Gluten Free Thin Mints

 The name says it all. At first I was upset the Girl Scouts don't sell gluten free Thin Mints. But then I thought, the Girl Scouts don't owe me a thing. I could make a gluten free cookie better than their gluten covered version. Think of all of the possibilities of gluten free Thin Mints... Thin Mint pie crust, Thin Mint brownies, Thin Mint ice cream, Thin mint puppy chow, Thin Mint truffles, Thin Mint cupcakes, oh the possibilities are endless! Ever since we've bought mint extract, I've been on a mint kick, so look out! Oh and when you make these your house will smell like mint...:)

Oh, look at all of the snow!

Yumm...

 

Recipe-

Ingredients:
(Cookie)

2/3C gluten free flour blend
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/3C dutch process cocoa powder
1/4C canola oil
1/4C agave
2 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp peppermint extract

(Coating)

1/2 bag chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life)
2 Tbs shortening
1/3 tsp peppermint extract (plus more per your taste)

1. Combine agave, canola, sugar vanilla extract, and peppermint.
2. Add flour, xanthan gum, and cocoa powder to wet mixture. Mix thoroughly.
3. Once dough has been combined, scoop onto a sheet of parchment paper. Using the sides of the paper, roll the dough into a log shape, until the desired diameter for cookie is reached. I made mine relatively small- 1in. Freeze for at least 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350.  Line a baking sheet with parchment.
5. Take dough from freezer and use a sharp knife to cut slices. Place cookie slices on a cookie sheet and reshape to round edges if needed.
6. Bake 11-14 minutes depending on size of cookie. Make sure not to over bake. Cool on pan for a couple of minutes, then transfer to wire rack to let cool completely.
7. While the cookies are cooling, make the coating. Add chocolate chips and shorting to medium sauce pan on medium low heat. Mix continually until melted. Remove from heat and mix in peppermint extract.
8. Once cookies have cooled, dip in chocolate, then transfer a container in the fridge for 10 minutes to set. Voila! You have just made gluten free Thin Mints! Now pat yourself on the back and eat one...or two...:)

Notes: These cookies freeze very well for long time storage, but odd are they won't last for more than a couple of days, or hours:) The agave can be substituted for maple syrup. The xanthan gum can be substituted for guar gum. From start to finish this recipe takes about 1h 45min, but that's factoring in the 1h of freezing time for the dough.