Thin Mint Lace Cookies and Key Lime Crème
It’s that time of year again, a few weeks after I’ve purchased one too many Girl Scout cookies, and I’ve got 4, maybe 5, boxes of Thin Mints sitting in the freezer. Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to finish those cookies in due time, but I was feeling a little adventurous when I came up with this recipe. I often crave lace cookies with their crisp texture and toffee-esque finish. Typically, I finish it off with Chantilly cream and fresh berries. I was curious to see if I could take an already incredible base cookie (the Thin Mint) and take it to the next level.
Let me tell you… the experiment was well worth the effort. This Thin Mint lace cookie is so light and airy and the added brown butter nuttiness balances the dark chocolate and mint throughout. To top off the more decadent lace cookie, a bright and key lime, citrus forward cream is incredible. For plating’s sake, I only did a few dollops of the cream, but behind the scenes, you better believe I was dipping those cookies into a large bowl of that delicious key lime cream!
Thin Mint Lace Cookies
and Key Lime Crème
ingredients + TOOLS
2 baking sheets
2 silicon baking mats
Cream horn molds for shaping
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup crushed Thin Mint “flour”
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp key lime juice
Zest of 2 key limes
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Fresh mint leaves for garnish
STEPS
In a medium saucepan, melt butter on low heat. Once the butter has melted, add the brown sugar, crushed Thin Mints, salt, and corn syrup. Cook and whisk until sugar has dissolved and the ingredients are combined, around 2-3 minutes. (The milk fat from the thin mints may separate a bit along with the butter, if it does, remove from heat, and vigorously whisk until it pulls back together.)
Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes as the oven preheats.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Line 2 baking sheets with the silicon baking mats.
Once the batter has cooled, scoop three teaspoon-sized balls of batter on the silicon mat. Ensure that there is at least 3-4” around to give the batter room to spread.
On a piece of parchment paper, lay out the cream horn molds in a random pattern.
I like to bake each sheet one at a time to give each batch time to rest and assemble. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the batter starts to bubble and little gaps start to form in the middle of the cookie. Because the batter is dark, it will be a little harder to tell if the cookie is ready, so you may need to troubleshoot the first few rounds.
Remove the cookie from the oven and let rest for a minute or two. Remove the silicon mat and slide onto a cool surface. You will need to work quickly after it’s been removed from heat. Lift the cookie and spread over the cream horn molds and shape into abstract shapes. Let rest until fully cooled. The cookie should be crisp and hold its shape. If it begins to fold over or fall limp, then the batter is undercooked and you should leave the batter to bake for longer.
Repeat this process until all the lace cookies have been baked, formed, and cooled.
Prepare the key lime cream by combining the heavy whipping cream, key lime juice, zest, and powdered sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, whip until firm peaks form. Refrigerate the key lime cream in the fridge until ready to assemble.
To assemble, arrange the lace cookies on a plate, pipe on the cream using a piping bag and tip, and finish with fresh mint for garnish.
