Easy Girl Scout Thin Mints Recipes

MINT CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper and set aside.
• In a food processor, process the Thin Mints until no large chunks remain. Add melted butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Using your hands or the back of a measuring cup press crumbs into the prepared baking tin in an even layer and set aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat cream cheese until creamy and smooth. Then add sugar, flour, and pinch of salt and mix well.
• Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.
• Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl in 15 second increments, stirring after each one, until completely melted. Then, with the mixer on low, drizzle melted chocolate into the cream cheese mixture and mix until well combined.
• Scrape down bowl, making sure the chocolate is completely incorporated, and pour over your prepared crust, smoothing it into the corners.
• Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees (DO NOT OPEN DOOR) and bake for another 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the oven off, crack the door, and leave to cool for 30 minutes. This will help prevent cracking.
• While the cheesecake is cooling, make the ganache by heating heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl until its hot and just bubbles around the edges (be careful not to let it boil). Once hot, add the chocolate chips, cover with a plate or plastic wrap, and let it sit for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, stir it constantly until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture thickens.
• Pour ganache over the cooled cheesecake, spreading into an even layer and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

HOMEMADE THIN MINTS

Steps:

• Beat together softened butter, sugar, peppermint extract and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl until combined and fluffy.
• Sift flour and cocoa powder into a small mixing bowl. Stir in salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until a dough forms, scrape the side of the bowl as necessary while mixing to ensure the flour is mixing well with the butter.
• Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a piece of plastic wrap. Flatten it into a disk, wrap well and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
• When the dough is firm but still malleable, take it out of the refrigerator and roll it into ¼" thick on a cocoa dusted surface. Cut with a 2" cookie cutter. Reroll the scraps and keep cutting out cookies until the dough is gone.
• Place the cookies in a container or lined baking sheet and freeze for about 15 minutes while the oven is preheating.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• When the oven is ready, place cookies on another parchment-lined baking sheet 1" - 2" apart and bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 - 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Combine chocolate, coconut oil and peppermint extract in a heatproof bowl, set it over a pot of simmering water, stir until chocolate is melted completely.
• Dip cooled cookies in the melted chocolate using a fork, turn to coat both sides. Tap excess chocolate off and place coated cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Allow chocolate coating to dry completely at room temperature or refrigerate to speed it up.

EASY GIRL SCOUT THIN MINTS

Steps:

• Melt mints and morsels in microwave or double boiler.
• Dip Ritz crackers in chocolate mixture ( I use my little ice tongs to make it easy).
• Place on wax paper lined cookie sheet.
• If you want to decorate cookies with sprinkles, you have to do it before the chocolate dries -- after every 3 or 4 cookies.
• When sheet is full, refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Peel cookies from wax paper (can be used again for next batch).
• Store in tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. They go fast. I've kept them as long as a week if they were well hidden.
• The computer wouldn't let me put it in the list of ingredients, but I use Andes Mint Bits found in the baking aisle.

GIRL SCOUT THIN MINT PIE

Steps:

• Remove 10 cookies and set aside.
• Crush or process remaining cookies, then mix them with the butter. Press firmly onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate.
• Pour milk into large bowl. Add both boxes of pudding mix and beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended. (Mixture will be thick.).
• Spoon out 1 1/4 cup of pudding into another bowl and stir in peppermint extract. Pour peppermint pudding mixture over crust. To remaining pudding mix, add in 1 cup of whipped topping. Spread the pudding/whipped topping layer of the mint layer.
• Chop remaining cookies and combine them with about 2 ½ cups (doesn't have to be precise) whipped topping. Spread this mixture over the top. The pie might look kind of messy at this point, so clean up the edges.
• Chill for 4 hours or until set.
• To garnish, place remaining whipped topping in a plastic zipper bag. Snip off a corner of the bag (about ½ inch up from corner) and squeeze whipped topping around sides decoratively.
• To make thin zig-zags, pour COLD chocolate syrup into a small zipper bag. Snip a very, very tiny cut off the bottom corner and drizzle away!