HOMEMADE THIN MINT Girl Scout COOKIES

Ohhhh...Thin Mint Cookies...Don't ya just LOVE 'EM??
Well...while I was making the SAMOAS...I thought I
should try these little babies too, & I'm glad I did..
They were such a HIT with everyone who had one
of these minty..chocolaty..crisp melt in your
mouth sensations..

I found them on Baking Bites from a number of years
back..Lucky me..They even taste better (if that can be)
after they have been in the freezer...Ok Here it is:

RECIPE
For Dough:
2 1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. cornstarch
6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. white sugar
1/2 c. butter, room temperature
1/3 c. milk (any kind)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 tsp. peppermint extract

For Chocolate Coating
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate
1/2 c. butter, room temperature

DIRECTIONS:
1) In a small bowl whisk together flour, cornstarch
cocoa powder, & salt.
2) In a large bowl, cream together butter & sugar.
With the mixer on low speed, add in the milk & the
extracts. Mixture will look curdled. Gradually, add
flour mixture until fully incorporated. SEE BELOW:

3) Shape dough into two logs, about 1 1/2 inches in

diameter, wrap in plastic wrap & freeze for at least

1-2 hours, until dough is very firm. SEE BELOW:

4) Pre-heat oven to 375F. Slice dough into

rounds not more than 1/4 inch thick. (If they are

too thick they will not be as crisp) & place on

a parchment lined (or I used a Silpat Liner)

baking sheet. Cookies will not spread very much,

so you can put them quite close together.

***TIP***When slicing the cookie log you can dip

your knife into warm water before each cut but

make sure you don't have any residue left on the

knife from the previous cut..You want a clean cut

Maybe a cheese slicer would work??SEE BELOW:

5) Bake for 13-15 min, until cookies are firm

at the edges. Cool completely on a wire rack

before dipping in chocolate. SEE BELOW:

TO MAKE CHOCOLATE COATING:

1) Measure out 10 oz. of chocolate ( I used chocolate

chips) & a kitchen scale. SEE BELOW:

2) In a microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate

& butter. SEE BELOW:

3) Melt on high power in the microwave, stirring every

45 sec. until chocolate is smooth. (Watch carefully

you don't want it to scorch.) Chocolate should

have the consistency somewhere between chocolate

syrup & fudge for a thin coating. SEE BELOW:

4) Dip each cookie in melted chocolate, turn with

fork to coat, then transfer to a piece of parchment

paper (or wax paper) to set up for at least 30 min.

or until chocolate is cool & firm. I think I would

definately put them in the freezer to harden up..

but I think cold Thin Mint Cookies taste even

better coming from the freezer..SEE BELOW:

***Tip**(Reheat chcolate as needed to keep it

smooth & easy to dip cookies in)

I put a piece of wax paper over the silpat liner &

baking sheet for support under it. Before I put

them in the refrigerator to set up.

You are finished...Yeah... Now you can watch

the compliments start coming & keep coming..

they are that good!!!

Homemade Samoa Girl Scout Cookies

Oh my Gosh..Oh my Gosh..Oh my Gosh..
Wow!!! These are so good you'll think your dreaming.

Since this is March & Girl Scout Cookie Month..
I thought I would bring you the BEST "HOMEMADE"
version for these cookies I could find. And I
think I may have found it.

I also will be doing a homemade version of
Thin Mints, & Tagalongs (Shortbread, Peanut
Butter & Chocolate in a few days)....
so keep checking back with us!!!

If you Love the Girl Scout Samoas (a.k.a. caramel
delights) like I do....then you are going to want to try
these out for sure. I found this on Baking Bites from
a few years ago.

This version has a buttery shortbread cookie base,
Coconut/Caramel topping (I used Werther's Chewy
Caramels because that is all the store had..but I found
that they have the best flavor..using real butter &
cream) topped off by the perfect balance of
chocolate on the bottom & drizzle on the top
making it The Best Cookie ever! I knew I had
to hurry up & try these out so I could share
them with all of you. These take some time
but are well worth the LOVE & EFFORT!!
Hope you all Enjoy!!!!
*** If you would like to try a similar recipe but
less time consuming try my Samoa Bars click here.

RECIPE
(shortbread cookie dough) or you could buy
3 dozen shortbread cookies from the store to
save time & not make the base of the cookie
from scratch...
1 c. butter, soft
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Do not use unless to dry (up to 2 Tbsp. milk)
I did not need to use any!

(Coconut/Caramel Topping)
3 c. shredded coconut
12oz. good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. milk

(Chocolate drizzle/bottom)
8 oz. semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

DIRECTIONS:
Pre-heat oven t0 350F. Bake for 11-13 min.
(keep watch..ovens vary..mine went 13)

1) In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter
& sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder & salt at a low
speed, followed by the vanilla. Milk is optional only
to make the dough stick together Add flour if your
dough is too sticky. The dough should come together
into a soft, not-to-sticky ball. SEE BELOW:

2) Roll the dough (working in 2 or 3 batches) out
between 2 pieces of wax paper to about 1/4-inch
thickness & use a 1 1/2"cookie cutter to make rounds.
NOTE: you may have trouble taking the
excess dough around the cookie shape
because it is so soft..See picture below
where I use a small turner which worked
beautifully & save excess and roll out to
make more cookies. SEE BELOW:


3) It was easier for me to flip the (turner with cookie)
on to my hand & then flip it over on to the cookie sheet
because the dough is so soft & buttery. SEE BELOW:
TIP: I also used a straw to make the hole in the middle
of the cookie...However..if you look at the next picture
after they have cooked, the hole seems to have filled
up because the "spread" of the cookie as it baked.
SEE BELOW:
4) So, I used a straw AFTERWARDS (When they
came out of the oven and were still warm & it
worked out great!) Set aside to cool completely.
SEE BELOW:
TOPPING
Pre-heat oven to 300F.
1) Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined
baking sheet (preferably one with sides) & toast
20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut
is golden brown. Cool on baking sheet...set aside.

