Recently, Steve and I inherited a mint plant from his dad. It was a small mint plant, about 3 stalks big and in need of new soil and lots of water. A few weeks later, the mint had spawned into a plant with about 5 stalks and a foot taller. Since then, we have been pruning it - freezing some leaves, putting some in margaritas, using the mint to flavor our iced tea and water, and giving away bags full of leaves to friends to use. I know I don't have to use all the leaves- I could easy prune and freeze and forget.. but I really am feeling the need to get creative and use the freaking stuff. Out one friend made vegan mint chocolate chip cookies before and I was amazed I never though of the idea. She just used mint extract instead of vanilla in the batter to give the dough that minty flavor. I bought some mint extract a few months ago and did the same (but non-vegan... I love butter). So today I realized, what the heck, why don't I just put the REAL mint into the cookies?! So I found a recipe for both cookies and cooking with the mint (which is easier than you think... chop and add to batter). I used
this recipe by eatpress.
The dough.
The cookies.
A close up. They turned out pretty well. They didn't flatten out like most cookies usually do when they bake (I honestly don't know the chemistry behind that.. the amount of baking soda?). And you can taste the mint, just not as strong as the mint extract (as expected). As I was browsing for other real mint cookies, I did find one that talked about steeping the mint in almost boiling water for a minute before use. Perhaps that would help bring out the mint flavor even more. Next time, which probably will be in a few days due to this freaky mint plant. Anyone need some mint?
Recently, Steve and I inherited a mint plant from his dad. It was a small mint plant, about 3 stalks big and in need of new soil and lots of water. A few weeks later, the mint had spawned into a plant with about 5 stalks and a foot taller. Since then, we have been pruning it - freezing some leaves, putting some in margaritas, using the mint to flavor our iced tea and water, and giving away bags full of leaves to friends to use. I know I don't have to use all the leaves- I could easy prune and freeze and forget.. but I really am feeling the need to get creative and use the freaking stuff. Out one friend made vegan mint chocolate chip cookies before and I was amazed I never though of the idea. She just used mint extract instead of vanilla in the batter to give the dough that minty flavor. I bought some mint extract a few months ago and did the same (but non-vegan... I love butter). So today I realized, what the heck, why don't I just put the REAL mint into the cookies?! So I found a recipe for both cookies and cooking with the mint (which is easier than you think... chop and add to batter). I used this recipe by eatpress.
The dough.
The cookies.
A close up. They turned out pretty well. They didn't flatten out like most cookies usually do when they bake (I honestly don't know the chemistry behind that.. the amount of baking soda?). And you can taste the mint, just not as strong as the mint extract (as expected). As I was browsing for other real mint cookies, I did find one that talked about steeping the mint in almost boiling water for a minute before use. Perhaps that would help bring out the mint flavor even more. Next time, which probably will be in a few days due to this freaky mint plant. Anyone need some mint?
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