Gluten-Free Thin Mints

It’s Girl Scout cookie time again. At first I wanted to resist it; but then seeing the flood of tweets and Facebook statuses about them I knew I couldn’t and would have to give in. If the Girl Scouts ever start selling a gluten-free cookie, I’d be happy to support them; until then I guess I’ll be making my own. That feels like dangerous knowledge.

My favorite Girl Scout cookie has always been the Thin Mints. Have you ever eaten one straight out of a freezer? That’s good stuff. I also liked the lemon cream-filled shortbread cookies, but I hear they stopped making those. That doesn’t seem like a smart business plan, Girl Scouts.

 To make these I used coconut and almond flour, which are two of my favorite gluten-free flours to bake with. They also happen to be grain-free and could presumably pass as a “paleo dessert” even though that’s a bit of an oxymoron. Remember to give yourself a little extra time making these because the dough needs to chill before it can be baked.

Gluten-Free Thin Mints

Prep time: 45 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes + more to coat

Ingredients(Makes 24 cookies):

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 stick(4oz) butter, melted
• 1 bag(12oz) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract, divided

Method:

1. Sift together the almond flour, coconut flour, cocoa powder, salt, and sugar until it’s all mixed.
2. Add in the egg, butter, and 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract and mix until it forms a dough.
3. Roll the dough into a log on some parchment paper and put in the refrigerator or freezer to chill.
4. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
5. When the dough is solid, using a sharp knife, cut out cookies that are roughly 3/8-inch thick. Lay the cookies out on a baking tray(don’t worry if they’re close together since they don’t really really spread)
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
7. Remove the cookies from the oven. Let them cool until they’ve hardened.
8. Make the coating by melting the chocolate chips and mixing in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of extract.
9. One by one, dip the cookies into the melted chocolate to coat both sides. The chocolate should be fairly runny and only coat in a small layer. If the chocolate is thicker, heat it up until it melts more.
10. Lay the cookies onto parchment paper and refrigerate to fully harden. These will keep 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

What’s your favorite Girl Scout cookie? While I love thin mints, Tagalongs are a close second. I get the sense I might have to try my hand at making those.