Thin Mints

You know, even though I've been friends with Girl Scouts for so long, I still never am quite sure when cookie season is.  All I know is that when the time came, I ordered way too many boxes of Thin Mints and Samoas.  And then they raised the prices.  Being the cheap Asian girl that I was raised as, I couldn't bear to buy as many boxes as I once had.  So I found a cheaper alternative at my local market, "Grasshoppers" by Keebler which are pretty much the same as Thin Mints.  (Turns out Keebler is one of the companies that bakes Girl Scout cookies. Who knew?)  AND you get more cookies at a lower price!

But today, I've found an even cheaper alternative: make your own!  They tasted exactly like the mint chocolate cookies we've grown up eating.  Delicious and easy.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

3 (1 oz) squares semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup butter

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter until creamy.  Add the sugar, and beat until mixed well.  Beat in egg and peppermint extract.

2. Sift flour, cocoa, and salt together into a small bowl.  Add the flour mixture by halves into the creamed mixture, beating well.

3. Divide the dough in half.  On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into two 1 1/2 inch diameter cylinders. Wrap each cylinder in waxed paper and refrigerate for 5 hours.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Thirty minutes before baking, transfer both cylinders from the fridge to the freezer.

5. Remove one cylinder at a time, and slice 1/4 inch thick pieces with a very sharp knife.  Place the slices on cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

6. Melt 1/4 cup butter and the semisweet chocolate in a double broiler.  You can also add more peppermint extract, if you'd like.

7. Drop the cookies into the chocolate dip, making sure they are completely covered.  Place on wire racks, and let cool and harden completely.