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Thin Mint Brownies

thin mint brownies

I’ve always wondered…

What if I added cocoa powder to my peppermint toothpaste?

Mint-chocolate toothpaste?

Or black teeth?! 😕

Or maybe toothpaste so yummy it’d be difficult to not eat in mass quantities, straight from the tube. Perhaps it’s a very good thing my toothpaste is just plain peppermint and I keep the cocoa where it belongs: in the kitchen! Yesterday, I used it to make brownies:

mint brownies

I made this secretly-healthy recipe: Thin Mint Brownies.

Mmmmmm they were good!! Much better than chocolate toothpaste. Oh yes. For your convenience, here’s the recipe again:

Raw Thin Mint Brownies

  • 1 cup walnuts (120g)
  • 1 and 1/3 cups pitted dates (230 grams) (I highly recommend Sunmaid, because they’re softer.)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 5 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • A few drops pure peppermint extract (depending on how minty you want them… Start with less; you can always add more.)
  • Optional: for even more chocolate flavor, add chocolate chips. Or add cacao nibs.
  • Optional: tiny dash of salt (I always add this and recommend it.)

Raw Brownies Recipe: Combine all ingredients, using a food processor. (No need to blend the dates first; I just blend everything all at once. But if you use a Magic Bullet, you might want to do it in batches. I’ve not tried this in a regular blender and therefore can’t vouch for it.)Form into brownies or balls or bars… or even cookie-cuttered shapes!

Edit: by popular demand, I’ve added Thin Mint Brownies Nutrition Information.

raw brownies

Also, I think my photography has improved a ton from last year’s photos.

After publishing that post, more than one person told me the brownies looked like… well, something not very appetizing. And I had to agree; the original photos didn’t do justice to how absolutely delicious these brownies taste! Even though it was a very overcast day yesterday, hopefully I managed to do a better job this time. Sure couldn’t have done worse!

Do you have a favorite toothpaste?

Weird question, I know. But I really do love my toothpaste. (No, not to eat. Don’t worry.) I use Jason’s Powersmile, and it is scary-powerful. Your mouth feels like it’s on fire… in a good way, if that makes sense. Cavities and bad breath would be terrified to stick around in the presence of this toothpaste.

Published on March 10, 2012

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115 Comments

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      • Justine @LifeWithCheeseburgers says

        I wish we had a Whole Foods! I have to order a lot of my specialty food items online–but at least I can get them. 🙂

        Otherwise, I’m a fan of the cinnamon burst toothpaste from Crest. I also have cinnamon floss and cinnamon mouthwash (when I do something, I make sure I go all out!).

        • Patrick says

          You may not have a whole foods, but you, might have a natural and organic section in your cub. Mine does, although rather small.

  1. Jade C says

    Hahaha, I thought the same when I first saw these brownies the first time. I made them in December and they were a hit, though!! I did try to photograph them myself and got pretty much the same results haha!!
    Good post 🙂
    Jade C.

  2. Trooppetrie says

    i had your peanut butter pudding the other morning for breakfast and WOW, what a amazing start to my morning. Do you ever post the calories to your regular foods. i love the idea of knowing what i am eating

  3. Samantha says

    Good morning!

    The beauty of my desserts being just for me is that I don’t care what they look like…as long as they taste great. 🙂

    I am just starting to play around more with your “raw” recipes!

    I am a long time Tom’s of Maine user. Once they started offering the SLS-free line that is the one I use.

  4. Ariel says

    Oh I’ve never had Thin Mints before probably because I’m not a big fan of mint. I just might have to make these though because they look absolutely delicious!!

  5. Bjork says

    Haha you are silly 🙂

    I’ve never thought about flavoring my toothpaste, what abound mint-almond or coconut-mint ?? Lol

    I love crest toothpaste, I literally sometimes want to eat it :$

  6. Aja says

    I remember as a kid I had to have the bubble gum flavored toothpaste but now if it’s not extremely minty and refreshing I don’t use it.

