What were your favorite things as a kid?
I’m about to come out as a huge nerd to all of you, but my favorite thing as a kid was Lord of the Rings. I was obsessed with it. I bought books delving into the symbolism and archetypes behind Tolkien’s works, books about the world of Middle Earth and its history. I used to pretend I was Arwen, the Lady of Rivendell, and I even made myself her Evenstar pendant out of Sculpey clay. It was absolutely fantastic. And then, when I was 11, I went to an actual Lord of the Rings camp, where we painted this huge mural of Hobbiton and did nerdy LOTR stuff. It was awesome. And now I’m finally watching The Hobbit trilogy, and I’m just loving every second of it.
Sometimes it’s nice to escape into another world, where elves and dragons and wizards live. I see a lot of similarities between Lord of the Rings and the uber-popular Game of Thrones (which I’m also in love with) – both are epic tales of good, evil, and everything in between. With dragons here and there, of course. But to me, LOTR will always be the OG of fantasy, if you know what I mean. And even though George R. R. Martin keeps us on our toes by killing off unsuspecting characters left and right, there is something magical and beautiful about J. R. R. Tolkien’s tale of good triumphing over evil. (And yes, both authors have two R initials in their names. Coincidence?)
These cookies here are another flashback to my childhood. I was a Girl Scout for a few years, and every year we did our much-anticipated cookie sale. My favorite cookies were the Thin Mints – which are actually vegan now! But I couldn’t resist making a raw version, as raw vegan desserts are kind of my jam. Which is mostly because I’m a terrible baker. But I digress….
These raw vegan thin mints are super simple to make, with only a handful of ingredients and minimal prep time. Plus, there are no weird additives or processed ingredients like in their packaged counterparts – no high fructose corn syrup or soy lecithin, and no artificial flavors. (Why would you even bother making cookies with artificial chocolate and mint flavoring, when it’s so easy to get it naturally?!) The flavors in these cookies are all natural, friends. And that’s the way I like it!
Raw Vegan Thin Mints
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 Cups Rolled Oats
- 8 Medjool Dates
- 1/2 Cup Walnuts
- 1/4 Cup Raw Cacao Powder
Wet Ingredients
- 2 Tbs Coconut Oil melted
- 1/4 Cup Raw Agave
- 1/8 Tsp Peppermint Extract
Topping
- Melted Vegan Chocolate
Instructions
- Put the rolled oats in a food processor and process until a fine flour is formed.
- Add in dates, walnuts, cacao, and wet ingredients, and process until a sticky ball of dough is formed.
- If desired, roll out dough on a floured surface and make cookies with cookie cutters - if not, just form cookies by hand.
- Dehydrate cookies at the oven's lowest temperature for about one and a haf hours.
- When cookies are done dehydrating, let cool for at least 15 minutes.
- If desired, melt some vegan chocolate and drizzle over cookies.
- Serve and enjoy! :)
Quote of the Day:
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
– Thorin Oakenshield (from The Hobbit)
P.S.
If you make this recipe and post it on Instagram, be sure to tag me @wellandfull and #wellandfull so I can see! I love seeing your takes on my recipes :)
24 Comments
genevieve @ gratitude & greens
February 16, 2016 at 2:42 pmYES omg we need to talk about LOTR. I actually haven’t read the last book yet but I love Tolkien’s storytelling and his writing! I am also the biggest fan of Arwen and Aragorn. For reals. I do think Harry Potter was a bigger part of my childhood, though :D These raw vegan thin mints sound delicious- the only ingredients I’m missing are walnuts and peppermint oil!
Sarah
February 16, 2016 at 3:28 pmLOTR is the best!! ;) But I love Harry Potter too :D
dixya | food, pleasure, and health
February 16, 2016 at 3:26 pmi love thin mints in general..or any combo of chocolate and mint together..this is definitely something i’d like to try…i could not get into lord of the rings..but harry potter, yes!
Sarah
February 16, 2016 at 3:29 pmDon’t worry, I love Harry Potter too ;) But I’ll always love LOTR the most hehee!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
February 16, 2016 at 4:43 pmYou’ll be sad to know then that I’ve never even seen 1 minute of Lord or the Rings, nor read one sentence of the books :P Hahaha!
