Peppermint Crisp…what can I say…chocolatey minty goodness wrapped together in a crackingly light and crispy cookie. I don’t like to toot my own horn but “toot toot” because despite a humble appearance, everybody who has ever eaten one of these cookies has absolutely loved them.
By MELBA
In kiwiland we call them biscuits but in other countries they call them cookies…whatever you want to call them, these sweet and crunchy mint crisps are incredible. Despite being created with the low carber in mind, I have to say that every single carb lover who has tried these sweet treats has also absolutely loved them.
The sugar free dark chocolate and sugar substitute both use a blend of stevia and erythritol that provides the required sweetness to make these light and suitably crispy cookies feel like you’re eating a naughty treat. Even the very slight cooling effect that you sometimes get from sugar substitutes like erythritol is something that works well for these mint and chocolate cookies.
These cookies come out thin and super crunchy. With a coating of rich dark chocolate on just one side (like Chocolate Thin biscuits for the New Zealanders out there), these peppermint crisps are a stand out substitute for an evening after dinner mint. The only problem is that they never seem to last long enough to make it till after dinner as their adoring fans tend to raid the cookie tin as soon as my back is turned. I’m told it’s because they taste like chocolate mint candy and are very moreish…you eat one and you just want to keep coming back for more and more and more. So, if you are wanting to keep them for later, hide the cookie tin! hehehe
On that note, I’ll leave you with my closing suggestion to take advantage of this recipe, that requires only a scant handful of ingredients, and rush to the kitchen right now to bake yourself a batch of these lovely treats. In fact, bake two batches! Share them with your friends, family and even workmates.
They’re sure to be a hit…with everyone!
INGREDIENTS
1C Blanched Almond Flour
45g Butter, softened
70g Sugar Free Sweetener, powdered (I use Natvia)
2tsp Peppermint Extract, unsweetened
90g Sugar Free Dark Chocolate (optional)
METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 160ºC/320ºF fan forced or (150ºC/300ºF standard bake).
2. Place almond flour and powdered sugar free sweetener into a medium sized mixing bowl. Whisk to incorporate together and break up any clumps.
3. Add the peppermint extract and softened butter, then using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir and work the mixture until it forms a cohesive cookie dough. There should be no lumps of butter showing through.
4. Line a cookie sheet with non-stick baking paper.
5. Divide the cookie dough into 18 portions and shape into discs (if you want round cookies) or batons (if you want oval cookies). Allow room for the cookies to spread as they bake.
6. Place the cookies on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until pale but just turning golden around the edges. Remove from the oven but leave the cookies on the cookie sheet to firm up for 3-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. The cookies will be very soft to the touch when they first come out of the oven but will firm up as they cool.
7. While the cookies are cooling, chop the chocolate into little pieces or shavings and place in a small heatproof bowl. Microwave on high in 15-30 second bursts till smooth and melted, stirring in-between bursts. Do not overheat the chocolate or it will become burnt and crusty. Alternatively, you could melt the chocolate using the stovetop (see tips below).
8. Once the chocolate is melted and the cookies have cooled, use a small spatula to coat the back of the cookies with chocolate. Lay them, chocolate side down, on non-stick cooking paper and allow the chocolate to cool and harden. If desired, you can dunk the cookies in the melted chocolate to coat all sides.
9. Once the chocolate has set, enjoy with a hot cup of tea.
Tips:
· Do not place your uncooked cookies too close together on the baking sheet as the mixture will spread as it cooks. That is why rolling a baton (rod) shape results in a flat oval shaped cookie.
· The butter must be softened but not melted. Melted butter will not create the correct cookie dough consistency and you will see the butter fats splitting out of the dough as you try to mix it.
· I have made miniature discs and pebbles out of the cookie dough and coated these completely in chocolate to create little crunchy candy treats that I can take to the movie theatre with me. Bear in mind that this is much more time consuming than making the larger peppermint crisp cookies.
· I only coat one side of the cookies in this recipe but try fully coating the cookies if you like a more candy-bar result.
· I would not recommend using almond meal for this recipe as it is a heavier consistency than the blanched almond flour which may affect the density of the cookies and it also will result in a darker colour when cooked.
· Reduce the amount of peppermint extract if you prefer a less minty flavour.
· For melting chocolate using stovetop, bring about an inch of water to a simmer in a saucepan. Put chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set in the mouth of the pot, making sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir chocolate occasionally as it softens. When you have just a few small unmelted chunks, remove bowl from heat (residual heat will melt the rest).
Nutritional Information (per serve with chocolate) | |||||
Kcal | Fat | Protein | Carbohydrate | Fibre | Net Carb |
81 | 7.5g | 1.9g | 1.6g | 0.7g | 0.9g |
Nutritional Information (per serve without chocolate) | |||||
Kcal | Fat | Protein | Carbohydrate | Fibre | Net Carb |
57 | 5.4g | 1.6g | 1.4g | 0.7g | 0.7g |