  7. Sarah the official CCK drooler-we pick Rick says

    Secret: I really like the little kid flavors. Like Dora blueberry. You can stop laughing at me now- Of course, you have to promise not to tell anyone. Otherwise, my social life is ruined. You promise, right? Good.
    p.s.- thanks for making it raw! Believe it or not I am slowly getting into a 75% raw lifestyle. This helps tremendously.

    • janet says

      me too! Have you tried Tom’s Silly Strawberry? mmm good!
      The brownies are next on me list to make! This girl is amazing how she can make healthy food out of anything!! This is my favorite site to pin!

  8. Sonja says

    Those mint-chocolate brownies sound amazing! Have to try them soon! And your photo-skills have improved so so much!
    My favorite toothpaste tastes of rose and lemon and comes in solid form:http://www.lushusa.com/Chou-Chou…-I-Love-You/03607,en_US,pd.html?start=7&cgid=toothy-tabs

  9. Tricia says

    I like my sensitive toothpaste because I have sensitive teeth 🙂 Lets me eat ice cream and other deliciously cold goodies 😉

  10. katie @KatieDid says

    I’ve been obsessed with thin mint cookies I made the other day. First time using peppermint extract and it was awesome, I’m addicted now! I use toms toothpaste in peppermint and love it. I can’t stand the overly sweet taste of crest anymore.

  11. Roxie says

    I’m a die-hard Crest ProHealth user – toothpaste, floss, & mouthwash. The other day it was 5 hours between brushing and lunch and I still had a minty fresh mouth.

  12. Lindsay says

    Hahahaha thats funny.

    A lot of people say that with toothpaste and mouthwash, that they hate when their mouth burns. I actually like that, it makes my mouth feel more clean!

  13. purplegirl says

    I’m use Jason powersmile too! I hate foamy toothpaste though, and Jason is bordering on too much foam right now, so I’m in the market for something with ZERO foam. Hehe. Any suggestions? Toothpaste foam is definitely on my top 3 grossest things list. One time I used my friends crest… That was traumatic! Ugh!

  14. Amber K says

    These look so good! I clicked on your other post and you’re right, the pictures look a lot nicer her! Looks delicious.

  15. Marci says

    Green Apple flavored toothpaste by Green Beaver. Its a Canadian company.
    The brownies look delish. Going to get some mint extract and try them.
    Thanks!!

  16. Karina says

    I like Jason’s Powersmile a lot too. I got a new kind of toothpaste recently and I hate it. It doesn’t foam up, like the way children’s toothpaste doesn’t. I CAN’T STAND that!

  17. Albizia says

    Mint is one of the tastes I hate the most. Once somebody gave me one of those fancy After Eight thin mints and I decided to try it but I only managed to chew twice before spitting it. I don’t know how people eat them at all (yeah, I know, it is a matter of taste). I love chocolate but in my opinion mint ruins it completely. So you”ll never see me buy mint toothpaste. I don’t have a favorite but I’ve tried pretty much all the fruit flavors available. Now I’m using pear.

  18. Natalie Kaczmarczyk says

    SO, I totally understand what you mean about toothpaste! When I come home from school my mom always has that gel-type stuff that I feel like I just brushed with straight sugar! Colgate advanced whitening keeps my whites pearly 🙂 But a side note, I just got my first jars of Artisana coconut butter and cocoa bliss and I just wanted to say how THANKFUL I am you introduced me to this! It is absolutely amazing and I have to stop myself from eating my the spoonful (melted of course!). Just made your Coconut banana butter and am proud to say my sweet potatoes are much happier too 🙂

    Keep up the awesome work!!! You’re inspiring!

