Thin Mint Cookies (grain & gluten free)

I know people look forward to Girl Scout cookie season all year round, and Thin Mints are one of the favorites. This copy cat recipe is a healthier version, and dare I say - I think better tasting than the original! This makes a big batch, and are great straight out of the freezer just like the originals.

This revamped version is gluten/grain free, dairy free, and sweetened with a little maple syrup and monk fruit. The fat I use is coconut oil, which is high in medium chain triglycerides, which boost the metabolism and thyroid, it is also rich in lauric acid which is anti-viral and anti-bacterial. Coconut oil also helps to turn on our satiety hormones, so we feel satisfied and fuller. Some studies have found that coconut oil can raise cholesterol slightly, but other studies found it did not, so if you are adding in coconut oil to your diet, you might want to consider checking your cholesterol after a couple months to make sure it isn't raising it significantly.

Instead of refined wheat flour, I used almond flour and a unique flour called tiger nut flour - both are totally grain and gluten free. Tiger nuts are little tubers, and they are high in resistant starch - which keeps us fuller longer, is prebiotic and helps improve our gut's microbiome (learn more about resistant starch and why its called "the skinny starch" here). If you can't find tiger nut flour, you can just use 3 cups of almond flour instead.

To sweeten, this recipe uses maple syrup, which is a sugar, but recent research revealed that pure maple syrup benefits our insulin sensitivity, and in moderation is fine for most individuals. I used a little monk fruit to bump up the sweetness without extra sugar or calories. This recipe makes about 60-70 cookies (depending how big your circles are and how thick), so each cookie will contain about 1/2 tsp of sugar (with the chocolate coating on one side).

Cookie Ingredients:

2 cups blanched almond flour
1 cup tiger nut flour*
½ cup virgin coconut oil (melted)
½ cup maple syrup (room temp)
2-3 tsp monk fruit powder (depending on your preference, I used 2 tsp)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
¾ cup organic raw cacao powder
½ teaspoon Real salt
3-4 drops peppermint essential oil* (I used DoTERRA)

*Note: peppermint essential oil is very powerful - just a few drops will give this whole batch a strong mint taste. Make sure to use a high quality food grade essential oil like DoTERRA. I have not tried it with peppermint extract or peppermint flavoring, but I am sure the essential oil could be replaced with extract.

Chocolate coating:

1 bag of dark chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand)
2 tsp virgin coconut oil
3-4 drops of peppermint essential oil (such as DoTERRA)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Melt coconut oil (I use my toaster oven on 120 degrees for a few mins).
Mix cookie ingredients together using a fork.
There are several ways to prepare cookies: roll into a log, and slice. Roll out cookie dough and use mini cookie cutter. or roll little balls, and press flat onto cookie sheet. I have tried all methods, and prefer one of the first two methods.
To roll the cookie dough into a log for slicing. Take half the cookie dough and roll it out on a piece of saran wrap, roll into a log, and put into freezer for about 15-20 mins. Do the same with the other half, take out and slice into thin cookies (between 1/8 and 1/4 inch) using a sharp knife. Place onto parchment paper.
If using cookie cutters, put dough into refrigerator for about 20 mins. Take out, roll out the dough to roughly between 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Cut out cookies using mini cookie cutters (or a shot glass could work in a pinch). Put on parchment lined sheet.
If rolling and pressing balls. Scoop out about a teaspoon of dough, roll into a ball, place on parchment, and press flat using the bottom of a glass to about 1/8-1/4 inch thick.
Put cookies into oven for about 10 mins. Prepare chocolate coating while cooking.
Using a double boiler, or the microwave, melt the chocolate chips in a glass dish. If using microwave - heat in 20 second increments, stirring in between until melted (usually 2 or 3 times will work). If using a double boiler, put chocolate in a stainless steel bowl over a pot with water (make sure water is below bottom of bowl), bring to a low simmer and stir chocolate occastionally until melted. Stir in the coconut oil and essential oils.
Once cookies have cooled at least 5 mins, dip one side or the whole cookie into the chocolate coating (I found that 1 bag could dip about half of the cookies on both sides, and the other half on one side, if you want all cookies double dipped, use an extra half a bag of chocolate chips, and 1 more tsp of coconut oil). I kind of prefer them just dipped on one side - its less messy too. Place dipped cookies on parchment paper in a single layer and put into freezer for at least 15 mins. Once frozen, the chocolate will be hard and they can be stacked on top of each other in a container and stored in freezer.
Enjoy!!