Baking with Thin Mints

So I was actually planning on my next post being about books, but then last night I had to come up with a last-minute dessert for a work potluck today. We have a ton of Girl Scout cookies left at our house, so I figured it would be easy to find a recipe using Thin Mints AND it would take a lot less time to make than the Chocolate Pecan Pie I had been thinking about bringing.

And since I haven't finished reading one of the books I want to rave about, I had the brilliant idea to share some of the delicious looking desserts I found on the blog.

THIN MINT BROWNIES 

These are the ones I made, mostly because they were pretty quick and I didn't have to go buy any ingredients. There were only 6 left after lunch, so I'd say they turned out pretty good! I personally have managed to only eat 2 of them. [The recipe also includes a hot fudge sauce to drizzle on top, but considering that I only got 5 hours of sleep, there was no way I was taking the time to make that as well.]

Ingredients: 
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate; coarsely chopped
3/4 cup butter, cut into large cubes
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/4 teaspoon fine grain salt 
1 cup all-purpose flour
10 Thin Mint Cookies, roughly chopped

THIN MINT CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

These look really amazing - and you can never go wrong with cream cheese icing - but cupcakes take a lot longer to make and I am really bad at icing them with homemade icing.

Ingredients: 

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup warm water

3/4 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons safflower oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
One 8 oz. block of cream cheese 
1 cup of powdered sugar 
1 tsp vanilla [the recipe just says "some," but that's the amount I would guess to put in]

THIN MINT BROWNIES

I would have made these because, clearly, two of my favorite desserts together is the most magical combination possible. But I made some cheesecake bars for our potluck in February and I wanted to be a bit more original. 

Ingredients:

1 stick Butter, cubed  
2 oz. Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped           
5 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped          
2 tsp. Vanilla
3 Eggs
1 1/2 cup Sugar
3 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
1 cup Flour
10 Thin Mint Cookies, roughly chopped
For the Cream Cheese Topping:
1 brick Cream Cheese
1 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Mint Extract
Green Food Coloring

THIN MINT CHEESECAKE CUPCAKES

I am strongly considering making these the next time I have to bring a dessert to something. Or maybe just for myself.

Ingredients:
18 Thin Mint cookies
16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and slightly cooled
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature

THIN MINT CAKE POPS

Because cake pops are always a good idea, but unfortunately they also take a long time to make.

Ingredients:
Unsalted butter, for cake pan
3 cups all-purpose flour (non-rising), sifted
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
3 cups sugar
1 Tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups hot water
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese (1 package)
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
16 oz confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Cake Pops:
1 box of Thin Mints
1 package of chocolate chips (or chocolate bark)
Lollipop sticks (available at craft stores)
Parchment Paper