  19. Alanna says

    lol eew, I can’t say I ever wanted to eat my toothpaste, lol. Of course, I’ve used some pretty icky toothpaste in the name of whitening and cavity prevention. Arm and Hammer toothpaste with baking soda is so gross, and with my prescription fluoride toothpaste I’m always trying not to swallow any since it can make you nauseous. But on flavor combos, I’m with you all the way, Katie — chocolate and mint were MADE for each other!! And these pics do look way more appealing than last year’s. (c; I want to try these but I keep forgetting I’m out of peppermint when I go to the store… hopefully someday soon I’ll remember!

  20. homecookedhealthy says

    Katie – you are TOO funny. Love chocolate & mint together. I did some peppermint pattie cookies and they looked like hamburgers so don’t feel bad. Sometimes you just have to taste the healthy food to enjoy how good it really is!
    I’v been experimenting with your chocolate babies and turned them into a truffle recipe that’s organic, gluten free & sugar free on my blog – everyone is raving over them. Thanks so much for the inspiration.

  21. Jo says

    Yes Jason’s Powersmile is the best! It’s the only toothpaste that keeps my teeth white after 2-3 espressos each day 😛 And I agree your photography has definitely improved – I noticed before you even mentioned it! Sometimes less detail is better as your food looks so delicious on its own it doesn’t need anything except a nice plain plate and a subtle backdrop.

  22. Kathy says

    Not a favorite toothpaste other than it’s a gel and non whitening as that hurts my teeth!

    Katie I have a couple of questions… I want to make the coconut butter melties and plan on molding them… I am wondering:

    Since i have no agave or stevia could i just use sugar or maybe honey?

    I found a brand called Let’s Do…Organic. They have Organic Creamed Coconut. Is this the same thing as Artisana Raw Coconut Butter? The Let’s Do brand comes in a larger package. It’s to be mixed with hot water to replace dairy or coconut milk.

    And lastly can i use food coloring, liquid or paste, without changing the consistency so it will still mold?

    I want to make these for my daughter who is allergic to dairy.. I think she would love these.

  23. a amelia says

    Certainly going to try my hand at these as I just perused your recipe from last year (randomly)! I’ve been checking in with you for months, love your style – and just started my own blog to add to the mix! Great work, keep it up!

    PS. Tried a version of your chick pea based blondies today but donut style and with some tweaks. DELICIOUS.

  24. Melody says

    I used to use tom’s of maine toothpaste but wasn’t getting great results. Now i use burt’s bees multicare with flouride, and i love it! Not too much foam, I wish i would have had it during my last pregnancy because toothpaste foam triggered my nausea in a BIG way. Now, off to try out some brownies!

  25. Jade says

    Hi Katie, I love you blog! Discovered it 2 days ago and I’ve been bookmarking recipes I want to try…. I have about 30 so far! I’m just wondering where you can purchase spelt flour? 🙂

  26. Alex@Spoonful of Sugar Free says

    I LOVE cinnamon toothpaste 😀

    And I love this recipe, too! It is my go-to for edible gifts

  27. Kristen says

    Yum! Thanks for posting the link to the old post too- it’s great to see so much improvement- gives new bloggers hope 😉
    These pics are awesome!

  28. Alanna says

    Soooo good… I used sliced almonds and made them into brownie bites so they’ll last longer (in theory, anyway!). I think I like these even better than the German chocolate fudge bites! Amazing Katie does it again! 🙂

  29. Kristina says

    Hi Katie,

    I use that same toothpaste, but after visiting the dentist yesterday I will be switching to Tom’s of Maine! I take pretty good care of my teeth, and I walked away from the dentist with THREE cavities yesterday. When I got home I was horrified to see that there isn’t anything about cavity prevention on the label.

  30. Amanda says

    What’s the serving size/portions for this recipe? I may have overlooked it but checked your earlier link too and didn’t see it there either.
    I’m about to attempt this in my blender since my food processor’s on the fritz.

