Guilt-Free Protein Thin Mints (with a Protein-less Version!)

Hello!


I first want to share with you, lovely lovely person and or peoples, some exciting news!


My little bloggy was featured on the Huffington Post yesterday in a foodie post about breakfast cookies (and this post is about cookies so...you know, it all works out)!

Find the article here.  and find the Cranberry Breakfast Cookie here









AND in second super fun news -- Sorted Food (my favourite YouTube guys) posted a recipe of mine on their Facebook page. If you don't follow them and have their app you are seriously missing out. They really inspired my food journey and I am a loyal fan of theirs (I am sure bordering on the side of creepy). But really. Check them out -- they are quirky, hilarious and do what they do SO WELL! Also you can find those pumpkin squares here!

And now back to our scheduled posting! 



I think I have mentioned on the blog before that I cry a lot over baked good tragedies. So far, every attempt at protein oreos I have attempted has resulted in tears, cookie disasters and...more tears.


As I am sure you have noticed...this post is NOT for protein oreos. SOOO I don't have to tell you that I failed again this time.


But not all hope is lost. No, not at all.

Because bad things fall apart so better things can fall together.



You see, it was very hot this weekend. Too hot. And my protein oreos would have been healthy, OBVIOUSLY. So I used coconut oil in the filling....


It melted absolutely EVERYWHERE. Cookies were a disaster and they were running everywhere. Remember when this happened? Well with those cookies they were soft...so I mushed them up into cake pops. But these cookies were crunchy, chocolatey PERFECT....

Wait...The COOKIES... were PERFECT!?

THEY WERE! And that means I went back to the drawing board to create this chocolate mint girl guide cookie classic!


And these are spot ON. No more tears.

A crunchy mint cookie? Check. Chocolatey exterior? CHECK!!!!!!!

These cookies are a perfect copy cat of the classic cookie. But only for the girl-guide off-season! Otherwise...you know. Support them and such! Unlessss....you cannot have the gluten and sugar and other stuff...THEN BACK TO MAKING THESE!

Let's make cookies!

Guilt-Free Protein Thin Mints 

Yields 36 - 38 Cookies 

Gluten Free, Sugar Free, High Protein, Vegan Option 

Ingredients: 

Oreo Cookies 

• 1 cup gluten free all-purpose flour or personal blend of: 1/4 cup coconut flour, 1/4 cup oat flour, 1/4 cup tapioca flour, 1/4 cup brown rice flour 
• 1/4 teaspoon corn starch
• 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 3/4 cup chocolate brown rice protein powder (SunWarrior)
• 1/4 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 egg or flax egg/egg replacer 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon mint/peppermint extract 
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup liquid sweetener of choice (brown rice syrup, honey, agave, maple syrup, coconut nectar, etc)
• Chocolate mixture:
• 1 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, melted
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil

Baker's Note: No protein powder? For a protein FREE version substitute the protein powder with 3/4 cup gluten free flour blend. 

If it's too sticky, add small amounts of flour to the surface and work it into the dough or feel free to chill it for an hour before rolling it out. 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and prepare at least two baking pans lined with parchment paper set off to the side 
2. Sift together your flour(s), baking powder, baking soda, starch, xanthan, cocoa and salt until fully combined 
3. Add melted coconut oil, liquid sweetener and egg/egg replacer into a large mixing bowl
4. In thirds, add dry mixture to wet, stirring well until you have a large ball of dough (if dough will not come together add in a spoon of flour at a time until it does)
5. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes
6. Roll dough out between to pieces of parchment paper or on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness 
7. Using a small or medium sized circle cookie cutter cut out your cookies and place them on your cookie sheet -- try getting the most out of each time you roll out the dough by cutting your circles out as close together as possible
8. Continue to roll scrap pieces of dough until your dough is finished -- avoid rolling it out too many times or your dough will be dry. If this happens work the dough in your hands with a tiny amount of coconut oil
9. Bake each batch for 8-11 minutes until the cookies are opaque and will lift off your baking sheets easily 
10. Transfer to cooling racks and fully cool before filling 
11. Prepare melted chocolate mixture by combing melted chocolate and coconut oil 
12. Dip each cookie into the chocolate with a fork in until it is fully coated, tapping off the excess and placing it on parchment or wax paper to set 
13. Once all cookies are set and chocolate is not wet they are ready to go!
14. Keep in a cool, dry place to prevent melting

See how nicely they roll out??

 They bake perfectly flat, too!!!!

So you can stack 'em high!!!!

Dip them in le chocolat and lay them on a flat sheet in the fridge to set!

Well worth the wait!

These cookies would look beautiful layer on their side in a fancy box -- not a bad gift for someone who maybe loves the real Thin Mints but cannot have them due to an allergy or dietary preference?!

I tend to have chocolate mint more around the holidays -- but is there really a wrong time for chocolate mint? No. There is not.

Sometimes things don't stack up as easily as I would hope.

Which leads me to stress eat. Welllll....only one bite. Just to make sure it's safe.

I really like how these look on the inside. So authentically thin-mint-ish!

And sometimes they do stack up! Look at that!

Even if they don't all turn out perfect....these cookies are pretty awesome.

Which girl guide cookie is your favourite? Any suggestions for a healthy copy cat recipe I should attempt next?


I am really happy my tears were not for naught. These are pretty spectacular and I am a HUGE chocolate mint lover so I cannot wait to dig into these tonight...again...for the third time...today.



Happy Dipping!



XO