Homemade Thin Mints — These homemade Thin Mints require just 4 ingredients, and no one ever guesses what the “secret ingredient” is! Perfect for cookie swaps and potlucks!
Copycat Girl Scout Thin Mints
Thin Mints are those Girl Scout Cookies that I can eat an entire tube of in a sitting. Oh, you too?
I decided to try my hand at a homemade, no-bake, vegan version of Thin Mints. They should be called Thin Mints Cheater’s Mints. No-bake and so easy.
What’s the catch, you’re wondering? Ritz Crackers.
I promise these homemade Thin Mints don’t taste like crackers. The crackers provide a neutral base layer, nice crunch, and are a dead-ringer in size and shape for what will become cookies.
When they’re drenched in mint-flavored chocolate, you won’t know it’s a cracker or care that it started out as a cracker.
These copycat Girl Scout Thin Mints taste incredibly close to the real thing and take all of 15 minutes to make!
Ingredients in Homemade Thin Mints
These homemade chocolate Thin Mint cookies call for just four ingredients:
- Ritz crackers
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Vegetable shortening
- Peppermint extract
How to Make Thin Mints at Home
This is the easiest Thin Mint cookie recipe ever! Here’s an overview of how the no-bake cookies are made:
- Melt the chocolate and shortening.
- Add peppermint extract to the melted chocolate and get ready to dip.
- Place dipped crackers, which I now think of as cookies, on parchment paper. (Food goes from cracker status to cookie status the minute chocolate is involved.)
- Wait for the chocolate to solidify and firm up before digging in.
Baking Tip
I highly recommend adding a tablespoon of shortening for any chocolate dipping projects because it keeps the chocolate smooth, viscous, and much less likely to get that hard-before-you-want-it-to and clumpy consistency.
How to Quickly Firm Up the Chocolate Coating
Because of the shortening, it could take a half hour or more at room temperature for the chocolate to solidify, especially if you decide to do this project on an 80-degree day in the middle of summer without running your air.
Pop the tray in the refrigerator or freezer to speed things up. I like homemade Thin Mints better chilled anyway and store them in the freezer.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve never made these copycat Girl Scout Thin Mints with anything other than peppermint extract, so I can’t say for sure.
I’ve only made this recipe as written, but some readers have reported success using coconut oil or vegetable oil in place of the shortening.
Yes, although semi-sweet chocolate chips are a must if you want to make true Thin Mint copycats.
I’m sure you could easily make these gluten-free by using a gluten-free Ritz Cracker alternative.
There are different kinds of mint extracts available and are labeled as “mint,” “peppermint,” “spearmint,” and more.
For this recipe, I used store-brand (Kroger/Ralph’s) “peppermint extract” sold in a small 1-ounce bottle. Select the version of “mint” you think sounds best as not all types are available in all areas.
Can You Taste That It’s A Ritz Cracker?
In a word, no. No one who has ever tried these ever guesses that it’s a Ritz Cracker.
The only thing that may give it away is that it’s of course golden in color rather than chocolate-colored like real Girl Scout Thin Mints. So after biting in and examining, yes, there are some clues, but if you did it blindfolded, no clues at all.
It’s actually so amazing that the cracker has an extremely similar texture to Thin Mints, and even though you’d think it’s too buttery tasting or too salty, after being dipped in the mint chocolate mixture, the crackers work amazingly well.
I have always made these with the original version of Ritz although now they have a reduced sodium version you could try. The salt content in the regular crackers I find though is perfect with chocolate.
Chocolate always tastes better to me with a hint of salt.
Storage Instructions
Store leftover Thin Mints in an airtight container in the refrigerator for many weeks.
In the freezer, I estimate that these could be kept for 3 to 6 months successfully.
Tips for Making Copycat Thin Mints
Be sure to place the chocolate-dipped crackers onto a parchment paper- or wax paper-lined baking tray. If you don’t line the tray, these cookies will never come off cleanly!
If desired, you can omit the shortening from this recipe. However, you may want to melt the chocolate in batches otherwise it may harden up before you can dip all the crackers into it.
