Home Made Thin Mints

Cakespy: Homemade Thin Mints

Posted by cakespy, March 8, 2010 at 3:00 PM

Oh, they seem so friendly and accommodating now. But what happens in a month or so, when they're gone and you've got a serious jonesing for some Samoas or Thin Mints?You make your own, that's what you do.

Armed with a recipe from the baking blog Baking Bites, I tested out a batch of my favorite: Thin Mints. While I wouldn't call them a clone of the boxed kind (the texture is a little different, and they taste a little, well, fancier)

20100308thinminthowto.jpg
Homemade Thin Mints

- makes about 36 cookies -

Adapted from Baking Bites
Ingredients

For the cookies:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup milk (any kind)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp peppermint extract

For the dark chocolate coating:
10 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
Procedure

1. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer on low speed, add in the milk and the extracts. Mixture will look slightly curdled. Gradually, add in the flour mixture until fully incorporated.

3. Shape dough into two logs, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1 to 2 hours (I did mine overnight), until dough is very firm.

4. Preheat oven to 375°F.

5. For the most authentic texture, slice dough into rounds not more than 1/4 inch thick (they will not be as crisp if they are thicker, but they're still delicious) and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cookies will not spread very much, so you don't have to leave too much space around each one.

6. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until cookies are firm at the edges. Cool cookies completely on a wire rack before dipping in chocolate.

7. Prepare the coating. While the original recipe suggested preparing it in the microwave, I did mine on the stovetop by combining the chocolate on butter in a medium saucepan on low heat, stirring frequently until the mixture was melty and fully combined. The texture will be thicker than a chocolate syrup, but not so thick that cookies can't easily be dipped and removed. You can put the chocolate mixture back on heat as needed to keep the coating smooth and easy to dip your cookies into.

Note: Per the recipe I adapted, this can also be done in the microwave: in a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Melt on high power in the microwave, stirring every 45 to 60 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Chocolate should have a consistency somewhere between chocolate syrup and fudge for a thin coating. (Note: Reheat chocolate as needed to keep it smooth and easy to dip into.)

8. Dip each cookie in melted chocolate, turn with a fork to coat, then transfer to a piece of parchment paper or wax paper to set up for at least 30 minutes, or until chocolate is cool and firm.

Vegetable Broth Powder

From Dr. Christopher's Herbal Legacy Newsletter 3-10-10


RECIPE: Vegetable Broth Powder

Recipe created by Kal Sellers from the book Traci's Transformational Health Principles by Traci J. Sellers

INGREDIENTS

· 2 c nutritional yeast flakes

· 1/2 c sea salt

· 2 T onion powder

· 1 T turmeric

· 2 t dried dill weed

· 2 t marjoram (optional)

· 2 t dried powdered lemon peel (optional)

· 1 t celery seed

· 1 t basil

· 1 t powdered thyme

· 1 T dried parsley

DIRECTIONS

1. Place all ingredients except parsley in blender in order listed and blend until powdered together.

2. Add parsley and pulse to chop. Store in an airtight container in the cupboard indefinitely.

To make broth, add 1 heaping T per quart of warm water. Simply stir powder into water, or shake together in a quart jar.

Liese's Cadbury Eggs

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Liese's Cadbury Eggs

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Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 10:07pm
Ingredients:

1/2 c light corn syrup

1/4 c butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

3 c powdered sugar

1 12 oz bag milk choc chips

1. Combine corn syrup, butter, vanilla, &salt. Beat until smooth.

2. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Mix until creamy.

Now, this where in the recipe you are supposed to separate out the filling & color some yellow to be the yolk & leave some white to be the whites but we skip this step. It tastes just as yummy without all the fuss.

4. Cover mixture & refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

5. When firm roll mixture into balls & shape like egg. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until firm.

6. Microwave chocolate chips on high for 1 minute, stir & microwave again for 30 sec.

7. Use a fork to dip each center into the chocolate, tap off excess, then place on wax paper. Chill.

8. After 1-2 hours dip each once more & chill until firm

Makes 2 doz. candy eggs

Soaked Honey Wheat Bread

We have been grinding our own wheat into flour for a couple years now. Just recently though I've been reading about soaking grains.

