Best Cookies Ever - Vegan Thin Mints

Vegan Thin Mints just like the Girl Scout Cookies, but are vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and with no added oils or butters, yet taste just like the traditional! So unbelievably delicious and yet, so much healthier than store-bought! Made with only 8 ingredients!

 I have that same cookie memory renewed and better than ever. Not only do mine have that same rich chocolatey-mint bite of heaven, but they are vegan, gluten-free, no added oils or butters and no nasty additives, colors, artificial flavors, chemicals or preservatives. Now, that certainly doesn't bother me once in awhile, I'm not about perfection by any means when it comes to eating, but if I can make a thin mint cookie that I don't feel sick afterwards eating and it be a lot healthier, but still taste as freaking delicious, then I'm just that much more excited about it!

Best Cookies Ever - Vegan Thin Mints Recipe



INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup (112g) superfine blanched almond flour* (see NOTES at bottom)
• ½ cup (64g) superfine oat flour
• 6 tablespoons (36g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons (30g) coconut sugar (or regular if your prefer)
• ¼ teaspoon (2g) fine salt
• 7 tablespoons (140g) pure maple syrup
• ½ cup (128g) super creamy roasted almond butter
• 1/8 teaspoon peppermint oil (not extract, see NOTE)*

Coating :

• 2 cups (480g) semi-sweet dairy-free chocolate chips 
• 1/8 teaspoon peppermint oil
• 1 teaspoon coconut milk to help thin out the chocolate

NOTE:
**I found 1/8 teaspoon of peppermint oil to be just right in the dough and coating so that it isn’t overpowering and taste like toothpaste. My family thought they were perfect as well. If you want it stronger, then once the chocolate coating is melted, taste a small amount after mixing the peppermint in and add a tiny bit extra if preferred, keeping in mind it is very strong. I buy my oil from Michael's in the bakery items isle. I recommend the oil for the best flavor (no alcohol taste) but if you really want to use the extract, make sure it is peppermint (not mint) and keep in mind it's 4 times less strong than oil, so you will likely need 1/2 teaspoon in the batter and coating. Maybe start with 1/4 tsp and adjust to taste.



INSTRUCTIONS :

1. To a large bowl, add the almond flour, oat flour, cocoa powder, coconut sugar and salt and whisk very well to ensure there are no lumps.
2. To a medium bowl, add the syrup, almond butter and peppermint oil and stir until completely smooth. It’s important to mix the liquids separately from the dry first so that the peppermint is mixed in thoroughly.
3. Pour the wet over the dry and stir until it comes together into a thick, sticky batter. It may take a few minutes. Place the dough onto a piece of parchment paper and wrap it up tightly. Put it either in the freezer for 30 minutes or the fridge for 1 hour. Don’t chill it too long or it can dry the dough out and make it hard to roll out. If this happens, set it out at room temp until it’s soft enough to roll.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line 2 pans with parchment paper.
5. Unwrap the dough and place another large piece of parchment paper over the dough and use a roller to roll the dough out into a large piece, ¼ inch thick. This size is important so that they bake up evenly and somewhat crispy. Use a round cookie cutter 2.5 inch wide to cut out each cookie and keep reusing the dough until it’s all gone. Put 12 on the 1st pan and 6 on the 2nd.
6. Bake the 1st pan for 10-11 minutes. 11 minutes will make them more crispy. Cool on the pan 5 minutes and cool COMPLETELY on a cooling rack before coating them, about 30 mins.
7. For the coating, add the chocolate chips either to a double boiler or a large microwave-safe bowl. Melt the chocolate chips in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each. This will help the chocolate to melt evenly and not burn. Once 90% melted, remove and stir until completely smooth and runny. Stir in the peppermint oil. I found 1/8 teaspoon perfect, but if you desire it stronger, add a bit more, keeping in mind a little goes a long way.
8. Place a large piece of parchment paper on a flat plate/platter for this next step. Use a fork to place one cookie in the bowl of chocolate and flip it over with the fork until coated and lift it up and tap the cookie gently to the side of the bowl to shake/drain off excess and then drag the bottom of the cookie along the rim of the bowl and place onto the piece of parchment paper. I found this method to go very quickly and easily. Repeat with all the cookies and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to set. If desired, for the pretty lines I did on the tops, spoon the extra melted chocolate in a baggie and cut a really tiny corner off and drizzle on the tops. Place back to chill and set in the fridge for a few minutes.
9. Remove the cookies from the paper after chilling and store in a container and keep in the fridge. They can be stored at room temperature perfectly fine, but I always loved eating my thin mints straight from the fridge because they are so good cold and hold their crispy texture longer.

Recipe Adapted : Vegan Thin Mints @ thevegan8