Healthy Vegan Thin Mints that still have all the chocolatey girl scout cookie flavor. This homemade freezer recipe is gluten-free, oil-free, and easy to make!
Mint recipes make me feel like a bad healthy food blogger.
I should use fresh mint leaves. I should like fresh mint leaves. They are unprocessed, a whole food, green, natural, straight from the earth. They even smell wonderful. But they taste just too…plant-y. Too much like I’m eating shrubbery.
So I always end up using the extract. The stuff in a bottle that’s been processed. No vitamins or minerals or nutritional value. But it tastes so perfectly artificially minty fresh, dang it! And it gives these cookies the classic thin mint flavor (because we can be pretty sure the Girl Scouts aren’t using any leaves in their cookies).
I don’t like having to admit it, but it’s true. I feel better now that you know this and we can move on to the cookies.
I’m pretty sure that the Girl Scout thin mints are actually vegan already. But they still contain high fructose corn syrup and palm shortening and lots of other ingredients that don’t exactly scream delicious. So let’s reinvent Vegan Thin Mints and make them a bit healthier…
Vegan Thin Mints Made Healthier
Ever since these Oreos happened, I’ve been plotting a minty twist using those same crunchy cookies. It just took me a little while to work out the chocolate coating part. Of course you could just melt vegan chocolate chips, add mint extract, and cookie coat away. But since HCLF is my style, I always like to offer a low fat option too. The trick: freeze them!
Thin mints are best from the freezer anyways. Eating a thin mint at room temp is practically a waste of a cookie. It just so happens a healthy fat-free frozen chocolate coating is quite easy to make with dates, cacao, and water.
The coating can be made with water or plant milk. Any version will harden just fine in the freezer, and the dates will prevent it from becoming break-a-tooth solid. The higher fat content milk you use, the creamier the coating will be. I find light coconut milk to yield a really nice smooth but still fairly low fat coating for these Vegan Thin Mints.
Did I mention these taste just like thin mints?! And that they are ridiculously good, a near addictive level of delicious. And they melt really fast especially if your house is as warm as mine right not, so keep them in the freezer and eat them straight from there.
Healthy #Vegan Thin Mints with all the chocolatey girl scout cookie flavor but are gluten-free and low-fat...Click To Tweet Print
Vegan Thin Mints
- Prep Time: 255 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 265 minutes
- Yield: 10 cookies 1x
Ingredients
Cookie
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 1/3 cup cacao powder
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp mint extract
Chocolate Coating
- 8 pitted medjool dates
- 1/2 cup water or non-dairy milk
- 1/2 tsp mint extract
- 2 tbsps cacao powder
Instructions
- Cookies: Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Mix together all the ingredients to form a thick dough.
- Roll into balls. Arrange on a lined pan. Flatten with a jar or cup and a piece of wax paper to prevent sticking.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 350F.
- Let them cool before coating.
- Coating: Blend all the ingredients until smooth. Transfer to a bowl.
- Place a cookie in the bowl and flip to evenly coat. Remove any excess coating. Place on a pan/plate lined with wax paper.
- Repeat with all the cookies.
- Freeze for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.
- Eat straight from the freezer.
These look SO good!! I’ve had a weird craving for mint chocolate anything lately, so these are speaking to me extra loud right now. Love the idea for the coating too!!
I am alllll about fresh mint, the rare occasion that I buy it I put it in everything!! So fresh and yum. But there’s definitely a time and place for mint extract like these!!
Like everything what!?! Smoothies or baking or…? I am just totally clueless with the fresh leafy stuff. I love it for garnishes, but that’s about it 😀 But I am totally with you on the mint chocolate cravings at the moment <3
I love it in banana ice cream, on avo toast, and just thrown in salad!!
I know right, these are perfect and you’d never know they were vegan and being that I’m a vegan with a sweet tooth these definitely answered my prayers!!!!!!!! #yummy
Woohoo!!! I hope you enjoy 🙂
OMG. Thin Mints are my FAVORITE girls scout cookie!! Perhaps my FAVORITE cookie of all time! I am in awe that you were able to recreate them. And they look perfect!!! WOW. Okay, this is weird…but have you tried them with peanut butter?! Sounds strange but it’s AMAZING.
Peanut butter where? In the coating? Or just the whole cookie dipped? No but that sounds incredible!!! Dang it they are all gone, will make more and get back to you (any excuse to make more :D) Thin Mints are hands down the best girl scout cookie ever!!
