Have the girl scouts been out and about in your neighborhood?  They are in full force around the Dallas area selling their boxes of irresistible confections.  Thin mints are one of our favs, but this year we are making our own grown up thin mints. We shared one of our favorite mint liqueurs with you in other posts like,  3 Hot Chocolates With a Twist and Who Needs Half-Price Shakes After 8?Who Needs Half-Price Shakes After 8? Branca Menta is the perfect amount of mint to give these chocolate cookies a little zip. Not a cookie person?  No worries!  We have a thin mint in a glass for you, as well.

We found the cookie recipe last March on Liquor.com with a few minor adjustments we made it our own.  Start by whisking together the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Then beat the sugar and butter until creamy with a mixer.  Slowly add the eggs and the extracts.  Next add the flour mixture slowly to the mixer until combined. The dough is super sticky.  (We will talk about that more in a moment.)

Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.  Do not skip this step or it will become very difficult to work with later.

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  You will need to roll the dough into little 1 1/2″ balls.  To make this easier, wash your hands carefully.  Then spray your hands with cooking spray.  (You will be glad you did!) Scoop a spoonful of dough out of the bowl and into your hands. Roll the dough until a nice ball forms.  Since you chilled the dough and sprayed your hands with cooking spray, the balls form nicely and do not stick to your hands!

After rolling the dough, flatten the balls with the bottom of a glass.  Remember how you sprayed your hands with cooking spray?  Spray the bottom of the glass before flattening the cookies.  It keeps the cookies from sticking to the bottom of the glass.  The recipe calls for making the discs about 1/4″ thick.  We couldn’t get ours quite that thin.

Bake the cookies, and flip them to the other side to bake after about 4 minutes.  Bake for a total of 8 minutes.  Let the cookies cool slightly on the tray and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Meanwhile, you can melt the chocolate chips.  Instead of using a double boiler, we usually melt our chips in the microwave.  We set the cook time for no more than 30 seconds each interval.  After 30 seconds is up, we remove the bowl, stir, and return to the microwave for 15-30 more seconds until the chips are melted and smooth.

Dip the cooled cookies into the chocolate one at a time to coat.  Shake off excess chocolate and place on parchment paper to set.

Now you are ready for some delicious homemade Thin Mentas!  While these cookies do not taste exactly like the cookies the Girl Scouts sell,  they are still a delicious treat.

Thin Mentas

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 5 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk brought to room temperature
• 3 tablespoons of Branca Menta
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 12-18 ounces of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a larger bowl on a mixer stand beat together the sugar and butter on medium speed until creamy.  Reduce the speed and add first the egg and then the egg yolk, beating well after each addition. Beat in the extracts.  Slowly beat in the flour mixture until just combined.  The dough will be super sticky.

Shape the dough into a ball and chill for 30 minutes.  After chilling the dough, shape the dough into 1 1/2″ balls and place on cookie sheets.  Flatten with the bottom of a glass till about 1/4 inch thick.  Bake the cookies for about 4 minutes, remove flip and bake for another 4 minutes until dry and crisp and firm around the edges.  Let the cookies cool slightly on the cookie sheet and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave at 15 second intervals stirring until smooth.  Dip cookies into the melted chocolate and turn to coat .  Shake off any excess chocolate and place on parchment paper to cool.

 The Thin Mint

Add one part Branca Menta and one part Seagram’s Cookies and Cream Vodka in a rocks glass.  Place in the freezer for 15 minutes.  Then sit back and drink your girl scout cookies.

Which will you try first?  The drink or the cookies?  We would love to hear about what you think.

DISCLAIMER: THE BEVERAGES ON THIS SITE ARE MEANT FOR ADULTS 21 YEARS AND OLDER.  WE DO NOT SUPPORT OR ENCOURAGE UNDERAGE DRINKING.  ALWAYS DRINK RESPONSIBLY AND NEVER DRINK AND DRIVE.