  31. Bethany says

    Oh. My. Goodness. Katie, your fudge babies are going to be the end of me! I just made these (with a little bit of added coconut) and they were heavenly! I can’t believe they don’t have anything bad in them! Just goes to show that healthy food can be just as good as not-so-healthy food. Thank yooou Katie! Seriously, who needs chocolate cake when they have these?!

    I found that adding some water (around 2 Tbs) makes them stick together better, which makes all the difference when you’re trying to make them into balls! haha

  32. Adrienne says

    I just made these but I had to use dried plums, I’ve never eaten dates, and I made them in my blender in batches and they taste so decadent! They did have more of a fruity flavor than chocolate so I added the optional chocolate chips and they are really, really good. My two-year old approved them as well. She ran up to me and asked for more “chocolate rocks.” Thanks for another tasty recipe I can feel good about feeding to my family. 🙂

  33. emr_rmt says

    As a kid, I am ashamed to admit I ate toothpaste. But not the sparkly kids bubblegum flavoured stuff…just regular Crest gel toothpaste. For some reason, I could NOT get enough of it. And even stranger, we only ever had gel toothpaste when we were traveling; it just happened to be the tube my mom kept in her toiletries bag. At home, we always had the regular paste. I vividly remember hiding out in the bathroom of a few hotels pretending to brush my teeth really, really, really well. Thank goodness I grew out of that habit/craving. So bizarre.

    • emr_rmt says

      Oh, and btw, I can’t wait to make these. I’ve made a different version of raw brownies before, with avocado icing, and they were great. But unfortunately, so rich we couldn’t finish them before they got a little furry. A very strange thing to see chocolate lasting THAT long in this house.

  34. Puja says

    I made this but slightly adapted it to use cashews as I find walnuts can be a little bitter, something I don’t mind but making for others so didn’t want to risk it. And did not have any mint extract so used 1/4 tsp coffee granules for flavour, and coffee and choc are a match made in heaven in my opinion! They didn’t quite combine and it looked a bit like soil so used 1 tbsp hot water to combine it and used my hands to bind it together rather than wooden spoon and that did the trick! they were so yummy! I think the extra cocoa powder (compared to another recipe i used) made all the difference and blending the dates up until they were literally a ball and sticky helped it too! i think next time i may even use chic chips as suggested maybe half nuts half choc and more dates for a truly authentic almost raw brownie!

  35. Susan says

    I just wanted to let you know that when clicking on the Nutrition Information link it takes me back to a list of recipes and no nutrition information. Am I missing something? I want to try these but would like to know their nutritional value before I do.
    Thanks! BTW…thank you for sharing all your “research” and giving us such great, tasty recipes!

  36. Jamie says

    I am completely non-domestic, but I just had to try one of your recipes. After a few swirls in the food processor I thought I had botched something – it just looked like dates covered in a fine cocoa powder. I kept processing though, and voila, after a minute I have a bowl full of what tastes a heck of a lot like brownies. I formed them into little brownie shapes, and I’m betting my family won’t have a clue what’s actually in them. I am beyond impressed by your recipe. Thank you Katie!

  37. Kara says

    Was I supposed to use unsweetened cocoa powder? Also- mine didn’t stick together very well. Any advice?

  38. Lara says

    Katie, after we formed it into brownies / balls, it can be eaten just like that? we don’t have to put it in the fridge or bake it or anything? wow!

  39. Becca says

    I just made these for the 2nd time they’re amazing! I had a slight – can’t get it without leaving the house and searching the shops problem with the mint extract so I made fresh mint instead. It worked really well, this way they get minty-er the longer you leave them(just a note on this don’t leave them too long and it’s best to keep it in the fridge as the mint might go bad).
    I didn’t measure how much mint I actually used it was probably about a heaped handful when chopped but different varieties of mint would change how much you need (I mixed garden mint and black peppermint (super minty) about 2:1). Careful how much you use though because by the 3rd/4th day they you might not be able to taste anything else.

