Baking with Thin Mints
12 Mar 2015

Baking with Thin Mints

by | posted in: Blog, Recipes, Tips & Tricks | 14

I love mint chocolate. My Mom’s mint chocolate mousse was one of my favorite desserts growing up. It’s one of my favorite ice cream flavors (that might be genetic, right Mom?! Leighton is a big fan, too!). It’s one of my favorite cake flavors I’ve made. It’s definitely one of the dessert flavors I have the hardest time resisting. And in the last year, it’s become a bit of a baking obsession, thanks to Pauline and the box of Thin Mints she bought last year and a recipe I saw on Pinterest for some brownies the day after she mentioned it. So, you can thank her for the contents of this post! I know I do!

Let me start with the amazing Thin Mint brownies that started it all. The blogger caller them To DIE For Thin Mint Brownies, and I’d have to agree with her! I didn’t follow her recipe exactly because I used my usual brownie recipe instead of the Ghirardelli mix she used (I have heard rave reviews about this mix, sold at Costco, but have never tasted it that I know of), but I did everything else as she wrote it. These were really spectacular! I thought about making them again all year, so when Pauline handed me another box of Thin Mints she had saved in her freezer, I couldn’t wait to have a free day to spend in the kitchen making them.

And I did fully intend to make the brownies again, but then I started looking on Pinterest for some other Thin Mint inspiration and got sidetracked. I emailed my Girl Guide cookie-selling friends (thanks for hooking me up, Kate!) and got myself a second box to experiment with so I could make the brownies AND some new treats! I decided to try three different recipes to take with me to Leighton’s last basketball practice on Friday night to share with all the parents and kids.

The first recipe was for Thin Mint blondies. All the blondie recipes I’ve made so far have been great, and I thought it would be fun to try blondies after loving the brownies. I almost omitted the white chocolate because white chocolate chips don’t always taste great to me, but in the end I decided to use it since it was chopped chocolate not chips, and I am really glad I did. I had a few comments about how good it was in the blondies. These came together really fast … and disappeared from the container just as quickly! They were a definite fan favorite, and Jenny even arranged to buy a box of Thin Mints from Chiarra this week so she could make them herself!

The second recipe was for Thin Mint cheesecake cupcakes. I had seen other recipes with crushed cookies as the base, but I went with this one because it was faster and I was running low on time. I was a bit skeptical about the relatively small amount of sugar but followed the recipe instructions exactly. When I first tasted one, I thought they were missing something and considered that perhaps they needed more sugar or maybe more than a pinch of salt. Roy disagreed and thought they were great as they were, but he also loves the original tart frozen yogurt and is the first to appreciate a less-sweet dessert, especially cheesecakes. Others who tasted them seemed to like them, but I still wasn’t completely convinced. Until I tasted one on day two. And day three. These just keep getting better with age in the fridge!

The third recipe was just some basic Thin Mint brownies. I had wanted to make the To DIE For Thin Mint Brownies again, but I knew I didn’t have time for the middle and top layers, so it was just the base layer of brownies baked with chopped Thin Mints mixed in. And this time I added in some peppermint extract since there wouldn’t be the other minty layers. They were simple, but a perfect example of why I love mint chocolate!

My love of mint chocolate has crept into my baking a couple times in the last few years even before these thoughts of what to make with Thin Mints took over my life! I used this recipe as inspiration for an Andes Mint chocolate cake for Leighton’s birthday and again at Thanksgiving at friends’ a couple of years ago, and it’s definitely one of my favorite cake flavors I’ve made. I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe, and instead of using chopped chocolate or chocolate chips in the buttercream, I used Andes Crème de Menthe Baking Chips (and after my enthusiasm about them in this cake, I secretly mailed a bag to a friend in Canada who couldn’t get them so she could have this cake for her birthday!). If you like mint chocolate, I highly recommend making this cake! I also made some delicious mint chocolate layered fudge as part of my Christmas baking last year.

I am not 100% sure what mint chocolate treat I will be making next, but I do have some more saved on Pinterest, including a recipe for making Thin Mints with 3 ingredients, but I’d like to try making my own cookie instead of using Oreos, possibly with a recipe like this one.

Some of the other Thin Mint recipes I’m considering trying next are:

Some chocolate mint recipes that I think I’ll enjoy:

And I also plan on checking out these yummy looking Thin Mint frozen dessert bars that are set to be in grocery stores in April because they remind me of the Trader Joe’s Mini Mint Mouthfuls I had in the freezer when I was pregnant with Riley!

What is your favorite mint chocolate dessert? Do you have any ideas of what I should make next? I’d love to have some more ideas! Because in case you need any more convincing that I love mint chocolate – here’s a picture of something I made for Leighton with his Perler Beads one day (I made Riley a pink strawberry one!). I opened the bucket, saw those mint green beads, and immediately knew what I wanted to make for him! I also ALWAYS choose the mint chocolate chip ice cream cone when the kids serve us from their kitchen!

