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!
What could possibly be better timing for a Vegan Thin Mint Cookie recipe than during Girl Scout season? I know my last post was cookies, but due to the great response on Instagram and Facebook, you all didn't care and really, really wanted this recipe. I'm here to deliver, my friends.
My daughter and I have been seeing those cuties selling cookies as we go in and out of the grocery stores and I explained to her (she's 6) who they are and what they are doing. I also told her about my favorite Girl Scout cookie growing up....the Thin Mints. I think 90% of the people out there would agree. Those thin mints straight out of the fridge.....cold, crispy and delicious perfection.
Well, my friends, 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!
I know I just recently posted these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, which you all have been devouring and freaking over, yay! But, this cookie recipe request was from a dear reader, Estee, who makes my recipes on a weekly basis and it was a pleasure to create these for her, us, you and everybody who loves Thin Mints. And sometimes your recipe inspiration is already right under your nose. I realized I already have a cookie recipe on the blog with the perfect chocolate base, these Chocolate Apricot Cookie Sandwiches. I simply adapted the recipe a tiny bit with sweetness and added peppermint oil, a coating and boom, PERFECT THIN MINTS.
I don't mean to toot my own horn here, but I have to kind of admit that mine look just as authentic as the boxed versions, am I right?? I was beyond thrilled at the result and so was my hubby. He was like, "wow".
My daughter and hubby were practically fighting over these, that is how good they are. My daughter said "this is the best cookie in the whole world!" My hubby just kept holding his hand out for more and it was late at night and I had to cut him off because I needed enough left to take the photos the next day...hahaha, he was a little irritated. I knew I had a winner with these!
For these Vegan Thin Mints, you of course only need 8 ingredients (+salt):
- almond flour
- oat flour
- coconut sugar
- cocoa powder
- pure maple syrup
- roasted almond butter
- peppermint oil
- chocolate chips
And of course, don't forget some delicious Homemade Almond Milk to go with them!
I really hope you love these as much as we did! I'm telling you, heavenly isn't enough to describe them. Be sure to come back and review them and if you love them, leave a lovely star rating please!
Yields 18 cookies
30 minPrep Time
10 minCook Time
40 minTotal Time
Save Recipe5 based on 8 review(s)
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)*
- 2 cups (480g) semi-sweet dairy-free chocolate chips (I used mini Enjoy Life)
- 1/8 teaspoon peppermint oil
- 1 teaspoon coconut milk to help thin out the chocolate (if needed)
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line 2 pans with parchment paper.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Notes
For those that are nut-free, I would suggest to grind up raw sunflower kernels in a food processor into as fine a flour as you can get, being careful not to turn it into a nut butter. Use the same weight amount as the almond flour. Sub the almond butter with sunbutter. This will of course yield a sunflower taste to the cookies and the texture will probably be a bit grittier, but I believe in the case of these being desired to be crispy and the strong chocolate mint taste, the sunflower will work just fine.
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