I've been seeing lots of recipes for making your own mint candy! I love after dinner mints, so I decided to give it a try! The recipes looked so simple! I'm not much of a candy maker but it just looked so easy and tempting!The recipe called for powdered sugar. I didn't have powdered sugar but a fellow food friend showed me this recipe on how to make your own powdered sugar. Yes, you can make your own powdered sugar from regular sugar! Just put the regular sugar in a blender with some cornstarch and blend away until it becomes powdered! Well, this didn't work for me...it just became slightly less graulated! I was getting the feeling that these cream cheese mints just weren't meant to be for me!
I decided to continue making the mints. So I creamed the butter, cream cheese and sugar together and added in the peppermint extract. I tasted the mixture and LOVED it. It tasted very similar to a 'York Peppermint Pattie' minus the chocolate coating! It was very grainy though because I didn't use powdered sugar. But I didn't care because it still tasted great! My hopes were restored!
Then you're suppose to shape the mint mixture into some sort of candy shape. I chose to make small discs. The mixture was very sticky, so this was tricky...I love rhymes! I placed the discs on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet sprinkled with sugar to help keep the mints from sticking. This worked great! I also dipped the tines of a fork in sugar to make impressions on each mint disc, just to add a little design.
Then these mints need to air dry for 2 hours. It was difficult to keep from eating all of them before they were done drying! I think next time I will freeze them and then dip them in melted chocolate! YUM!
Here is how I made the mints!
INGREDIENTS:
4 oz. cream cheese - softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbls. butter - softened
1/2 heaping tsp. peppermint extract
DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl mix together cream cheese, butter and sugar.
Then add in peppermint extract.
Mix well.
If the mixture is too sticky add more powdered sugar.
Form into teaspoon sized balls and place on waxed paper lined cookie sheet dusted with sugar.
Dip the tines of a fork in sugar then press lightly into each mint ball.
Allow to air dry for 2 hours.
Makes about 8 dozen small mints.
This recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com
I first made these about 35 years ago... If you roll them in sugar then push them into candy molds, you have pretty mints... add a drop of food coloring to make colored mints...
ReplyDeleteI love the candy mold idea! And that's a great tip to roll them in sugar before pressing them into the mold! Thanks Arlene! =)
DeleteI helped my friend make these mints for a baby shower(they were a big hit)we also used molds. They were very fun to make.
ReplyDeleteHi Cherly! Yes, these are perfect for a baby shower! =)
DeleteI made these for my kids graduations and used my cookie press one year made the mints red white and blue and used star tip made some plain colors and some mixed. Other years I rolled them in sugar and used mint molds they are great
ReplyDeleteOh, I love the cookie press idea! I have one! And the red, white and blue would be perfect for 4th of July! Thank you for that info! =D
DeleteI have have a strange question: I have mint growing in my flower/herb box. Do you think I could grind up a few sprigs (leaves) and use those instead of the extract? If so, approx how many leaves do you think? Just to taste? These look amazing by the way; how can you go wrong with cream cheese!? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica! No, that's not a strange question! I think it's a great question! Hmmmmm, but I'm not sure that would work. I think it would alter the recipe so drastically that it wouldn't work! I know the color would definitely be green and I don't think you'd have the strong mint flavor as you would get from the peppermint extract. And it would probably taste very grassy! Not too mention how different the texture would be! Thank you so much for checking it out! I hope you'll try it as written sometime! =D
DeleteBut you can turn your mint into peppermint extract! It's an extra step, but you'd have the leftover extract to be used at a later date!
Deletehttp://wholenaturallife.com/2012/08/09/how-to-make-homemade-peppermint-extract/
Can you put them in the frig until the next day?
ReplyDeleteI actually didn't put them in the fridge at all! I kept them out for over 24 hours and they were fine! But if you're worried about the cream cheese spoiling, then you should chill them after they are dried! =)
DeleteI have to be careful how much sugar I eat, so I use Splenda for everything. My question is this: Can you make powdered sugar from Splenda? Otherwise I would love to make these. They would also make great Christmas gifts!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about making powdered sugar from Splenda. Isn't Splenda already in powder form? But, I'm don't know if this recipe will work unless you use real sugar.
DeleteHave you ever tried to dip them in chocolate? Maybe freeze them first?
DeleteYes, that's exactly what I want to do next time! =D
DeleteCan you make and freeze for a month or two?
ReplyDeleteYes, these can definitely be frozen, but I'm not sure for how long. I saw comments about that on the original recipe, so check there to be sure. The link for that is at the bottom of the recipe...click on 'Allrecipes.com' and it will bring you there! =D
DeleteMy gram used to make these for every occasion! I love them and miss having them. I am going to try this recipe and see if it is close to her's.
ReplyDeleteShe too used molds and the food dye for the occasion!
I love the idea of using molds because you can make so many pretty shapes! I hope you love this recipe as much as your grandma's! =D
DeleteMy gram made these every year for Christmas, rolled them into 'snakes' and cut them into thick discs. (she used coloring too, red and green, only a couple drops for each roll so as to make them pastel)
ReplyDeleteNice memories for sure! Foodie Grandma's are the best...they always have something great cooking! =D
DeleteI have made these and instead of using the oil I separated equal amounts (from original batch) into 3 soup bowls. I put lemon zest in one with a small drop of yellow food coloring. The other bowls had orange zest and lime zest with their orange and green food coloring. I let them sit for about an hour covered with plastic wrap and then mixed again using a fork. I used a candy mold but I loved the suggestion to lightly coat them with the powdered sugar before placing in the mold.
ReplyDeleteOh yum! That sounds so fresh and flavorful! Nothing beats natural flavoring! Thank you so much for the lemon and orange zest idea! =D
Deletethis is going to freak you out - but I had blue and white mints - flavored wintergreen mint at my wedding 1958 and still have some in a jar... hard as a rock!!!
Deletelol Tess! That doesn't freak me out...I would probably still eat them...lol!
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