Lastly, note that mint extract is much, much more potent than vanilla extract. 1 teaspoon of mint extract has an extreme amount of potency compared with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
You cannot un-do mint once it’s added so be very, very careful to not over do it and end up with a bottle of Listerine-tasting food.
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Homemade Thin Mints
Ingredients
- 18 Ritz Crackers
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
- 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening, optional but recommended
- ¾ teaspoon peppermint extract*
Instructions
- Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or wax paper; set aside. Clear out a spot in your refrigerator or freezer to accommodate baking sheet.
- In a shallow microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and shortening (the shortening helps the chocolate stay smooth when using it for dipping; it prevents that thick and gloppy, chocolate getting hard before you want it to phenomenon) and heat for 1 minute on high power to melt. Stir and heat in 10- to 15-second bursts until chocolate can be stirred very smooth.
- To the melted chocolate add 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract* and stir. If you prefer it mintier, add another 1/4 teaspoon. I used 3/4 teaspoon in total, but because all brands and taste preferences differ, taste your chocolate and add peppermint to taste.
- Add 1 cracker to the chocolate, coat it, and remove it by lightly scooping it up from the underside with a fork, allowing excess chocolate to drain off through fork tines. Place cracker on parchment and repeat with all remaining crackers. If necessary, re-heat the chocolate in 10- to 15-second bursts if it starts getting too firm for smooth dipping.
- After all crackers have been dipped, place baking sheet in refrigerator. Although these will solidify at room temperature, the shortening in the chocolate lengthens the amount of time that will take; the fridge or freezer helps speed it up.
- Store extra Thin Mints in an airtight container in the refrigerator for many weeks. In the freezer, I estimate that these could be kept for 3 to 6 months successfully.
Notes
- *Note: Mint extract is much, much more potent than vanilla extract; 1 teaspoon of mint extract has an extreme amount of potency compared with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. You cannot un-do mint once added so be very, very careful to not over-do it and end up with a bottle of Listerine-tasting food.
- There are different kinds of mint extracts available and are labeled as “mint, “peppermint”, “spearmint” and more. For this recipe I used store-brand (Kroger/Ralph’s) “peppermint extract” sold in a small 1 ounce bottle. Select the version of “mint” you think sounds best as not all types are available in all areas.
- Recipe inspiration from Kraft.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Mint Dessert Recipes:
Peppermint Patty Chocolate Cookies — These cookies are fudgy and full of rich chocolate flavor thanks to both cocoa powder and chocolate chips. There are peppermint patties on the top for a burst of minty fresh flavor.
The Best Peppermint Chocolate Cake — I love this cake because it’s a fast, easy, one-bowl, no-mixer recipe that delivers amazing results every time without being fussy or complicated. The cake is soft, moist, decadently chocolaty, and perfectly pepperminty!
Fudgy Mint Chocolate Brookies — Chocolate and mint are a match made in holiday baking heaven. Especially when the result is a brookie: part rich, fudgy brownie with chewy edges; part soft and chewy chocolate cookie.
Andes Mint Brownies — The brownies have a box of 28 Andes diced and stirred into the batter, and another box of 28 mints that are diced on top. If you like mint, you’re going love these!
Chocolate Chip Andes Mint Cookies— These quadruple chocolate Andes mint cookies are big, bakery-style cookies that are rich, not overly sweet, and loaded with chocolate and mint chips.
Candy Cane Blossom Sugar Cookies — We’ve all had Peanut Butter Blossoms and these cookies are the holiday version The cookies are soft, chewy, covered in red sprinkles and there’s a Candy Cane Hershey Kiss in the center.
Triple Layer Fudgy Mint Oreo Brownies — These layered brownies are loaded with rich textures and flavors, from the dense fudgy brownies layer, to the soft, fluffy minty layer, with oodles of crushed Mint Oreos throughout.
Originally published July 29, 2012 and republished March 4, 2020 with updated text.
These look amazing, and I have all of these ingredients handy all the time! Definitely going to try these tonight. Thanks for sharing!
