Make The Best Girl Scout Cookie At Home With Just 3 Ingredients

Girl Scout Cookie season is in full swing, so we sincerely hope you've stayed on top of things and already placed an order of Adventurefuls, Lemon-Ups, and all your other favorites before they're gone (and by "gone," we mean "retreated to the shelves of ALDI where they are available in their generic form all year long"). While we understand that the cost of a box of Thin Mints helps support important programming for the Girl Scouts of the USA, some years we drag our feet on spending between $5-6 on mass-produced cookies, and by the time we shrug and say, "Okay, we'll do it for the children, who are, after all, our future," the precious cookies have already vanished, as if to scold us for our hesitation. Luckily, whenever that happens, we've got a great Thin Mints copycat recipe to be enjoyed year-round.

Even if you're not a huge fan of the chocolate-and-mint dessert flavor combo, there's a strong case to be made that Thin Mints are the best Girl Scout Cookie.

Out of the 12 cookies available in this year's lineup, we can dismiss seven of them out of hand; none have been around long enough to achieve legacy status, so they haven't yet proven themselves as a strong contender (sorry, Adventurefuls—maybe in a few years!). This leaves us with the Big 5:

• Trefoils/Shortbread
• Thin Mints
• Do-Si-Dos/Peanut Butter Sandwich
• Tagalongs/Peanut Butter Patties
• Samoas/Caramel deLites

From there, it's easy to conclude that Trefoils are not making the cut for "best Girl Scout Cookie" status. It's just shortbread. Lots of great shortbread out in the world. Similarly, Do-Si-Dos don't bring much to the party that Ritz Bitz Peanut Butter Sandwiches don't, so I'd knock those off the list, too.

Samoas are a heavy hitter, but they lack the crucial element that both Tagalongs and Thin Mints deliver: a cookie fully enrobed in chocolate. Though I personally love the chocolate-peanut butter combo, I have to give this one to Thin Mints because of the complex, not-too-sweet crumbliness of the cookie in the center, kissed with just the right amount of mint.

This copycat Thin Mints recipe lets you recreate that rich crumble with an unexpected ingredient: Ritz Crackers. The buttery, crispy layers at the center of a Ritz play against the smooth chocolate, and the slight saltiness of the cracker perfectly complements its sweetness. The three ingredients (chocolate, mint, Ritz) come together to provide a worthy Thin Mint imitation that's every bit as snackable as a box of Girl Scout cookies at a fraction of the price. Enjoy a batch of these no matter what season it might be.

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• 1 sleeve Ritz Crackers (approx. 33 crackers)
• 10 oz. almond bark, milk chocolate candy melts, or dark chocolate candy melts (I used these)
• 1/4 tsp. mint extract

Set up a double boiler on the stove: Fill a medium-sized saucepan with a few inches of water and set a metal bowl on top with the chocolate in it. Make sure the water in the pot does not touch the bottom of the bowl, and don't let the water come to a boil as you heat it.

Heat the chocolate over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula, until it's all melted and silky-smooth. Remove from heat, then stir in the mint extract until thoroughly incorporated.

Working fairly quickly—the chocolate will grow less silky as it cools—submerge a Ritz cracker in the chocolate mixture, then use plastic or silicone tongs to remove it from the chocolate by its edges, tapping it gently against the bowl to shake off the excess chocolate. (I recommend plastic or silicone tongs because Ritz crackers can be pretty fragile, but if you don't have those, you can submerge and remove the crackers by scooping them carefully with a fork.) You should be left with an evenly chocolate-coated cracker. Place on a sheet of wax paper to dry.

Repeat with each cracker, giving the chocolate a quick stir every few minutes so that it stays homogenous and silky for as long as possible. If you work quickly enough, you should be able to dip all your crackers before the chocolate hardens. Working in a warm kitchen helps, as does placing the bowl on a potholder so it's not making direct contact with your cold countertop.

Serve as soon as the crackers are dry. Stored in an airtight container, these cookies will keep for up to a week at room temperature.