2-inch-size chunks.

Microwave at 70% power for 45 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.  Add the reserved chunks of chocolate, and stir until the chocolate has begun to thicken a bit and the chunks have melted.

Add the vanilla extract and peppermint extract, and stir to combine.  Set the chocolate aside.

In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum (if using), cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and sugar, and whisk to combine well.  Add the chocolate mixture, and mix until the dough comes together and is well-integrated.  Press the cookie dough into a disk.

Place the dough between two sheets of unbleached parchment paper, and roll it out until it is about 1/4 inch thick (any thinner and the cookies are more likely to burn in the oven, and they will crack when you try to coat them in chocolate).  Cut out rounds that are about 1-1/2 inches in diameter, and place them, 1 inch apart, on the prepared baking sheets.

Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake, rotating once, for 7 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet.

Once the cookies are cool, make the glaze.

Place all of the dark chocolate except for 3 to 4 1-1/2 inch-size chunks in a medium-size, microwave-safe bowl.

Microwave at 70% power for 45 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.  Add the reserved chunks of chocolate and the peppermint extract, and stir until the chocolate has begun to thicken a bit and the chunks have melted.

Place the cookies, one at a time, in the glaze.  Press down on the cookie with the tines of a fork, then flip it gently in the chocolate.  Pull the cookie out of the chocolate by slipping the fork under it and bobbing the cookie on the surface of the chocolate a few times before pulling it along the edge of the bowl and carefully placing it on a clean sheet of parchment paper.  Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature.

Serve and enjoy!

~*~*~

While it has been ages since I have last been able to eat a Thin Mint Cookie (or 12 in one sitting)…these reminded me SO much of the cookies I grew up devouring.  I loved them enough to have as much trouble stopping myself from eating them as I did the real things.  So, from this one-time Girl Scout to all of you Celiacs and gluten-intolerant people out there…don’t give up hope.  You can now make your own Girl Scout favorite in the comfort of your own kitchen.

They’re probably less expensive too.  *WINK*