I have a question though, a non-food related question – I visited your site on my smartphone and MY GOSH the popups were ridiculous. Redirecting the page constantly, or just popups that wouldn’t let me scroll. Do you know if anyone else has had this problem? If so, is it something you’re looking to get fixed?
I spend a ton of time on my own site obviously and I almost never get popups and I don’t get complaints about them as a general rule. I am sorry to hear that you were being bombarded. Ads are generated usually based on saved cookies, your browsing history, demographics and who knows what else. I will pass your feedback along and have my advertising partners look into it.
I hope you enjoy the Thin Mints!
Thank you so much for the great recipes. I made the thin mints using Andes mint chips and the crackers and it couldn’t get any easier and so delicious. My 12 year old is bringing a bunch to school for her Christmas party…she loves them!
I also made the butter mints and they are so yummy (we haven’t rolled them out yet, but tasted the dough). I did add about 1/8th of a tsp. more of the peppermint, which was the right amount for us. I colored them with Wilton gel colors…a red, a kelly green, a purple, and a pretty blue and will combine all the colors together in a pretty apothecary glass jar to set out for the holidays. Thank you so much for sharing…I know that these recipes will become part of out festivities year after year. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all! God Bless!
Thanks for the heartfelt and wonderful comment! Glad these worked great for you w/ Andes mint chips & how sweet your daughter is bringing some to school for the xmas party. Nice :)
And the butter mints. Glad that 1/8th tsp more was the right amt for you & those Wilton gels are GREAT! I bet they are so pretty! And in glass jars – so striking they’ll be just sitting out! Glad these recipes will be on rotation for years to come!
This is my second year making these for a Holiday Cookie Swap!! So happy for this recipe. It is so awesome and no it doesn’t taste like crackers at all. Everyone is always so shocked to learn how they were made!! THANK YOU :D
So happy to hear you’ve been making these for a couple years now & no one ever guesses the little secret :)
I have also used the Andes mints to dip the crackers and they are fabulous but am happy to learn of an alternative. Thank you.
It definitely cheaper to do it this way than using actual Andes mints (god I love those things!). LMK if you try it this way!
Absolutely delicious! Used vegetable oil instead of shortening, and they turned out perfect. Thank you so much for this fabulous recipe!!
YAY! Thanks for trying them, Angie, and glad the veg oil worked for you. Perfect! :)
Or you can cut it down to two ingredients and purchase Ritz crackers, and a bag of Andes thin mint baking chips. They melt wonderfully in the microwave! I usually microwave for 1 minute, take it out, mix it up then microwave for an additional 40 seconds. Dip and dry on wax paper-so simple! One bag of Andes thin mint baking chips will cover approximately 1&1/2 sleeves of Ritz crackers so plan ahead and buy extra!
See comment reply 109:
Sounds like a good trick! I know lots of people use Andes mints as a shortcut for candies/treats like this and I need to try. Sometimes my international readers can’t find particular ‘American’ candy but for all of us here, a nice shortcut!
Amazing…simply amazing! I made these with Glutino Originals ,semi sweet chips, coconut oil and peppermint extract. They do taste just like GS thin mints. Thank you sooo much for this fun and tasty treat.
Happy to hear they came out just like the real deal for you! Thanks for sharing what you used & for trying the recipe!
Just made these, they are FANTASTIC!! Thanks so much for sharing! :)
Glad you love them Angie and thanks for coming back and taking time to tell me!
why not just use mint chocolate chips and not add the extract
Because not everyone has access to mint choc chips year-round (including me!). Southern California does not stock mint chips routinely in groc stores except for pre-Xmas.
Averie these look so great as it is spring here now will be facing the same problem you did, the heat. Yes I am from down under Australia. Will give these ago, a pity I can not eat them(chocolate hates me) but my boys will love these. I love the no baking part, might even tell my 2nd son’s partner about them as she loves cooking. My 1st time here and will be coming back.
thanks for finding me and saying hi – glad you’ll be back!