Homemade Thin Mint Recipe
During the year Bart and I lived in Boston, our main financial focus was paying off our student loans before Ella was born and I quit my full-time job.
We spent virtually no money during that year unless we absolutely had to.
I worked like crazy to keep our grocery bill under $30 a week, we went out to eat exactly never, and neither of us bought new clothing that year (thank goodness for the three kind friends who all handed over their entire maternity wardrobes so I would have something to wear).
A few days after we paid off the last dollars of our student loans, we were driving through our neighborhood and saw a little stand set up with some girls selling Girl Scout cookies.
We were so in the habit of not buying anything that we zipped right past. And then, we turned around and bought two boxes of cookies.
Spending that eight dollars felt like we had all the money in the world to burn and it made me love Girl Scout cookies even more than I already did.
(Bart also brought along a box of Caramel deLites when he proposed – both of our favorite flavor of Girl Scout cookies – so we have a long history of loving these cookies).
But sometimes, there are no Girl Scouts selling cookies on the side of the road and you have to take matters into your own hands.
Enter this Homemade Thin Mint recipe.
I first made these in 2013 and I’ve loved them ever since.
I mean, 3 (or 4) ingredients and an excuse to buy Ritz Crackers?
Count me in.
Two notes about this Thin Mint recipe.
First, I strongly prefer peppermint extract in this recipe, rather than mint extract. Peppermint tastes festive, mint tends to run toward “toothpaste cookie.” Play it safe and go with peppermint extract.
Second, you can certainly use chocolate chips for this recipe, but they’ll melt in your hands when you eat them. Dipping chocolate holds its own better. If you don’t mind the mess, go for it. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Homemade Thin Mint Recipe
Homemade Thin Mints
These deilcious homemade thing mints only require three ingredients!!
Ingredients
- 1 cup dipping chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 Tablespoon shortening or coconut oil optional
- 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 dozen Ritz crackers
Instructions
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a reusable liner.
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In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate (and the shortening or oil if you're using it - I think it just makes it a bit smoother, but you'll be fine if you leave it out too) over medium-low heat, stirring frequently.
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When it's completely smooth, remove from heat, and add the peppermint extract 1/4 teaspoon at a time, tasting between additions to make sure it isn't too strong. My chocolate got all bubbly when I added each teaspoon, but a quick stir brought it back to normal.
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Drop a Ritz cracker in the chocolate, then use a fork or spoon to flip it over to coat the other side. Lift it out the chocolate, shake slightly to remove excess chocolate, and place on the baking sheet.
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When all of your crackers are chocolate covered, put the pans in the fridge or freezer to harden up the chocolate. After about 15 minutes or so, they'll be ready to eat!
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(I like the taste of them out of the freezer better, but they look a little nicer out of the fridge the next day because the chocolate condensates in the freezer. You choose).
Recipe Notes
(from Averie Cooks)
If you liked this Thin Mint recipe, you might also like these recipes:
- Chocolate Dipped Oreos with Teddy Graham Toppers
- The best salted caramel Christmas crackers
- No Bake Double Chocolate Energy Bites
Well, I bet these are a lot less processed than traditional thin mints! They look soooo good!
And the making-my-day award goes to… Janssen! Your prize is forthcoming- a picture of me cheerfully devouring a batch of this deliciousness. I know you can hardly wait.
Seriously… Thanks! Thin mints are my favorite.
This recipe may come in extremely handy. For the first time in many years, I was unable to find any girl scouts to buy my annual supply of thin mints from. If that happens again, this may save the day (and of course I wouldn't even have to wait for next March/April to try them).
I had ritz crackers for the first time in ages last week, and I have to agree – there is no going back. Darn those processed crackers of joy!
On a totally unrelated note . . . your new blog look is super fantastic. I should break down and pay somebody to design one I actually love.
I am super health conscious so I only buy the whole wheat Ritz 😉
I haven't had ritz crackers in AGES. Now I neeeeeed to buy them so I can make these ASAP.
AMAZING. I have made peanut butter chocolate Ritz cookies (put peanut butter between two crackers and then cover the whole thing in chocolate), but never thin mints. I'm totally doing this tomorrow!
These look so good…and I sense they will be addictive b/c they seem too easy lol. Also love your little redesign and your new headshot!
What did you use to get the cookie out of the chocolate? Fork? Thongs? I'm guessing it wasn't your fingers… I ALWAYS have Ritz crackers on hand for my kids, but try not to taste them often 'cause they're not like Pringles where "One just isn't enough" – they're like "one SLEEVE isn't enough"!! BTW, I do a similar thing with Oreos around Christmas time but I use Almond Bark and color it red or green. Then I put decorative sprinkles on the outside to make minty cookie lollipops. Super yummy!
I just used a super fancy plastic IKEA fork!
I stockpile thin mints. I buy 6 or 7 boxes and keep them in the freezer and they usually last all year. But we tried a homemade thin mint recipe and had a blind taste test. Didn't even think of ritz! We had a hard time deciding if the mint was in the cookie part or the chocolate dipped part. My vote is the cookie part.