While out for a run, Fi and I chatted about ideas for new projects and she asked "why don't we do stuff with mint? We have a ton of it growing at our house and maybe we can come up with some fun things to do with it!" It sounded like a great plan to me so we brainstormed on what we already knew it could be used for like a kid version of a mojito or frozen in ice cubes to be added to tea.
We decided to do Mint Tea, Mint Ice Cubes, Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies, Toothpaste, and a kid's version of a Mojito!
We began by harvesting our mint for the ice cubes, cookies, and mint tea.
Then we got everything set up and ready to go! While our mint leaves were busy infusing into the butter, we moved on to ice cubes and tea as Fi demonstrates below:
To make Mint Ice Cubes you'll need:
Mint leaves
Water
1.Rinse mint and then add one leaf to each section.
2. Add water into each section.
3. Put in freezer for a few hours or overnight.
4. Take out and add to tea, lemonade, water, etc.
To make Mint Tea you'll need:
A pitcher
Water
Mint leaves- a large handful of cut off leaves and stems
Large Pot for 8 cups of boiling water
Large bowl of 6 cups of water
Pitcher or Gallon jar drink dispenser
1. Rinse mint and then add to bowl with 6 cups of water.
2. Use (clean) hands to squeeze and crush them to release scent of mint into water. The water will turn a light brown color.
3. Strain the liquid through the strainer into the Pitcher.
4. Pour the 8 cups of boiling water over the strained mint in the bowl and steep for 10-15 minutes. This water will also turn a light brown color.
5. Pour through the mesh strainer into the pitcher to combine with other tea.
6. Add sweetener of your choice (sugar, Stevia, honey) and stir.
7. Serve over ice and enjoy!
Then we began working on the cookies as our ice cubes froze and our mint tea was steeping.
To make Mint Chocolate Cookies you'll need:
Butter- 1/2 cup (1 stick)
Mint- 1/2 cup firmly packed mint
Dark Brown Sugar- 1/2 cup firmly packed
Granulated Sugar- 1/2 cup
All Purpose Flour- 1 1/2 cup
Egg- 1 at room temperature
Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp
Baking Soda- 1 tsp
Sea Salt- 1/2 tsp
Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips- 1/2 cup
1.Heat the mint and the butter for 2-3 minutes on medium high (until you can smell the mint), then turn off the heat and steep the mint in butter for about 30 minutes.
2. Strain the butter and combine with the dark brown sugar and the white sugar in a stand mixer or use a hand mixer if you prefer.
3. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for an additional minute.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet while the mixer is running.
6. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
7. Remove and chill for about an hour in the refrigerator.
8. Divide and roll into 12 balls and bake for 12-14 minutes. (ours took 13 1/2 minutes)
9. Let cool for a minute or two and then move to a rack to finish cooling.
Let's see how the first three turned out!
With our first projects finished we set our sights on a delicious kid friendly mojito the next day. Fi will show you how it's done although she used sprite in her mix which means you don't need to use the actual sugar added at the beginning.
To make a Kid Friendly Mojito you'll need:
Lime- cut into wedges and add 3-4 per drink
Sugar- 1 tbsp (but can add more to your liking or leave out entirely if using sprite)
Mint- 6 leaves
Club Soda or Sprite
Ice
Glass
Reusable Straw
1. Add sugar, mint leaves, and lime to glass and muddle all together.
2. Add ice cubes.
3. Pour Club Soda into glass and then stir.
4. Done! It's that easy!
Next we moved onto making Easy Mint Toothpaste!
What you'll need:
Baking Soda- 2/3 cup
Mint extract- 2 tsp (if you use essential oils instead, use 10-15 drops)
Sea salt- 1/2 tsp finely ground
Water- as much as needed for the consistency you desire
Jar- to store it in
1. Combine the ingredients and store in a jar.
Comments