Deep Dish Thin Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's softball season. Jordan is playing for the first time this year.

After getting the game schedule and putting two games per week through May into my calendar, it became painfully obvious that I do not like softball.

We all know that I am not a sporty person, right? That I'm not much for the outdoors? That the hour a day I spend exercising is inside a gym?

That, given the choice between spending the day playing at the park or spending the day with a fat novel and watching The Real Housewives, the ladies of the O.C. would win, hands down?

There are two games per week. Two practices per week, which may (or may not) overlap with games. That is three or four days per week that I will be sitting in a field. Which is three or four days per week too long to be communing with nature, if you ask me.

Getting myself prepared for practice is a whole event in itself. Even if it's 70 degrees during the day, do you know how cold it gets when it hits 5:00 and the sun starts to go down?

After I'm finished putting on my turtleneck, sweater, jacket, scarf, gloves, head wrap, and Uggs, I often get confused about whether I'm heading to practice or up the hill to hit the slopes.

And games start at 5:30 on school nights. Um, when am I supposed to feed my kid dinner? 4:00? Because there's no way I'm waiting until after the game. That's when they get their "snack," which is probably either a token to the snack bar where she'll undoubtedly go for a pack of M&Ms, or that crazy dessert blogger lady* will bring cookies shaped like baseballs made in a whoopie pie pan with brownie bats attached. That might be my choice for dinner, but not one I can really (acceptably) give Jordan.

Ah, well. At least she likes softball. Now that she knows where first base is and that you have to run to it when you hit, it's going pretty well for her. (Did I mention this is her first time playing? And she missed a whole week of practice when she was sick? Watching her first scrimage was...interesting.)

I'll just have to make sure that I have plenty of these types of easy, 2-ingredient treats at the ready when I get home from all that practice. Because sitting in the field is exhausting.

When I say 2-ingredient, I mean it. These cookies are probably the easiest things ever to make.

Cookie dough and Thin Mints. Or, gifts from the Gods.

I found a whoopie pie pan on clearance at Sur la Table. When does that happen? It was a sign from above. If you don't have a whoopie pie pan, you can make this big using a pizza pan or a jelly-roll pan and then cut it into slices.

Wish me luck over the next few months. In order to survive it I may need to buy a flask.

*Um, that would be me.

These cookies were featured at Parent Map in their 15 Mother's Day Treats! Go check out the list of great ideas.

Deep Dish Thin Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Crazy for Crust (adapted from Rachael Ray magazine)

Keywords: chocolate Thin Mint cookie

Ingredients

• 1 tube refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
• 12 Thin Mints, coarsely chopped
• Whoopie Pie pan (Wilton) or a pizza pan or jelly roll pan

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a Whoopie Pie Pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Cut slices of cookie dough, about 1/2" thick. Press into each whoopie pie cavity of your pan.
3. Press the coarsely chopped Thin Mint cookies on top of the cookie dough.
4. Bake for about 8-10 minutes, until edges of cookies are slightly browned. Let cool completely before removing from pan.
5. Note: if you do not have a whoopie pie pan, you can use a pizza pan or a jelly roll pan. Press the entire tube of cookie dough into the large pan, then sprinkle with the chopped Thin Mints and press them into the dough. It will take longer to bake this way. Cool, then cut into slices.

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Thin Mint Brownie Pie (Happy Pi Day!)

Yes, Pi Day. Pi, as in π or 3.14. Why is it Pi Day? It's March 14th, or 3/14, hence, Pi Day.

Why am I so excited about Pi Day? Well, in my life BK (Before Kid) I was a high school math teacher. Geometry is my favorite subject. To be more specific, I love proofs. Yes, I'm weird. I even had a license plate that read I TCH PI. I even have a shirt.

So, on March 14th each year I celebrate Pi Day. And that means...eating pie! (Someday I want to go to the Exploratorium in San Francisco on Pi Day. At 1:59 they do a parade. Google it.)

Of course, since I'm blogging now, I needed a good pie recipe to celebrate. I also have an overabundance of Girl Scout cookies in my freezer (my daughter is a Daisy). I love the Thin Mints. If I'm not careful I will eat an entire tube of them. By myself. In less than 20 minutes.

Thin Mint Brownie Pie. Does it get better than that? And it's super simple too. I used a boxed brownie mix with my homemade crust recipe.

I decorated the tops of my pies with white chocolate pi symbols. I melted the chocolate in the microwave and piped it on using a pastry bag. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream and more Thin Mints!

I had extra brownie batter so I made a round brownie too.

Yum.

In addition to dessert pie, Pi day cannot be celebrated without eating all things round and pie. That means Ritz Crackers for snack. And pizza for dinner. My daughter is having a peanut butter sandwich cut into a circle in her lunch box, and a round cookie for dessert. Pancakes for breakfast, too. We'll probably do some fun round math activities (suitable for Kindergarten) after school and before bed we will read Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi (by Cindy Neuschwander).

Want some other ideas to have your own Pi Day celebration? Here are some links to some awesome round recipes I've posted in the past:

Chicken Biscuit Pot Pie

Banana Cream Pie

Pecan Piookies

Apple Crumb Pie

Enjoy your Pi Day! Eat 3.14 slices of pie for me!

(Yes, I'll forever be a math dork. But I'm proud of it!)

Thin Mint Brownie Pie

Printer-Friendly Recipe

Ingredients:

For the Crust:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks butter), cut in small cubes and chilled
1/2 cup ice water


For the filling:
1 box of brownie mix (family size), plus the ingredients on the box
1 sleeve (half a box) of Thin Mint cookies, about 20
(If it's not Girl Scout Cookie season, you can use the Keebler Grasshopper cookies.)


To prepare crust:

1. Mix flour and salt in a food processor. Add chilled butter and pulse until it forms coarse crumbs. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms a ball. Separate into two sections.
2. For mini pies: roll out one section of dough to 1/4 inch thick and cut circles that are 4 inches in diameter. Grease your muffin tins or spray liberally with cooking spray and press into each muffin cup. (A silicone muffin pan works awesome for this; they pop right out. Be sure if you're using a regular muffin tin to really grease it good or they will stick. And you'll end up with chunks of pie.) Repeat with the remaining dough, re-rolling when needed. Makes approximately 18-22 mini pies. Chill until ready to use.
3. For a large pie: this dough recipe will make two 7-9" pie crusts. Roll out dough and line the two pie pans. Crimp the edges. Chill until ready to use.

To prepare filling:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the brownies in a large bowl following the directions on the back of the box.
3. In a food processor or on a large cutting board, finely chop the Thin Mint cookies and add them to the brownie batter. (If you stopped here and just made these as brownies they'd be awesome!)
4. Pour the brownie batter evenly into your mini pies or large pie crusts. You may have some filling left over. You can bake this in greased muffin tins or a small baking pan.
5. Bake mini pies for 18-22 minutes. Bake large pies about 25-35 minutes. (I made mini pies not a large one, so after about 20 minutes keep an eye on the oven so they don't overcook.)

Best served with whipped cream or ice cream and lots of extra Thin Mint cookies!

Source: Crust recipe from All Recipes; idea by Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust