Glazed Chocolate Mint Cookies

If a Thin Mint and a chocolate sugar cookie had a baby, this would be the result. Mint chocolate chips do double duty here: melted into the cookie dough for tender, mint-laced crunch, and again into a glossy glaze that coats half of each cookie for that classic chocolate-mint snap.

Rolling the dough to 1/16-inch is what separates these from a soft mint cookie. That’s thin, almost cracker-thin, and it’s how you get the crisp bite that makes them so satisfying. Don’t try to shortcut by going thicker; the texture changes entirely.

The hour-long chill is mandatory. The melted chocolate makes the dough soft and impossible to roll without it. Chilled, it rolls clean and holds the cookie cutter shape sharply.

The glaze trick is keeping it warm over (not on) hot water while you dip. The moment it starts to thicken, the cookies stop getting that glassy finish and start looking sloppy. Vegetable shortening in the glaze is what makes it set firm without going dull. Don’t substitute butter; it stays soft and dulls on chilling.

Chef Tips

• Use Andes mint chips or Nestle mint chocolate morsels for the most authentic flavor. Regular semi-sweet chips plus ½ teaspoon peppermint extract works in a pinch.
• Roll dough between two sheets of parchment instead of flouring the board. Less flour means a snappier final cookie.
• Chill cookies briefly after cutting and before baking for sharper edges that hold the shape.
• Store in a single layer or between waxed paper. Stacked cookies will glue together at the glaze line.

Variations

• Sprinkle the wet glaze with crushed candy cane for a Christmas-ready version.
• Roll the dough between cocoa-dusted parchment instead of floured parchment for a darker, more chocolate-forward cookie.
• Sandwich two cookies with a thin layer of white chocolate ganache for an extra-decadent treat.