Chocolate Mint Cookie Bars
A double chocolate shortbread cookie base, layered with whipped mint ganache & drizzled with dark chocolate glaze. A cool & refreshing dessert that’s bursting with fresh, herbal mint from your garden!
What do you do when you have a crap-ton of mint in your garden?
(…these are the kind of questions that run through my head on any given day. Welcome to my dysfunction…)
I’ll tell ya what you do! You make chocolate mint cookie bars! …oh, holla…
Maybe you are the type who typically associates mint + chocolate with the more wintry season. I get it. It’s cool… and frosty… and it maybe makes you think of smiling snowmen in waistcoats singing in Bing Crosby’s voice while twirling around candy cane hitching posts half-buried under sparkling snowdrifts. No? Just me? Ok, well, we’ve already acknowledged my dysfunction so let’s not beat a dead horse.
It’s time to open our miiiiiiiiiiiinds…. I’m talking mint + chocolate in late summer, people! It makes perfect sense! Our herb gardens are overrun with the junk! And one can only drink so many mojitos before one starts getting funny looks, and gentle interventions from one’s loved ones.
Not that I speak from experience or anything.
These bars begin with my favorite chocolate cookie recipe, amped up with a few handfuls of mini chocolate chips. This recipe is great for roll-out cookies, but for this preparation, we are going to press a thick layer into a baking dish for a bar base. You are going to love the texture of this chocolatey cookie! It’s so dense, yet tender and crumbly. It’s a lot like a shortbread, but with a deep, intense chocolate flavor…
Next, a layer of whipped mint ganache is smoothed on top. Fresh mint leaves are steeped in heavy cream, imparting a cool, herbal note that’s like a roundhouse kick in the mouth. But in a good way.
Finally, a dark chocolate glaze gets drizzled on top, giving the bars the most gorgeous, shiny loveliness…
I kind of think of these bars almost like a twist on a Twix candy bar. Only, instead of just a plain cookie, we have double chocolate shortbread. And instead of caramel or peanut butter, we have whipped mint ganache. And instead of a milk chocolate coating, we have a dark chocolate glaze.
Ok, so, maybe they’re really nothing like a Twix at all.
Chocolate mint cookie bars are a great way to celebrate the last of summer! Do what you can with all those gorgeous fresh herbs that are at their peak of freshness!
Are you a fan of chocolate + mint? Is it more of a summer thing for you, or do you associate it with winter? Quite frankly, I think these bars would be delicious at any time of the year… if you don’t have/don’t want to use fresh mint, it would work just great with a half teaspoon or so of mint extract. If you try it, I’d love to hear what you think!
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Chocolate Mint Cookie Bars
Ingredients
For the Double Chocolate Shortbread:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, (1 stick)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg, (large)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
For the Whipped Mint Ganache:
- 6 ounces white chocolate,, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 large bunch fresh mint
For the Dark Chocolate Glaze
- 3 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Instructions
To Make the Double Chocolate Shortbread:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Beat the butter, shortening, vanilla, and salt in a mixer until creamy and well-combined.
- Mix in the sugar.
- Add the egg, and blend until incorporated.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, add the cocoa, flour, and cornstarch, and mix.
- Fold in the mini chocolate chips and press the dough into a lightly greased 9x9" baking dish.
- Bake for 30 minutes; cool completely.
Whipped Mint Ganache:
- Place the cream and the fresh mint in a small pot, and heat on medium, just until small bubbles begin to form around the edge.
- Turn the heat down to low, and keep warm (without boiling), for 10 minutes.
- Pour the cream and mint through a fine mesh strainer, over the chopped chocolate.
- Stir the mixture until smooth and refrigerate for two hours or overnight.
- When well-chilled and solid, place in the bowl of a mixer and whip until fluffy and smooth.
Dark Chocolate Glaze:
- Gently heat the chocolate and cream in a small pot, stirring, until smooth and well-combined.
- Stir in the corn syrup, pour into a glass measuring cup, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Assemble the Chocolate Mint Cookie Bars:
- Run a thin knife around the edge of the double chocolate shortbread, and carefully flip out onto a serving platter.
