This article contains my gluten-free Thin Mint cookie recipe and affiliate links. Thin Mints is a registered trademark of the Girl Scouts of America and the organization is not affiliated with this post.
I used to adore Girl Scout cookie season for the sheer fact that it was my one time of year to stock up on Thin Mints. These cookies were my one and only Girl Scout cookie, the apple of my cookie buying eye.
But of course, if you’re reading this blog, you know that I’m gluten-free now. In fact, I’ve been gluten-free for nearly seven years and that means I’ve seen seven Girl Scout cookie seasons come and go, all without Thin Mints for me.
The Girl Scouts have tried, however, to accommodate the gluten-free community with a couple of gluten-free Girl Scout cookie options.
This year they introduced the Caramel Chocolate Chip cookies, which are certified gluten-free, and they brought back the gluten-free Toffee-tastic cookies too. While it was a nice gesture, neither cookie is all that good, and none hold a candle to Thin Mints.
I decided I would try to make my own Thin Mint recipe – totally gluten-free – of course. One of my favorite blogs, Sally’s Baking Addiction, has a wonderful Thin Mint Cookie recipe. The recipe is not gluten-free, but I was able to easily recreate her recipe using my trusty Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend.
What You Need to Make Gluten-Free Thin Mint Cookies
To make these copycat Thin Mints, you’ll need a few ingredients:
(1) The Basics: Like most cookie recipes, this recipe calls for the basics: Butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder and salt. Make sure you have plenty of the “basics” on hand before starting your recipe.
(2) The Flour: Since this is a gluten-free Thin Mints cookie recipe, you’ll need gluten-free flour. If you’ve been baking gluten-free for awhile, you know that you can’t swap a cup of rice flour for a cup of wheat flour. Your recipe won’t work and will fall flat. Rather, you can use a 1-to-1 or cup-for-cup type gluten-free flour blend that combines rice flour with a variety of starches that mimic the texture of gluten. My gluten-free flour blend of choice is Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend.
(3) Cacao: You want these cookies nice and chocolatey so you’ll use plenty of unsweetened cocoa powder in the batter. Any unsweetened cocoa powder will work, but I alway look for a high quality cocoa brand like Navitas organic cocoa powder.
(4) Peppermint Extract: To make this gluten-free Thin Mint cookie recipe, well, minty, be sure to use some peppermint extract. A little goes a long way, although if you like it extra minty, add a teeny-tiny more to taste. I personally used Simply Organic Peppermint Extract for this recipe.
(5) Chocolate Chips: No Thin Mints cookie recipe would be complete without a coating of rich and delicious chocolate. Use a semi-sweet chocolate chip – it’s not too sweet (milk chocolate would be too sweet) but it’s not too bitter (bittersweet chocolate would be too bitter). It’s just right. If you’re going for a dairy-free cookie, use Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips.
How to Make this Gluten-Free Thin Mints Cookie Recipe
I thought this recipe would be more complicated than it was, but if you follow the instructions, it’s all pretty straightforward. It does require patience, however, for three reasons.
- One, the dough needs plenty of time to cool before baking. This is essential to avoid spreading.
- Two, the cookies need plenty of time to cool before coating with chocolate. The smell will tempt you, but they’re worth waiting for the chocolate topping before eating.
- Three, once you coat them with chocolate, you need to wait for the chocolate to set. It can take a few hours (or you can speed it up by placing them in the fridge).
The Dough: To make the dough, you’ll beat the butter in your standing mixer, then add the sugar, egg, vanilla and peppermint extract. Continue beating until well combined. Then you’ll add the sifted dry ingredients and slowly mix until everything is well mixed.
The Roll Out: Now that you have your dough, you’ll want to roll it into two equal balls, then use your rolling pin to roll each ball onto a piece of parchment paper until the dough is about 1.5 inch thick. You’ll then place these flat dough pieces in the fridge to chill for at least hour or up to two days.
The Cutting: Once chilled, you’ll cut out the cookies into small discs. Ideally you’d use a 2″ inch round cookie cutter (mine was slightly larger but I used it anyway and it was fine). You’ll then add each cookie to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes. They need time to cool before coating with chocolate.
The Coating: Now for my favorite part … coating the cookies with melted chocolate. You’ll combine the melted chocolate with a little avocado (or vegetable) oil plus a little more peppermint extract. Remember, a little goes a long way. Dip each cookie into the chocolate using a fork and allow the chocolate to drip off each cookie before moving on to the next one. Place each dipped cookie gently on your baking sheet (just roll it off the fork).
The Eating: Wait until the chocolate sets and then DIG IN! You’ve been patient, so you can enjoy two cookies, maybe three. These cookies hold up well and they’ll taste amazing for several days stored in a zip top plastic baggie. I also recommend keeping them in your freezer for enjoying whenever. I used to freeze boxes of Thin Mints to enjoy throughout the year.
How Do They Taste?
Dare I say that these gluten-free Thin Mints taste BETTER than Girl Scout Thin Mints? I don’t know if that’s blasphemy, but these are seriously good!
My cookies are slightly crunchy (but they actually have a bit chewy texture, which I like). They are pepperminty, chocolatey and sinfully delicious!
I hope you enjoy eating Thin Mints again…. I know I am! Just be careful… too many Thin Mints may require you to go shopping for bigger pants. Gulp!
Gluten-Free Thin Mints Cookie Recipe
Gluten-Free Thin Mints
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/4
- 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
- 200 grams Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend approximately 1.5 cups, spoon and leveled
- 3/4 cup unsweeted cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp Kosher salt
Topping
- 20 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tsp avocado oil or other vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
Instructions
Make the Cookie Dough
- Beat butter in a large bowl using your handheld or standing mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat for 1 minute until smooth and creamy.
- Add sugar and continue beating on medium-high speed, then add the egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. Add salt to mixture and whisk together.
- Add dry ingredient mixture slowly to the wet ingredient mixture and mix on low speed until well combined.
- Divide dough into two equally sized balls. Roll each portion onto a piece of parchment paper until about 1/4" thickness. Put rolled out flat dough in your refrigerator to chill for 1 hour or up to two days (if chilling longer than a few hours, cover dough with plastic wrap).
- Once chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet (or two medium baking sheets) with parchment paper. Use 2" round cookie cutters to cut out cookies and place them on the lined baking sheets about 1" apart. Re-roll remaining dough. You should have about 40 cookies depending on the size of the circles.
- Bake cookies for 8 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. (If cookies are on two baking sheets, place one baking sheet in the fridge to keep cool before it's baked). After 5 minutes, transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.
Chocolate Topping
- Melt the chocolate with oil in a large microwave glass container in 15 second increments until completely melted, mixing often. Add peppermint extract.
- Place a cookie on a large fork, then dip and coat the cookie in chocolate. Lift the fork and tap off excess chocolate, then gently place the cookie on the parchment lined baking sheets to cool.
- Once chocolate sets, you can eat the cookies or store them in the fridge or freezer. They taste amazing right out of the freezer. Just like Thin Mints should taste (maybe better - you be the judge).
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