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I have the best November treat for you today…Homemade Mint Slices! After how much you all loved my Homemade 100’s & 1000’s biscuits I thought I would make it a bit of a thing to try all of our favourite homemade biscuits and cookies at home! After all, you know I’m 100% obsessed with trying to make anything you can buy. So if you have a favourite that you want me to try, let me know!
Homemade Mint Slices have actually worked out to be pretty timely – mint slices have just been voted New Zealand’s favourite biscuit! Yes, I live in a country where this is news. Plus all that chocolate & peppermint-y goodness is the perfect “sort of Christmas but I’m trying to pull back until December” treat!
For all my non-Kiwi readers, mint slices are kind of a combination of Thin Mints & Peppermint Patties – they have the crispy chocolate base, the peppermint fondant layer and they’re covered in chocolate. The best of both worlds!
At first glance, these cookies probably look pretty complicated to make. There are a few steps, but let me break it down for you. Plus – here’s the video!
1. The chocolate biscuit base – this is my favourite classic chocolate biscuit recipe – it’s the same one we use to make Homemade Oreos! (have you made them yet?) It’s a simple recipe – make the dough, roll it out, cut the circles and bake. Easy!
2. The peppermint fondant filling – this is pretty much just a really thick icing. Icing sugar, a small amount of milk and peppermint extract for flavour. Mix it all together until you can form it into a ball that can be rolled out. It will be quite sticky so use plenty of extra icing sugar for rolling! Then use the same sized cookie cutter as you used for the biscuits to cut out circles. Place these on top of the cooled biscuits. Easy again!
3. The chocolate shell. This is the messiest part. Take chocolate chips and coconut oil (this helps the chocolate go hard on the biscuits) and melt together. Then, take the peppermint fondant topped biscuits and dip into the chocolate. These don’t have to be perfect – in fact, I like them with bumpy/weird bits. Makes them look more homemade which we love! Put them on a tray to set.
That’s it! It is slightly time consuming but they are such a fun treat to make at home. I made these for my sister who happens to love mint slices more than anyone I know and she said they were as good as the bought ones. If that’s not validation that they’re a winner, I don’t know what is!
They would even make the perfect homemade Christmas gift – stack a few up, wrap in cellophane and tie up using a Christmas ribbon.
Store them at room temperature if you like, but they’re even better kept in the fridge!
Here are the cookie cutters I used:
Double Sided Round Cookie Cutter – Set of 6
- 125 g butter softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (210g) flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder sifted
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups icing sugar sifted
- 3 1/2-4 tsp milk
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 TBSP coconut oil
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Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F
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Cream butter & sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand mixer on high speed until light & fluffy.
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Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined.
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Add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder & salt and mix in well.
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Using your hands, form the dough into a ball and place on a lightly floured surface. Using a floured rolling pin roll out the dough until it is approximately 5mm thick. Using a 48mm (1 & 7/8 inch) round cookie cutter, cut out the biscuits and lay out on a lined baking tray.
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Bake for 12-14 minutes until the biscuits are starting to crisp up around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray.
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Add the icing sugar, milk & peppermint extract to a medium sized mixing bowl and combine using a spoon until the fondant comes together. If you need to, add slightly more milk and if it becomes too soft, add more icing sugar until you can form it into a ball with your hands.
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Take the fondant ball and place on a surface sprinkled with icing sugar. Sprinkle more icing sugar on the top and using a rolling pin, roll out until it is 4-5mm thick. If the fondant sticks to the rolling pin, sprinkle with more icing sugar.
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Using the same 48mm (1 & 7/8 inch) round cookie cutter, cut out fondant circles and place them on the cooled biscuits.
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Melt the chocolate chips & coconut oil in a medium sized microwave bowl for about 1 minute, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth.
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Have a baking tray lined with baking paper or a silpat liner ready to place the chocolate covered biscuits on.
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Take the fondant topped biscuits and dip into the chocolate - make sure you get a good coating of chocolate on each one. Place on the prepared baking tray to set.
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Allow the chocolate to harden - if you are in a warmer climate, place them in the fridge for 15 minutes.
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Store biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days or in the fridge if you prefer.
