Get Your Baking Badge: Make Your Own Vegan Thin Mints

This weekends, little girls in green vests started pounding the pavement and setting up shop in front of grocery stores, with boxes of cookies under their arms. And while buying those expensive little boxes of Samoas, Tagalongs, and yes, Thin Mints from your local Girl Scout troop is a nice thing to do–it both teaches girls about business and, this year, supports the Girl Scouts’ decision to be inclusive–it may not be a cause that you and your health are willing to take on. This year, consider buying and donating a box…and making thing healthier vegan version of the cool classic.

Yup, it’s true–you can have your cookies, and be charitable, too. Just whip up a batch of these ultra-easy, dairy-free pleasers for yourself and your vegan friends, and then buy and donate a box to someone in need. Donation spots, like military bases, women’s’ shelters, and food banks, vary from city to city, so check online to see where in your area you can make a drop. They may not be the healthiest treat, but they also bring smiles to recipients and support the female-empowering Girl Scouts.

I found this recipe for a marginally healthier version of the Thin Mint (it’s really not that healthy–it’s still full of chocolate, butter, and sugar) from 101 Cookbooks, and altered it just slightly to make it vegan. I also made a non-vegan version for my boyfriend, which contained butter, and which were also quite good. But let’s stick with the vegan version, eh?

Here’s what I used for the cookies:

• 1 cup of non-dairy butter (I used Earth Balance’s coconut spread, which worked like a charm. But because it is kind of whipped, it can make the cookies too airy. If you’re using a whipped or very light alternative, add 2 teaspoons of olive oil)
• 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
• 1 cup organic vegan sugar or sugar replacement (Stevia, real sugar, whatever. Powdered sugar, I found, make the cookies too dry and crumbly. I didn’t try with agave, but I bet it would work.)
• 1 cup vegan cocoa powder (carob would do, too.)
• 1 cups whole grain pastry flour
• 1 tablespoon natural peppermint extract
• 1 pinch sea-salt 
• A 1-quart resealable plastic bag
• A cookie-cutter (which, because I rarely bake, was not something that I own. I used a shot glass.)

…And for the chocolate coating:

• About 2 cups (or a pound) or vegan, semi-sweet chocolate chips (which can be found a natural food store or online or, surprisingly, at some conventional grocery stores.)
• Peppermint extract to taste

And here’s what to do:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and leave your butter replacement out so it reaches room temperature.
• Cream the butter, slowly adding the sugar and the cocoa, salt, and vanilla. At this point, I also added the peppermint, because I like really minty cookies.
• Once the butter and cocoa is all integrated, add the flour and mix only until it’s no longer powdery-looking. Don’t overmix it! I didn’t heed these instructions the first time, but did with the second batch. It matters.
• At this point, the dough may be crumby. That’s ok. Pop it into the refrigerator for a little while to get it pliable.
• Once it’s cool enough to turn out, move the dough into the bag. Knead it slightly within the bag, and then flatten it to about 3/4 of an inch. In a while, this flattened dough will be what you cut your cookies out of.
• Into the freezer! Wait about 20 minutes. Your oven will be preheated by then.
• Now, pull the sheet of dough out of the bag and lay it on some parchment paper or something that won’t make your counters/cookies gross. Cut the cookies out of the dough, and pull away the scraps. Put the parchment paper onto a baking sheet (or pizza stone, like I use for everything), re-roll the scraps, and put them back into the freezer to wait for the second batch.
• Bake for 10 minutes.  Let cool totally.

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