Thursday, April 12, 2012

Vegan Thin Mints



A hint of mint sends the classic chocolate wafer into delicious overdrive, making everyone crazy for these cookies year after year.

This veganized rendition of the epitomical Girl Scout cookie has a sweet secret: its base is a brownie recipe.

Makes 18 to 24 cookies

What You Need:

For the cookies:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring surfaces
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup rice flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup vegan margarine
1/2 teaspoon applesauce
5 tablespoons almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

For the mint-chocolate coating:
1 10-ounce bag vegan chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

What You Do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, add flours, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda, and whisk together.
In a medium bowl, add margarine, applesauce, almond milk, vanilla, and peppermint extract. Blend until smooth and add to flour mixture. With an electric hand mixer, mix until batter forms pebbles. Using your hands, form dough into a ball.
On a floured surface with a roller, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. With a cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out cookies in circular shapes. Place on cookie sheet covered in aluminum foil and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until cookies are solid in the center. Remove cookies and place on wire cooling rack.
To make mint-chocolate coating, in a microwave-safe dish, add all chocolate chips and melt (about 2 minutes on high heat) in microwave. Add peppermint extract and stir. Dip cookies into chocolate, using a spoon to coat them thoroughly. Place finished cookies on parchment and refrigerate for 2 hours or until chocolate is fully dry.