Crispy Coconut Peppermint Patties(Version 2)

After several more attempts at making peppermint patties that taste like the Girl Guide ones, and a freezer full of chocolate mints, I have a version that my husband is satisfied with. The second and third version didn’t have enough “crunch” he said, so I was sure to be close to the action to hear for a “snap” when he took a bit of these.

Thanks to some advice from a reader, I used almonds to add the crunch factor. Plus, it keeps the cookies gluten-free, if that is something you are looking for.

If you don’t have access to coconut butter locally, like myself, then you can easily whip up a batch in minutes. Read the note at the bottom.

MAKES 10 PATTIES

INGREDIENTS

Cookie Base
– 1/2 cup raw almonds
– 1 tablespoon tapioca flour/starch
– 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
– 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
– 2 tablespoons maple syrup
– 1 tablespoon non-dairy butter (I used Earth Balance spread)

Peppermint Cream
– 1/4 cup coconut butter
– 2 teaspoons pure peppermint extract
– 2 tablespoons agave

Chocolate Coating
– 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
– 1 teaspoon coconut oil

DIRECTIONS
COOKIES
1. Preheat oven to 350C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Put the almonds, tapioca, cocoa powder, and baking soda in high-powdered blender. Blend until it is the consistency of flour.
3. Add in the maple syrup and butter and blend until it forms a ball. You may need to scrape down sides.
4. Place dough on parchment paper and roll out until the thickness of a quarter.
5. Using a 1.5inch cookie cutter, cut out roughly 26 cookies. You can make yours any size, but this is the sizes I wanted. You want the cookies thin enough so they crisp up. NOTE: you only need 10 cookies for the recipe, but I find making a smaller batch doesn’t work well in the blender. You can eat the dough raw (tastes like raw brownies) or just eat the extra cookies.
6. Bake for 5-6 minutes. You want to go closer to six minutes if you without them burning, so please keep an eye on them (you may need to rotate tray half-way through like I did since my oven burns the back ones, but not the front with six minutes). When I only cooked to 5 minutes, my husband said they didn’t produce enough crunch.
7. Let them cool on a cookie sheet.

COCONUT PEPPERMINT CREAM
1. Combine all of the ingredients together. Mix.

ASSEMBLY
1. Place approximately 1/2 tablespoon onto each cookie  so that it completely covers the top of the cookie (see picture below). Repeat for 10 cookies. Place in freezer.
2. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and coconut oil. In the meantime, cover a plate or cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. Once the chocolate is melted, remove patties from freezer and coat with melted chocolate.
4. Place the chocolate covered cookie onto the parchment paper. Repeat with remaining cookies.
5. Store in freezer.

NOTE:
To make coconut butter, fill the entire container (approximately 8 cups) for your high-speed blender (e.g. Vitamix) with unsweetened coconut flakes. Blend, scrapping down the sides occasionally, until it is smooth. If you do not fill up the container with enough coconut, it won’t work well and you’ll be spending the entire time scrapping down the sides. 8 cups makes approximately 3/4 cup – 1 cup of coconut butter.