- Spread an even layer of the whipped mint ganache over the surface.
- Drizzle the dark chocolate glaze on top, and refrigerate.
- Cut into bars and serve.
||I had a question about the glaze. Is this a mirror glaze? Also i want to try this but I want to have it have very crisp diffinitin between layers. How do i get the glaze to set up more so that it doesn’t bleed when I cut them? do I need to make it thicker or does it need moe time in the fridge to set? I just really want it to snatch your eyes and be really beautiful. Thanks in advance.
No this is not a mirror glaze.
I LOVE chocolate mint together. I could eat more than one of these, easily. Yum yum!
I know, ME TOO! One of my favorite combos. These were super rich and decadent…
Wow, these sound intensely rich and delicious!! You take absolutely beautiful photos! Need to learn a thing or two from you about that.
Thank you so much, Dani! You have no idea how great it is to hear that. I struggled with my photography for a long time. It felt like such an uphill battle! I’m really pleased to hear that you think I’m doing well. It’s a steep learning curve! Thanks for the awesome feedback. 🙂
Whipped mint ganache? Are you kidding me Allie?? Your pictures are absolutely stunning and I may or may not have just scheduled this post to pin all day 🙂 LOVE this!
Thanks, Trish! So glad you enjoyed the post, it was a lot of fun to put together. Thanks for pinning, and for the awesome feedback! <3
Oh.My.Goodness! These bars look SO good! Your pictures are so bright and beautiful. I must try this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Katie @thecasualcraftlete.com
Wow, Katie! Thanks so much for the awesome comment! You’ve put a smile on my face, for sure! I hope you enjoy… 😀 😀 😀
Thank you for sharing your info. I truly appreciate your efforts and I
will be waiting for your next write ups thanks once again.
My mom makes a similar thing in brownie form. Yours look amazing and I love, love all of your photography!
Oh my gosh, in brownie form must be out of this world! So glad you enjoyed, and thanks for the positive feedback Meghan! 😉
Wow, what a great recipe! And the photos are just absolutely gorgeous!
Thank you, SO MUCH(!), Sika! I have really been working hard on my photography skills lately, so your positive feedback means so much! I’m happy you liked the recipe too! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you’ll come back again soon! 🙂
I love chocolate and mint together and these sound incredible! Can’t wait to try! 🙂
Thanks, Liz, I hope you enjoy! <3
These look heavenly. The mint and chocolate combo is one of my favorites too. I can’t wait to try these.
Thanks for reading & commenting, Victoria! So glad you liked… 😉
These look absolutely mouth watering! We didn’t do mint in the herb garden this year but this is certainly the best excuse I can find to grab some on the next grocery run!
Great idea, Amy! Thanks for the great comment; I hope you enjoy! 😀
This is an AWESOME idea of something to make to use up mint!! My boyfriend esp. loves the chocolate + mint combo so these would be a biiig hit!!
Thanks, Kayle! So glad you enjoyed! Thanks for stopping by it’s always great hearing from you! <3
Something other than Iced Mint Tea to make with my heirloom, garden over taking mint. I’ll let you know how they turn out. Although, I might tweak it to use agave instead of sugar, since we eat primarily sugar free.
That sounds great, Marilyn! I am a big fan of agave; I use it a lot (my husband’s diabetic and we like that it has a low glycemic index), but I haven’t really explored the idea of baking with it. You’ll have to let me know how it turns out for you! Glad you enjoyed the post, and thanks for the comment! 😀
Excuse me, but I’m sure these are MUCH better than twix… they look awesome! I’m always wondering what am I going to do with all that mint growing in my garden. Well, I think we’ve got a winner now!! I need to make these bars now, I adore the chocolate + mint combo! x
Thanks, Consuelo! They are a pretty tasty treat… I hope you enjoy! xoxo
Holy cow those look incredible! My wife would certainly love these, can’t wait to try 🙂
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
Yay! “Wife!” You are married now! Congratulations!!! So happy you enjoyed the post. Happy Blogging to you as well! <3