    • Becca says

      oh, you may have a little more difficulty getting them to stick than the other bars doing it this way as you’re adding in extra bulk, if you do maybe add a few extra dates, some oil or sticky sweetener)

  40. Holly K says

    Katie! I tried this recipe replacing the walnuts with macadamias and the mint extract with raspberry. Super dishy and amazing for a summer picnic!

  41. kduck says

    These are interesting. I made them but had no idea how the ingredients would stick together. Until I read at the bottom of the post and somebody mentioned to use 2tbs of water. The water helped so much!! Would honey or some other sticky substance work??

  42. Michelle says

    I just love all of your recipes! My kids even love them which is a huge bonus. They get a treat and I feel really good about giving them something more nutritious (I use raw cacao powder and add chia seeds). Thank you! Can’t wait for your cookbook. 🙂

  43. AlyBaah says

    Hi Katie! Is it possible to substitute dates with prunes? Or have you ever tried it?
    Good luck with the cookbook! Longtime fan 🙂

  44. Katherine says

    I cannot explain how excited I was to find this website. Baking is such a stress reliever to me, but I also LOVE staying healthy. Thank you so much for this great website! As soon as I found it, I picked a recipe and ran right to the store to get the ingredients, and these brownies are delicious! I actually made them into balls, however, so I could share them with more people! You rock!

  45. Shayna says

    When I first read this article, I thought you said that you used the mint-chocolate toothpaste in the recipe! Sure glad you didn’t! The brownies look delicious!

  46. Kit says

    These have become a staple in our home. I make a batch almost weekly, cut them into bars, then hide them from the kids for my husband and I. Often I go ahead and make a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough and a third flavor all in one go. They don’t last long! Thanks!

  47. Julie says

    Can you post the nutritional facts for the Raw Thin Mint Brownies? I clicked on the link, but I didn’t see it.

    Thanks!

  48. Lisa says

    I just made your Thin Mint Larabars/brownies, and they are awesome. I have a child severely allergic to all nuts, so I substituted 3/4c. oats + 2T water for the walnuts, and they turned out perfectly! Thought you might want to know in case any of your other blog viewers are dealing with nut allergies 🙂

  49. Molly says

    These were delicious!! Much more decadent than I thought they would be. Thanks for posting! I think I’m going to try to make some with peanuts and peanut butter next.

  50. shari says

    excellent. I added some choco almond milk then when blended added coconut flakes and pecan pieces and candy cane crushed, YUM. Happy holidays vegan raw style.
    Thanks.

  51. stacy o says

    Am laughing at all these comments…just saw that Crest now has chocolate mint toothpaste!! Thinking I have to try it to see what it’s like…

  52. Stella says

    I just made these and gave some to my mom. I just loved seeing her eye shine and hear her say, “MMMMMmmm~~~”. It makes me grin from ear to ear. Thank you so much for this recipe. I know I’m going to be making it again and again for friends and family.

  53. Becky says

    I made my kid toothpaste with coconut oil, baking soda, and cocoa. She didn’t like the baking soda, so I started using it. Not bad, but peppermint would be better with the baking soda.

  54. Kerri says

    I made these Thin Mint Brownies today. The flavor is great but they are too crumbly. They don’t hold together as bars. It seems like my mixture is too dry. Any suggestions?

    • Unofficial CCK Helper says

      Just add a tbsp of water to the mixture and blend again. Sounds like you just got too dry dates. Easy fix!

  55. Amy pomp says

    Crest’s be adventurous line makes mint chocolate chip toothpaste – sounds gross to most people, but oh man it is so good!!!

  56. Moondragon007 says

    Just FYI – if anyone is crazy enough to try it, eating toothpaste is VERY BAD for you! It’s got enough floride (sp?) to poison you if you swallow enough of it. Stick with the Thin Mint recipe.

  57. logan says

    Hi katie! I am a new follower of yours (that sounds creepy haha) and I’m just loving everything I try! Have you ever tried making these mint brownies but with the black bean version??

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