These Homemade Healthy Thin Mints cookies have all the minty, chocolatey goodness you know and love but are gluten free, vegan, and made with clean and simple ingredients.
It’s happpennnningggggg!!!!
I have been waiting for this day ever since posting my Healthy Samoas Cookie Bars recipe several years ago! After many attempts, I have finally cracked the Healthy Thin Mint cookie code and I CANNOT FREAKING WAIT for you to try them!
Confession: I am legit obsessed with these and we made them three times in one week because, omg, they are THAT good.
More backstory: if you are a regular reader of my blog, you know my son, Max, is dairy and gluten free which means he has never known the joy of sitting with a sleeve of Thin Mint cookies and eating every single one of them.
He has never put the other sleeve in the freezer because, omg, frozen Thin Mints are next level.
And, as his mom, I couldn’t go another Girl Scout Cookie Season without making him a copycat version that is just as good (if not BETTER) than the original.
NEW! Try my Homemade Tagalongs for another delicious girl scout copycat recipe!
These cookies check all the boxes for me:
- The perfect balance of chocolate and peppermint
- Clean ingredients
- Extra fiber, thanks to oat flour
- Vegan and gluten free
- And just the right amount of crunch when you bite into them
Equipment Needed:
For this recipe, it’s helpful to have –
- A sheet pan or cookie sheet
- Parchment Paper
- A 1-1.5 inch round cookie cutter or shot glass, jar or other small circle to use to cut out the cookies. I have this set.
- Cookie cooling rack
Ingredients for Copycat Gluten Free Thin Mints
With just a few special ingredients you can have Homemade Thin Mints any time of year!
For the Cookies:
- oat flour – I recently found Gold Medal brand oat flour and I LOVE it – super affordable and the perfect consistency. Or you can make your own at home using oats and blending or using your food processor to blend into a fine flour. I love the texture the oat flour gives these cookies, and the added fiber boost!
- cocoa powder – Unsweetened – I use Hershey’s
- raw sugar – You can also substitute coconut sugar or regular sugar
- salt – Salt brings out the depth in the cocoa powder and really enriches that chocolate flavor.
- baking powder – This acts as the leavening agent in the cookie.
- avocado oil – I haven’t tested it, but melted and cooled refined coconut oil should work. While unrefined works, too, but you might get a tiny hint of coconut if you are sensitive to that.
- vanilla extract – I just love adding vanilla extra to my chocolate.
- peppermint extract – Pure peppermint oil can be used as well. It does have a stronger flavor so you may want to adjust accordingly.
- warm water – This helps with mixing and dissolving the flours, sugars, and powders.
For the Chocolate Coating
- vegan chocolate chips – To cut calories you could also use something like Lily’s chocolate, but technically those aren’t “fix” approved. I used Enjoy Life.
- refined coconut oil – this will help your chocolate stay smooth after adding the peppermint extract. You could use unrefined, as well!
- peppermint extract – You can also sub peppermint oil, but I haven’t done this myself. If you try it, let me know!
How to Make Healthy Thin Mints
These homemade Thin Mints taste just like the real thing.
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cookie sheet (or several) with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Mix: In a medium sized bowl, mix up dry ingredients, then stir in the extracts, oil and water and mix until you get a ball of cookie dough.
- Form the dough into a ball and place it between two pieces of parchment paper. Press it down with the palm of your hand and then use a rolling pin or can/jar to roll the dough out until it is about ¼ inch thick.
- Cut: Cut your cookies using a shot glass or a cookie cutter.
- Bake: Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes until firm and a little crisp, then transfer onto a small plate and let them cool completely.
- Cool: While the cookies are cooling, make the chocolate coating by melting the chocolate chips. Melt in 15-second intervals, stirring in between each to avoid burning. Then melt the coconut oil and mix in the peppermint extract. Stir this mixture into the melted chocolate.
- Dip: Using a fork, dip the cookies into the melted chocolate. Let any excess drip off or scrape off the side of your bowl before placing them back on your parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Chill: Chill thin mint cookies in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to allow the chocolate to set.
What Kind of Chocolate Should I Use?
