Description
These Christmas Mints are festive, colorful peppermint candies with a smooth, creamy texture made from cream cheese and butter. Perfect for holiday celebrations, they are easy to make and set beautifully at room temperature.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons light/clear corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 4¼ cups powdered sugar, divided
- 6 drops green liquid food coloring
- 6 drops red liquid food coloring
Instructions
- Prepare Baking Tray: Line a large rimmed baking tray with parchment paper. Place the granulated sugar into a small bowl and set aside.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, unsalted butter, light corn syrup, and peppermint extract on low speed with a handheld mixer for 1 minute until smooth.
- Add Powdered Sugar: Slowly add 4¼ cups powdered sugar, about ½ cup at a time, mixing on low speed. When the dough thickens, switch to a spatula or wooden spoon and mix by hand to fully incorporate.
- Prepare Dough Surface: Lay a piece of parchment paper on a clean counter and sprinkle ¼ cup of powdered sugar on it. Turn out the dough onto the powdered surface.
- Divide and Color Dough: Divide dough into three equal parts. Make a shallow well in two parts. Add red food coloring to one, green to the other, leaving the last dough plain white.
- Knead Colored Doughs: Knead each colored dough ball to evenly distribute color, adding up to ¼ cup powdered sugar as needed to prevent stickiness. Slightly knead the white dough with a tablespoon or two of powdered sugar if sticky.
- Roll Dough into Ropes: Roll each dough ball into an 18-inch long rope, about 1 inch thick.
- Slice Dough Ropes: Slice each rope into ½-inch thick pieces completely.
- Shape Peppermint Mints: Roll each piece into a small ball using your palm. Set aside.
- Coat in Granulated Sugar: Drop 2-3 dough balls into the bowl of granulated sugar, toss to coat, then place on the prepared baking tray. Repeat until all are coated.
- Flatten and Pattern Mints: Use the tines of a fork to lightly press the coated dough balls into discs with a striped pattern.
- Allow to Set: Let the Christmas peppermint patties sit at room temperature on the tray for up to 24 hours to dry and set before serving.
Notes
- Yields approximately 100 peppermint candies.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- Freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months; thaw in the fridge before serving.
- Add up to ½ teaspoon of liquid food coloring for more vibrant colors.
- Adjust powdered sugar amount to get the right dough consistency—should be pliable but not sticky.
- Gel food coloring is recommended for more intense color without adding moisture and is safe for nut allergy sufferers.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 peppermint candy
- Calories: 25 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 15 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 4 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0.2 g
- Cholesterol: 3 mg