DIPPED in peanut butter….or spread on with a knife! 🙂
OMG!!!! Thin mints were my FAVORITE girl scout cookie…and I preferred them stored in the freezer! To quote Willow (she obviously watched the video with me): “Oh, MOM!!! Those look delicious! Let’s make them tomorrow!” Well, we do have all of the ingredients, so we just might have to. It’s so funny because I actually really love fresh mint, but when I buy it, I don’t use it fast enough! My mom bought me a chocolate mint plant for Mother’s Day this year….so far it’s still alive! Ha! Maybe I’ll make a batch using the extract and another with fresh!
P.S. – Willow said, “I love the flower leaf on top!”
These look amazing, Natalie!!!
Oh how I love the mind of a child–see cookies make cookies! No overthinking, no waiting. “Flower leaf” hehe I love that <3 I have the same issue with not using mint fast enough, makes me sad to have to compost some of it every time. I should just get a mint plant so I can pick just what I need...well assuming I don't kill the whole thing which is highly likely. Although I hear it's pretty easy to keep alive. Ooh a chocolate mint plant, that sound even better! Because let's be honest when do I eat mint without chocolate haha 😀 Hey you've already made it almost 3 weeks without killing the plant, that's a very good start! Yes a side by side taste test with fresh to extract, that would be interesting. Plus two batches sounds like a good idea too 🙂
Lovely Natalie. Any tips for using mint leaves instead of the extract? Like how much and should I grind them up?
Also, sharing now 🙂
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I have trouble estimating amount for fresh mint leaves, as I said I think they taste totally different than extract. I would guess like maybe 1/3 cup for the cookie and about the same amount for the coating. But yes you would grind them. For the cookie just throw them in a blender with the flour and grind it that way. For the coating you can just blend it all together. Thanks Rob!
Thin mints were always my favorite girl scout cookies! I actually don’t even know if I’ve tried any other flavors haha. These look awesome. I really need to figure out gluten free flour here…
Hahaha I think I have had a few other flavors once or twice, but they are all overshadowed by thin mints in my memory 😀 You could probably use regular flour here too or even oat, the cookie won’t be quite as crisp but since you are going to cover it with chocolate and freeze it anyways it’s not too big a deal. Thanks Faith!
You don;t know how much I LOVE thin mints so I’m basically crying right now over this healthy version!!!! You go Natalie <3
I actually startled myself with how fast I ate these babies, my love for thin mints is massive as well <333 Thanks Rachel!
Haha. I’m totally with you on the mint. I have an entire garden just for mint. Mostly chocolate mint to be specific (my favorite variety). I love smelling it. I love looking at it. I love looking at the bees and birds looking at it. I like to make the occasional tea with it. But I absolutely don’t like baking with it for all the same reasons. I’m all for natural where possible, unprocessed and all. BUT sometimes using a drop of an oil or an extract is worth it so much more than cramming something in a recipe that clearly doesn’t belong and then trying to compensate for that with all kinds of other ingredients, etc… I don’t think thin mints were ever meant to be made with fresh mint leaves anyways 😉
P.S. You’re really making me miss thin mints now btw. I used to make a killer version with sugar though.. Maybe I should revisit. BUT even with all our years of thin-minting over here, I never once thought to try and freeze them. That’s new, and kind of exciting. I can’t believe I never tried it.
Oh good, so you agree! I’ve had people asking already how to use fresh and I’m like you can try, but it’s just not meant to be in my mind 😀 I’m sure if I had never tried the extract I’d be fine with it, but too late now. Peppermint oil would be a better alternative to this flavoring stuff, at least a little more pure. You HAVE TO try them frozen! Remake yours with maple syrup somehow, put them in there freezer, and be delighted by how magical they are frozen✨
OMG Natalie – you are the biggest tease ever – EVERY time I look at your recipe pics I am drooling.
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Lol I don’t try to be, it’s all the chocolate’s fault 😀
Winning! These look delicious. In your defense, I tried a recipe last summer using fresh mint, and it just wasn’t minty enough. That’s probably why you use extract 😉 I do love fresh mint though . . . and it is awesome in smoothies. I’ll get some extract for these little delights though!
Yes I feel like I have to shove an entire plant in there just to get the flavor to come through!! I’m glad you can relate, they are just two completely different things to work with, but I can totally see where the fresh in a smoothie would work well 🙂 Thanks Laura!
Gorgeous Natalie!! Love the video too…so darn cute! Totally with you on the mint leaves!! I make some Thin Mint Freezer Fudge on my blog and the fresh mint doesn’t do squat! I have to use mint extract as well and just used the fresh mint more for decorative purposes. It’s just not strong enough on it’s own, but it sure is pretty. Extracts are always so much more powerful. I LOVE thin mints and used to be able to eat a whole box with no problem. These look SO much healthier and of course, pretty easy too! I have to admit though I would be dunking these in melted chocolate chips, lol! I tested some thin mints last year using cashew butter and they were delicious but I have been wanting to retest some without cashew butter…maybe I will sometimes this year. In the meantime, I will just drool over yours!