For this recipe I recommend using vegan chocolate chips. Semi-sweet chips or chunks will give you the best flavor. You can use a dark chocolate if you prefer, but if you’re going for that traditional Thin Mint taste you’ll want semi-sweet. You can also use chunks or bar chocolate, just make sure to melt in 15 second intervals to avoid any burning.
How Do I Make Oat Flour if I Can’t Find it in Stores?
Oat flour is incredibly easy to whip up! Make sure you’re using gluten free oats, pour them into a blender or food processor and blend away until they become a fine powder. It’s really that simple!
Are these Thin Mint Cookies a Treat Swap on the 21 Day Fix?
As written, yes – these thin mint cookies are considered a yellow swap because of the chocolate chips used in the chocolate coating. But I feel like 4 of these are totally worth it, especially because they would be a combination of a yellow anyway.
If you reallllly don’t want to use a treat swap, you can cover these in my homemade Magic Shell Chocolate – simply mix and heat up up the following:
- 1/2 cup of pure cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup of melted coconut oil
- 1/3 cup of honey
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
- pinch of salt
If you do it this way, four cookies would equal about 3/4 YELLOW, 4 teaspoons, and 4 sweetener teaspoons.
More of My Favorite Healthy Cookie Recipes:
Easy Chocolate Macaroons [Allergy Friendly]
Healthy Thin Mints
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 cup oat flour Make it at home using oats and blending or using your food processor to blend into a fine flour - I also love Gold Medal Oat Flour - a great find at my market!
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 tablespoons raw, regular, or coconut sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 3 Tablespoons avocado oil or you should be able to sub melted and cooled refined coconut oil - unrefined works, too, but you might get a tiny hint of coconut
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2-4 Tablespoons warm water
For the Chocolate Coating
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips To cut calories, you could also use something like Lily’s chocolate, but technically these aren’t “fix” approved.
- 1 teaspoon refined coconut oil
- ½-3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
Instructions
- In a medium-size bowl, whisk oat flour and cocoa powder together. Then mix in sugar, salt, and baking powder until everything is well incorporated and no lumps of cocoa powder remain.
- Next, mix in the oil and extract and stir until everything is well incorporated and a thick dough forms, adding water by the tablespoon to create a dough. You might also need to use your hands to help form the dough.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Form the dough into a ball and place it between two pieces of parchment paper. Press it down with the palm of your hand and then use a rolling pin or can/jar to roll the dough out until it is about ¼-1/8 inch thick. Use a small shot glass or circular cookie cutter (about 1-1.5 inch in diameter) to cut out cookies and place them on your parchment-lined cookie sheet. Gather leftover cookie dough and repeat steps until all dough has been used (should make 30-40 cookies, depending on the size). Alternatively, you can roll the dough into a log and slice cookies around 1/4 inch thick.
- Bake cookies at 350 F for 12-15 minutes until firm and a little crisp, being careful not to let them burn. Transfer onto a wire cooling rack and let cool completely. Save your parchment paper for the next step!
- While the cookies are cooling, make the chocolate coating by melting chocolate chips, melt in 15-second intervals, stirring in between each to avoid burning. Then melt coconut oil and mix it with the peppermint extract. Stir in peppermint oil into the melted chocolate, stirring well to keep the chocolate from seizing.
- Using a fork (or your fingers - my method. Messy on your hands, but quicker), dip the cookies in the melted chocolate. Let any excess drip off or scrape off the side of your bowl before placing them back on your parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Chill thin mint cookies in freezer 10-15 minutes to allow chocolate to set. Enjoy! Store in the refrigerator for a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Emily says
could you sub almond flour?
Nancylynn says
Unfortunately, no.
Kim says
Hi! Can’t wait to try these. Do you think somehow I could substitute in peppermint essential oil instead of peppermint extract?
Kim says
I just made these. The peppermint oil worked fine. Used 2-3 drops and it was plenty. Wonder how to get the consistency of the batter more dough-like though. Mine was very wet and had to use a cookie scoop instead of rolling them out. Any suggestions?
Thanks so much! Very tasty!
Nancylynn says
I am curious – what kind of oil (like avocado or coconut) and how much did you use?
Kim says
I used carrington farms organic coconut cooking oil (the liquid form) and I used the 3 Tbsp. the recipe called for. I used regular sugar bc I didn’t have anything else on hand. Not sure that would have made a difference.