Andes Mint Chocolate Ganache Tart with Thin Mint Cookie Crust

This triple mint chocolate tart is the perfect dessert for anyone who loves the rich and refreshing combination of chocolate and mint (aka me). It has a crispy mint chocolate cookie tart crust and both the silky smooth mint chocolate ganache filling and shiny mint chocolate glaze are made with mint chocolate baking chips!

You can make the crust or the whole tart ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze it, which makes it a great make-ahead dessert recipe. I've got plenty of helpful notes in the post below to help you make this stunning mint chocolate tart at home!

The idea for this tart recipe first came about when something weird happened to me; I found a whole unopened box of Thin Mints in the back of my pantry.

I'm not usually one to keep whole boxes of my favorite cookies or candy around (see also: my Oreo Bundt Cake, Peppermint Patty Brownie Cookies), so when I saw the box of Girl Scout cookies tucked behind some canned beans, it felt a sign that it was destined for something greater.

Something bigger. Something mintier. Something chocolate-ier.

I wanted to make the ultimate mint chocolate tart.

After much research and recipe testing with various tart structures, bake vs no-bake crusts and fillings, heavy cream and cool whip fillings, glazes and gelatins, I settled on this rich triple mint chocolate ganache tart with a thin mint cookie crust.

And oh wow, y'all. I am so excited to share another great chocolate dessert recipe with you.

The cookie crust is simple, made entirely from crushed Thin Mint cookies with an assist from some melted butter to hold it together.

I've always enjoyed the simplicity of making ganache — the combination of hot heavy cream and chopped chocolate transforming before your eyes into a rich chocolate emulsion is pretty magical to watch.

So we're going to use chocolate ganache two different ways here to make the two layers of rich, mint chocolate filling. The bulk of this tart is a dense and fudgy mint chocolate ganache that bakes inside the crust, while the top layer is a shiny mint chocolate glaze, poured over the tart once its cool.

To finish it all off, the tart is decorated with additional mint chips, scattered in a border around the top of the tart before the glaze fully sets.

Make no mistake, this is a rich tart. But by using unsweetened chocolate in the ganache and a semi-sweet chocolate in the glaze keeps it from being overly tooth-achingly saccharine.

The crust has that satisfyingly crisp-crumbly cookie texture, and the heavy cream and eggs in the ganache center make it silky smooth.

As much as I love an intensely chocolatey dessert, the subtle mint flavors are very welcome here — they keep each bite feeling cool and fresh, so good with a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream!

Ingredient Notes

Here are the ingredients you'll need to make this decadent mint chocolate ganache tart! See recipe card (at the end of the post) for ingredient quantities.

• Thin Mint Cookies - I use Girl Scouts Thin Mints cookies to make this tart. You can also use Grasshopper cookies, or I've heard Aldi has a version that is a good dupe as well.
• Eggs - Use large eggs for this recipe. If you use a different size egg, the filling may not set properly.
• Heavy Cream - Heavy cream is also sometimes called "heavy whipping cream" and it will be used to make the ganache filling and the ganache glaze.
• Unsweetened Baking Chocolate - There's plenty of sweetness in the ganache filling from the mint chips that unsweetened (100%) baking chocolate works best here. It's usually sold in 4 ounce (113 gram) bars, and you'll need a whole bar to make the filling.
• Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate - For the shiny ganache glaze you'll need one ounce of semi-sweet baking chocolate (35-65% cacao). You could use unsweetened baking chocolate here too if you'd prefer, but I like adding a bit more sweetness to the glaze layer.
• Butter - Melted, unsalted butter is the binder that holds the Thin Mint cookie crust together. Salted butter will also work.
• Mint Baking Chips - I use Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips for this recipe which are sold seasonally in grocery stores but can be found online year round. You'll need almost a whole bag to make this tart. If you can't find Andes chips, you can use Guittard's Green Mint Chips, or any other green mint chips you can find. These baking chips are used in the ganache filling and the ganache glaze, as well as for decorating the top of the tart.
• Corn Syrup - I use light corn syrup in this recipe; it gives the ganache glaze a shiny finish at room temperature.
• Salt - I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt which is half as salty as other brands and types of salt. If you're using a different brand or type of salt, cut the amount of salt in half.
• Peppermint Extract - We're going ALL IN on the mint flavor here and a splash of peppermint extract in the ganache filling really turns that minty flavor up to 100.
• Water - A little bit of warm water thins out the ganache glaze so that it can spread across the surface of the tart.

Instructions

My favorite thing about this triple mint chocolate tart is how simple it is to make. It has 3 different components — the crust, the mint chocolate ganache filling, and the shiny mint chocolate ganache glaze, but all of them are very simple.

The filling and the glaze use a lot of the same ingredients too, so it's not like you need to buy a lot more ingredients to make them both.

1. Make the thin mint cookie crust. Use a food processor to turn the thin mint cookies into crumbs with the texture of wet sand. Mix with melted butter, then press the cookie crust into an even thin layer in the pan. Refrigerate at least 30 mins.
2. Make the mint chocolate ganache filling. Pour hot (but not boiling) heavy cream over chopped chocolate and mint chips. Let sit, then stir until smooth. Whisk eggs, peppermint extract, and salt in a separate bowl, then pour slowly into the chocolate mixture while whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from scrambling.
3. Bake the tart. Pour the ganache filling into the chilled tart crust and bake until the center is fairly jiggly but the edges are set. Remove from the oven and let cool.
4. Make the mint chocolate ganache glaze. Pour hot (but not boiling) heavy cream over chopped chocolate and Andes mints. Stir until smooth. Then stir in corn syrup and warm water for shine.
5. Decorate. Once the tart is completely cool, pour the glaze over top and decorate with additional mint chocolate chips.

