Thin Mint Cookies

I usually don't blog on a recipe that I haven't tried before and determined fit for consumption and enjoyment, but my younger sister sent me a recipe today that brought back so many rich memories, that I broke my own rule!

Thinking back, my earliest memory of eating Thin Mint cookies from the Girl Scouts, was as a high school graduate, living in Belgium still, were I could get the cookies through the Embassy were I worked. I can happily remember opening one of those long packets of cookies, quietly eating one, then another and then another, pretty soon looking up from my work and realizing I had eaten the whole packet in one sitting! I wonder if the Girl Scouts have partnered up with the drug cartels in providing an absolutely addicting, shameful, l habit forming cookie! Although they should be banned or at least regulated by Federal Law, (fortunately they are not!), they continue year after year to be brought to a neighborhood near you by your local sweet Girl Scout. She's so charming as she asks what you would like to order, like a predator circling her prey! She knows you aren't going refuse to order anything, it's like offering carrots to my horses - it's a sure thing. Not to mention it would be just plain unAmerican to refuse a Thin Mint cookie!

I never really enjoyed any of the other varieties as much as the Thin Mints. They seem to be the masterpiece creation for the Girl Scouts. Known and loved by many!

So, when my sister sent me this recipe earlier today, I was instantly intrigued since I haven't had a Thin Mint cookie for many years and it brought back floods of delicious memories!

So, I apologize if it isn't an exact replica of the original, but I wanted to make them and get some feedback on what needs to change to have them taste as good as the archetypal Girl Scout creation.

So...try this yourself and give me your thoughts!

Thin Mint Cookies

COOKIES
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup semi-sweet cocoa
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 sticks of butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp mint extract

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients and sift together.










In a medium mixing bowl, with electric mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat for another minute. Add the milk, vanilla and mint extract and beat for an additional minute. Scrape down bowl as needed between additions.

Slowly add dry mix to mixing bowl while beating until the batter resembles small pebbles. Scrape together and form a ball, then roll out into a log and wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours to chill the dough. Remove log from fridge, slice small rounds and place on parchment paper lined cookies sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.






TOPPING
1 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp mint extract

Melt chocolate chips in a bowl over boiling water. When melted, add mint and stir until smooth. Once the cookies are cool, either dip or frost with topping.

Enjoy!!