It’s crazy how concentrated the extract is. Like dangerously so. Just a little too much and bam you have toothpaste cookies!! I do love the fresh for garnish though, so I still need to plant a mint plant just so I don’t feel silly buying it just so stick on top of a cookie lol! I know many of my readers (and especially the YT crowd) will want the low fat option so I gave both. But enjoy life chips melted down on there will work very very well 🙂
Wow! I’m amazed you made the cookies with so few ingredienst!
How about using peppermint oil instead of the extract. It doesn’t have the “green” flavor even though it is pressed from the real plant. And it is so beneficial in many ways – antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, etc. It think it is sold as a food supplement. But be warned, it is super concentrated, and you only need a drop or two 🙂
Yes peppermint oil would be wonderful! I just don’t have any nor do I have a really good health food store around here. Great idea 🙂
Oh I totally get the extract vs. real thing dilemma! It’s so hard sometimes. But I guess you could make your own extract from fresh mint and vodka? Compromise? 🙂
I must admit I’m not too much of a fan of mint-chocolatey things but I loved your Oreos so these must be delicious as well. And the date-based coating is brilliant! I love that it doesn’t get rock solid in the freezer <3
Ooooh I never thought of that! Yes you could, then it would feel a little less processed. I like that idea…even though I’ve never made homemade anything extract before. I don’t think I knew you weren’t a mint chocolate fan, but now that you say it it’s not something I remember ever seeing on your site so makes sense. Someone already asked if just vanilla extract would work instead, so they don’t have to be minty 🙂 Thanks Lucie!
This would be good with a mint or peppermint essential oil in place of the extract! I can’t wait to try it! I also CANNOT do mint leaves! Ugh!
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That would be a great alternative! I really need to try working with the essential oil in recipes, more natural than extract but doesn’t taste as…green :p Enjoy Nicole!
OMG these are so good! I made them yesterday and I just had some this morning and wow. They are amazeballs. Once I finished coating the cookies, I may or may not have eaten a bit (a lot) of the leftover coating with my fingers. Sometimes it’s just unnecessary to use spoons when you have ten perfectly good fingers that are conveniently already covered in chocolate.
I agree with you wholeheartedly on that one Hayley! Honestly I only use utensils because I’m on camera, in my own kitchen hands do most of the work 🙂 Less to clean too! Yay I’m so happy they were delicious, enjoy the rest!!
You are so talented! Your recipes are much healthier/health conscious than a lot of YouTuber vegan bakers.
Thank you Mya! That is my goal 🙂
So I made these following the recipe above exactly. First off, they are amazing!! Thank you for sharing. I was just curious how you were able to roll the dough and flatten it?? My dough was so sticky. I had to mold them on the pan the best I could… The presentation wasn’t the best… Should I use more flour next time? I’m afraid they’d be way too stif then. Thanks!
A little bit of water on your hands can help, but if it was really way too sticky then just add more flour until it is a rollable consistency. No special trick there. And a little extra won’t effect the finished cookie 🙂 Good luck!
Maybe this is a little bit weird but my mom don’t like chocolate, in any form 🙁 so if i skip the cacao for the cookie, it will work anyway? Is so dificult make a good cookie!!
Hi Melissa! If you leave out the cacao, you will have to add more flour to make up for the difference in dry ingredients. I also have many non-chocolate cookies, so if I can help you find something for you and your mom to try just let me know 🙂
Hi, Would it be possible to replace the maple syrup for bananas or applesauce + stevia?
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You can try it but it will make the cookies much softer and chewier. The sugar crystallization of the maple syrup is what makes the outside of the cookies slightly crisp so just fruit you won’t get you that. Good luck!
Looks delicious! Is there an alternative flour I could use that would work well? I can’t use rice flour or almond flour 🙁 any ideas??!!
My best recommendation would be going off this version for the golden oreos that uses oat flour and just adding cocoa in place of some of the flour: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/homemade-vegan-golden-oreos/ I’d recommend about 1/4-1/2 cup cocoa and then reduce the oat flour by the same amount 🙂
Do you think white flour could be swapped out for brown rice flour? Thanks.
It will make for a chewier cookie, but you can try it!
I can’t find brown rice flour, is that necessary or can I use a different flour?
I haven’t tested it with any others, they may not be as crispy if you swap. What flour did you want to use?