What does all of that look like? Let's get into it!

To prep the tart pan, first spray it lightly with non-stick spray (for more on this see: Do I need to grease my pie pan?). You need just enough to help the crust release later without crumbling. Blot any excess away with a paper towel.

Then, we're going to borrow a tip from my friend Erin's oreo cookie crust and press the crust into the pan in two stages: first the sides, then the bottom. This helps you get an evenly thick vertical crust around the sides and a sharp right angle where they join.

Other tools that work well for pressing the crust into the sides of the tart pan are flat-bottomed measuring cups, straight-sided drinking glasses, and if you don't have anything else, use the backs of your fingers.

Use a knife or your fingers to level off the top edges of the crust, pressing any excess crumbs into the sides or bottom of the cookie crust to patch thin spots.

Place the tart pan on a cookie sheet and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes so the butter chills and firms up.

While the tart crust chills, make the mint chocolate ganache filling.

*Scalding just means heating the cream to slightly below boiling — around 190°F. If you don't have a thermometer to check the temperature, you're basically looking for lots of tiny active bubbles to appear around the edges of the cream in the pot. Stir the cream as it heats so that the bottom doesn't burn!

Take the chilled mint cookie crust out of the fridge and pour the ganache filling into it.

The filling should come up almost all the way to the top of the crust in a way that feels a little bit dangerous to carry to the oven.

Depending on how tightly you packed your cookie crust you might have slightly more ganache than you need. Don't feel like you need to scrape the bowl clean if it looks like the tart might overflow.

Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and Andes chips, let it sit for about 2-3 minutes, then stir until smooth. Stir in the corn syrup (it makes the glaze shiny!) and then the hot water (it helps the glaze spread out) and that's it. Super easy.

Pour the glaze into the center of the cooled tart.

At this point, place the tart pan on an overturned bowl and gently ease the outer ring down. I do this before chilling the tart because it's easier to remove when the tart isn't cold.

You can remove the outer ring entirely at this point or slide it back into place to chill the tart. It's really up to you.

Slicing and Serving

Once the tart is done and decorated, transfer it to the fridge, uncovered, to set up for at least 1 hour or until you're ready to serve. It's much easier to slice when it's cold, but you can definitely serve it at room temperature if you prefer.

If you need to cover the tart to protect it in your fridge, use an overturned bowl or something that won't lie directly on the surface of the tart (e.g. plastic wrap). You don't want condensation collecting on the glaze and leaving marks.

To slice this mint chocolate ganache tart neatly, use a warm wet towel to wipe down the blade of your knife before every slice, including before making the first slice. Dry the knife blade before slicing, but the warmth will allow the blade to cut through the chilled chocolate with nice clean lines.

Make sure you press down firmly with the knife at the bottom to cut through the cookie crust.

Making Ahead & Storage Notes

The cookie crust can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for up to a week or frozen in the tart pan for up to 3 months.

To freeze before baking, first chill the crust uncovered, then transfer to a plastic bag with as much air pressed out as possible and freeze. It can be used directly from frozen.

You can also freeze the baked tart with the ganache filling, then defrost in the fridge overnight and add the final glaze and decorations right before serving.

Equipment Notes

You don't need a ton of fancy equipment to make this tart, but you will need a good food processor and a fluted tart pan.

• Food Processor - I used my big Cuisinart 14-cup Food Processor to break the cookies down into crumbs, but you could also use a 5-cup mini food processor or 3.5 cup mini food processor, though you may have to process the cookies in batches in that case.
• Fluted Tart Pan - I use a 9 inch tinned steel fluted tart pan to make this tart. If you have an 8 inch tart pan, you can reduce the recipe by 75% or just hold back some of the crumb crust and ganache filing so it doesn't overflow.
• Mini Offset Spatula - The thin, flexible, and narrow blade of a mini offset spatula is one of the best ways to lift the tart slices off the pan once you cut it.
• Kitchen Scale - Measuring with a kitchen scale is the only way to ensure your tart turns out like the recipe says. The ganache ratios of chocolate to heavy cream are calculated by weight. Measuring by volume (cups) is often inaccurate and gives a much higher likelihood that the ganache won't set up properly.

Practical Tips & Recipe Notes

• Don't feel like scalding the heavy cream on the stove for the mint chocolate ganache filling? You heat it in the microwave in 15-20 second bursts, stirring in between until it's nice and hot.
• Generally you don't want to use a whisk to make ganache as you're not trying to incorporate air into it, but we really don't want the eggs to scramble, so a whisk is your best friend for that step. For all the other ganache mixing, stick to a spatula to avoid air bubbles!
• For a less intensely minty flavor, omit the peppermint extract or use vanilla extract instead.
• If you can't find any mint baking chips, you can use whole Andes bars instead. The measurements are provided by weight, so just chop up some whole Andes bars and you'll be good to go!
• As the glaze sets on top of the tart, it will be very sensitive to things like fingerprints so be careful touching it. It's best to use a toothpick while the glaze is still warm if you need to move any of the decorative chips around, etc. And try not to touch the top of the tart when you slice it or you'll leave fingerprint evidence behind.

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