2) Unwrap the caramels & place in a lg. micro-safe bowl
with milk & salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping
to stir a few times to help caramel melt. SEE BELOW:
3) When Smooth & creamy fold in toasted coconut
with a spatula. SEE BELOW:

TIP: Below are "offset" spatulas which are the

BEST Kitchen Tool for Spreading anything I think.
SEE BELOW:

4) Using an offset spatula, spread topping on cooled

cookies, using about 2-3 tsp. per cookie. Reheat

caramel for a few seconds in the microwave

if it gets too firm to work with(it did for

me many times)SEE BELOW:

5) While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small

bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 sec.

intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching.

Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate &

place on a clean piece of parchment paper or

(I used) wax paper & spread the chocolate on

each bottom with an offset spatula (that was a lot

easier & to speed up the cooling process of the

chocolate, I put in the freezer til set. SEE BELOW:

6) To finish..Transfer all remaining chocolate

(or melt a little additional chocolate, if necessary)

into a piping bag or a Ziploc bag with the corner

snipped off & drizzle finished cookies with chocolate

in a back & forth motion for desired effect. Your Done!!

SEE BELOW:

Happy St. Patrick's Day with Fast Girl Scout Cookie recipe

Ahhhhhh...Girl Scout Cookies...whether it's
The Minty ones..The Chocolate-Coconut ones
(For recipe click here....) The Peanut Butter
ones...The Lemon ones..The New Cranberry
ones..THEY ARE ALL THE BEST! Your mouth
is probably watering right about now!!

When you can't get the real thing...You can try
these..They are not exactly the same, but taste
nice & minty, chocolaty & the sugary crunch of
the cookie is similar to The Girl Scout Minty one.

This really is an easy/fast recipe..a little messy
but everybody seems to like these cookies... It
came from Taste of Home...

RECIPE

18 Nabisco Nilla Wafer Cookies
4 oz. Chocolate Bark
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract

Directions:
1) Place candy coating & extract in microwave-safe
bowl. Microwave uncovered, on high for 30-60 sec.
or until smooth, stirring every 15 seconds.
SEE BELOW:

2) Put a wafer in coating (top side first)

SEE BELOW:

I used a Big fork to take cookies out of the melted
chocolate & let excess drip off.

Place on wax paper..
3) The end result..Minty delight!!! *****2nd idea for St. Patrick's Day might be Chocolate-Mint

Walnut Brownies...for recipe click here

Caramel Delites Bars (Samoa taste-alikes)

Don't you just LOVE Girl Scout Cookies?????? We
do & so when I found this recipe on a number of blogs,
(I found this on lovetoeat weblog) I knew I had to try it
out....It does taste just like them, so if you like
shortbread, coconut & caramel, drizzled
with chocolate...your going to love these...

***Note...These taste alot like the Samoa cookies
but much easier (with less steps) to do.

They are a GREAT DESSERT!!!They do take a bit of
time though because you need to let them cool in between
each step, but everybody says it's worth it.


Recipe
Cookie base:
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter (softened)
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt

First, make the crust. Preheat oven to 350F.
Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. In a
large bowl, cream together sugar & butter,
until fluffy. Beat in egg & vanilla extract.

Working at a low speed, gradually beat in the
flour & salt until mixture is crumbly....(Mine
was more like a dough but I don't think it makes
that big a difference....)Pour dough mixture into
prepared pan & press firmly to make a even
layer. Bake for 15-20 min checking to see when
the middle is set & edges are lightly brown. Cool
completely before topping...

TOPPING:
3 C. shredded coconut
1 pkg. 14oz. caramels (I used the Kraft brand)
1/4 salt
3 Tbsp. milk
1c. semisweet choc. chips (to drizzle on top)

Preheat oven to 300F. Spread coconut evenly
on a parchment-lined cookie sheet (I used a
Slipat liner) preferably a cookie sheet with sides.
Toast the coconut 15-20 min. stirring every 5 min,
until coconut is golden brown (mine only took
15 min....I have a hot oven....go by what your
oven does) Cool on cookie sheet. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels & place in a lg. microwave-
safe bowl with the milk & salt. Cook on high
approx. 3-4 min (it took mine almost 3) stopping
to stir a few times to help caramel melt. When
smooth fold in coconut with spatula. Put dollops
of mixture all over shortbread base. DO THIS
QUICKLY BEFORE CARAMEL STARTS TO
COOL. Using a spatula spread topping to make an
even layer. Let topping set until cooled.

When cooled, cut bars (with sharp large knife) into
30 small bars or 15 larger bars. Once bars are cut,
melt chocolate into Sm. microwave-safe bowl. Heat
on high for about 30sec. intervals, stirring thoroughly
to prevent scorching. (SEE TIP) Drizzle the melted
chocolate on top of bars in diagonal lines.

TIP: Place a baggie in a cup & spoon melted
chocolate into baggie..pick up baggie & snip a tiny
hole in the corner of the baggie. Drizzle a diagonal
design (on the cut bars).....Let chocolate completely
cool (even put them in the fridge if needed for a short
time) before storing in airtight container........Enjoy!!