But chocolate mint…ANYTHING, has always been my love and always will be!
Sarah
February 16, 2016 at 8:11 pmYou gotta see the movies girl!! :D
Rachel @ athletic avocado
February 17, 2016 at 8:15 amThins mints are the cookies of my child hood! This raw vegan version looks mighty tasty!
Sarah
February 17, 2016 at 11:03 amThanks Rachel! <3
Maya | Spice + Sprout
February 17, 2016 at 9:01 amI love this post! I totally relate to the LOTR nerding out :) when I was younger my cousins and I used to play LOTR over christmas break. We would run through giant snow banks and pretend to be the hobbits on their journey. It was the best. We still end up watching at least one (if not all) of the extended version movies when we get together. I also maybeeee (okay definitely) have all of the books on audiobook on my ipod. Anddddd these thin mints look totally awesome <3
Sarah
February 17, 2016 at 11:05 amAhh that sounds awesome!! I would have totally played hobbits with you guys! :D
Jessie Snyder | Faring Well
February 17, 2016 at 10:26 amSo now I’m feeling old – Lord of The Rings was like a thing late in high school for me – so for it to be your “kid” thing made me go “wait how old am I?!?!?” Haha. Things I was into as a kid? It was the Pokemon card days ;) and Nintendo 64 (the original) and lets not forget those super rad sonic the hedgehog pogs! Okay now I’m feeling old. Lots of hugs to you sweet girl – these thin mints sound deeeeelish! xoxo
Sarah
February 17, 2016 at 1:50 pmAhh the pokemon card days! Those were the best years, my friend! Hugs <3
Summer
February 17, 2016 at 11:36 amI am so hungry right now! These look amazing ♥
summerdaisy.net
Sarah
February 17, 2016 at 1:46 pmThanks Summer!
Lane | Green Spirit Adventures
February 17, 2016 at 12:20 pmAh! This post makes me so happy! I was raised on everything high fantasy and LOTR was a HUGE part of my life growing up (it still is a huge part of my life, haha!) I actually used to pretend I was Gandalf. I still think I would like to be Gandalf…
I usually end up having a marathon of all the movies from both LOTR and the Hobbit at least once a year (and I cannot get through any of them without crying). Oh man, this is making me want to reread all of the books again!
(Also, this recipe is amazing.)
Sarah
February 17, 2016 at 1:47 pmThat’s awesome!! I actually think I’m going to reread the books again too! LOTR fans unite :D <3
Amy | Lemon and Coconut
February 18, 2016 at 4:42 pmI’m a huge Lord Of the Rings fan, I’ve read the books over and over, they’re true classics. Have you read any Alan Garner? You’d like him too, Weird Stone of Brisingamen is my favourite. :)
Sarah
February 18, 2016 at 6:58 pmI’ve never heard of Alan Garner but I’ll look into him! Thanks for the recommendation! :D
Linda | The Baker Who Kerns
February 19, 2016 at 12:51 pmI ended up buying three packs of thin mints from my coworker (he was helping his daughter so I guess it was for a good cause!) so I feel a bit guilty! Even though they are vegan now there is still all that high-fructose-crap in there! So I was so happy you come on the internet today and see these! And I am totally on the same page as you, I love escaping into another world which is why I am so enamored with fantasy. Going to reread LOTR after I finish my current book!
Sarah
February 19, 2016 at 3:10 pmAhhh have fun with your reread of LOTR!! :D
Sanjib Kumar Das
June 7, 2019 at 12:43 pmThese look yummy! I love mint and chocolate. The other day I found some really great guittard mint chips and I thought they might taste really awesome in Dorie Greenspan’s World Peace Cookies. Kind of a twist on an already perfect thing…I’m going to make them this weekend.
Sarah
June 7, 2019 at 3:26 pmThank you! :) I hope you like the recipe!
Vicki
March 2, 2020 at 5:56 pmIs the one hour and half the suggested cooking/dehydration time? My oven setting goes down to 170degress but the cookies didn’t seem to be dry enough. Suggestions?
Sarah
March 4, 2020 at 9:38 amYes the hour and a half is the dehydrating time! If your cookies are still not dry enough, I would recommend increasing the dehydrating time in 15-20 minute increments until they are to your liking :)