14 Responses

  1. Pauline
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    I am in love with your mint blondies! Those were my fav! I also loved your mint brownies! Mikkel said that the ones you made last year were probably the best brownies he’s ever had. Okay, I am now craving all of these and it’s all your fault! The pictures you posted are making my mouth water!

    • Becky {Rebecca Cakes & Bakes}
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      It’s actually your fault because you gave me that first box of Thin Mints to bake with!!!

  2. Michelle
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    I too am a huge fan of all things mint chocolate… The thin mint brownies looked gorgeous and super tasty!

    • Becky {Rebecca Cakes & Bakes}
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      I still remember bringing that container of them to the playground and you & Pauline enjoying them!

  3. Mom
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    This page full of recipes will definitely become one of my go-to spots for inspiration. It’s not even 8:00 in the morning yet, and I am already craving chocolate mint something. In case you want it, here’s the recipe for Chocolate Mint Mousse. I made it a couple of weeks ago for a dinner party because I thought people might be tired of my homemade ice cream that I make for every occasion (and sometimes no occasion).

    Chocolate Mint Mousse
    serves 4 but I usually double the recipe

    2-3 Tbsp creme de menthe
    2 Tbsp water
    3 squares semi-sweet chocolate
    2 eggs, separated
    1/4 cup sugar
    1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped

    In medium saucepan, combine creme de menthe, water and chocolate. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Cool 5 min. Meanwhile, in small bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and pale. Slowly beat in slightly warm chocolate mixture just until smooth. Beat whites until soft peaks form; gradually beat in sugar until mixture is stiff but not dry. Gently fold 1/4 whites into chocolate mixture, then gently fold chocolate mixture into remaining whites. Fold in whipped cream. Turn into dessert bowl or individual glasses. Chill several hours.

    The word “gently” appears several times in this recipe. The idea is to maintain the lightness and air in the various stages to keep the mousse fluffy.

    • Becky {Rebecca Cakes & Bakes}
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      I will have to try the mousse recipe!

  4. Jenny
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    Becky brought the Thin Mint blondies, brownies and cheesecake cupcakes to our sons’ basketball practice a few weeks ago. While they were intended mainly for the young players, she generously offered some to the parents as well. I didn’t think she knew it would be almost impossible for us to stop at just one. I loved all three, but the blondies were my favorite (with the brownies at a very close second!) The tricky part is that you must have Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies to make them. So, lucky for me, I found a Girl Scout at our grocery store selling them today! Now that I have the recipe (and the cookies), I’ll be trying them out on my own! Thanks Becky!

    • Becky {Rebecca Cakes & Bakes}
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      I can’t wait to hear how they turn out, Jenny!

      And don’t worry, I always bring enough for the mommies and daddies when I bring treats!

  5. Iman Kamal
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    Becky, I remember when you brought the sweets to the basketball practice. I could not stop eating the brownies. They were very good and not too sweet. I am trying to watch my weight for the summer, but it is impossible to resist your tasty sweets!

    • Becky {Rebecca Cakes & Bakes}
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      Sorry to bring such temptation, Iman! I did resist sending a cookie for you with the ones for the boys the other day, however!

  6. pollysplayground
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    I keep wanting to make something chocolate minty but it is Sascha’s least favourite flavour (I know, I KNOW.) Definitely no chance for finding thin mints here, but I might try the Andes Mint Brownies from averiecooks (using the small Andes Mint Chips that you sent for Christmas). I also had an idea to try making something like “Pep-Chew” which was one of my absolute favourite candy bars (that you can’t find anywhere anymore). It was peppermint flavoured toffee covered in dark chocolate – I thought to maybe make my usual almond roca toffee without the nuts and then use Andes Mint Chips instead of chocolate chips for the chocolate. It wouldn’t be exactly the same – but all of the flavours would be there and it keeps well so I wouldn’t have to worry about what I would do with an entire pan of chocolate mint brownies after Sascha ate his obligatory bite which I would force upon him.

    • Becky {Rebecca Cakes & Bakes}
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      I can’t believe Sascha doesn’t like mint chocolate! Let me know if you try the brownies – I was curious if the amount of Andes could be reduced in the recipe because it seems like a lot. And, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Pep-Chew. I bet your creation would be yummy!

  7. Kristyne
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    I still remember the surprise of receiving the andes chips in the mail! It was so kind of you, and even though they arrived after I baked my own mint chocolate birthday cake, they definitely didn’t go to waste. You and I are kindred spirits for our love of mint chocolate. I want to try that mousse recipe, too, but I don’t have creme de menthe.

    • Becky {Rebecca Cakes & Bakes}
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      I am going to check to see if there are small bottles of creme de menthe so I can try it soon! Or, I wonder if there can be an extract substituted, but possibly the different volume of liquid would through off the consistency.