Basically you soak grains in kefir, yogurt, buttermilk, whey or lemon juice for at least 7 hours before using them. This helps break down the phytic acid. The phytic acid is something our bodies can not digest. Soaking kind of pre-digests the grain for us thus releasing more nutrients that would otherwise just um, pass on through.

If you want to learn more about soaking grains you can google it and research to your hearts content!

I found a wonderful recipe on Well Tell Me by linemansgirl that she had adapted. I made it on Saturday and fell in love. It is a 100% whole wheat recipe, yet the loaves are soft and light. Not the bricks I've managed to produce the last few tries with regular recipes.

So here is the recipe and a picture. Enjoy!

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

5 tsp. active dry yeast
2 c. whole milk (I use kefir)(Leat- I used 1/2 cup yogurt and 2 cups milk)
1/4 c. honey
2 large eggs
6 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. sea salt
6 T. unsalted butter

I grind my grain and add 1 1/2 c. kefir to it. Put damp cloth over the top and set in a warm place overnight.

The next morning dissolve the yeast in 1/2 c. milk or kefir heated to 105 to 115 degrees and let stand until foamy. Stir in the honey, eggs, salt and butter. Then I kind of knead this all in to the flour kefir mixture (you can also use a stand mixer). Now knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, 5-7 minutes. Transfer to lightly oiled bowl and allow to rise until doubled in size 1 1/2 - 2 hrs.

Butter two 9 x 5 loaf pans.

Punch down the dough. Divide into two pieces. Flatten each piece of dough out and roll it into an oval log, sealing edges as you roll. Place the log seam side down in greased loaf pans. Allow the loaves to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 45-60 minutes.

Bake at 375 until honey brown and sounds hollow when tapped upon. Cookbook says 35-40 minutes, but my oven only takes around 25 minutes. Also, if your dough needs extra rising time then ignore the times in the recipe.

Swedish Meatballs

Swedish Meatballs
Makes approx. 50 meatballs

1 1/2 -2 lbs ground beef
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground allspice
dash pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 cup milk
1 egg beaten

In a large bowl, combine beef,bread crumbs,onion,salt,allspice,pepper, nutmeg,milk and egg. Shape into 1 inch balls. Bake 30 minutes at 350 in jelly roll pans.

Sauce:
3 tablespoon pure olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups beef broth or bouillon
1/2 cup cream or 1/2 & 1/2

In a large skillet heat oil til hot. Add flour to form smooth paste. Gradually add beef broth and cream with a dash of pepper. Stir until thick. Add cooked meatballs to coat with gravy and serve.

**Great with mashed potatoes

Dana's Taco Chili

On New Year's Eve 2009 our good friends had us over for dinner. Dana served this crock pot meal and called it Taco Soup. I tweeked it a bit and turned it into a stove top quick meal. Still just as delicious.

Taco Chili My quick version

1 lb ground beef, browned
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 pint salsa
1 can diced tomatoes
1 pkt ranch dressing mix (I used homemade)
1 pkt taco seasoning mix (I used homemade)

shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
corn chips

Combine first 7 ingredients in a stock pot, Bring to low boil,simmer to heat through. To serve; place a small handful of corn chips in bottom of bowl. Top with chili, cheese, and sour cream.

Ramen Noodle Oriental Salad

We had this at the family dinner at Brian's Grandmother's funeral. We couldn't believe how delicious it was!


Ramen Noodle Oriental Salad

Ingredients

* 1 pkg. cole slaw mix
* 1 pkg. Ramen noodles (beef flavor), crumbled
* 1 cup sunflower seeds
* 1 cup almonds slivers

Dressing:

* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup oil
* 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
* beef flavor packet

Directions
Mix slaw, noodles, sunflower seeds, and almonds. Mix sugar, oil, and vinegar; pour over slaw mixture.