Description
These Christmas Mints are festive, colorful peppermint candies made with cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and peppermint extract. They are easy to prepare, requiring no cooking, and perfect for holiday celebrations. The dough is divided and colored red, green, and white, shaped into small discs with a charming striped fork pattern, and left to set at room temperature to achieve the ideal texture.
Ingredients
Scale
Base Ingredients
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons light/clear corn syrup (e.g., Karo brand)
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 4¼ – 5 cups powdered sugar, divided
Food Coloring
- 6 drops green liquid food coloring
- 6 drops red liquid food coloring
Instructions
- Prepare the baking tray: Line a large rimmed baking tray with parchment paper. Place the granulated sugar in a small bowl and set aside for coating the mints later.
- Mix the dough base: In a large mixing bowl, use a handheld mixer on low speed to beat together the cream cheese, unsalted butter, light corn syrup, and peppermint extract for about 1 minute until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
- Incorporate powdered sugar: Gradually add 4¼ cups of powdered sugar, half a cup at a time, into the bowl while mixing on low. As the dough thickens and becomes difficult to mix, switch to a spatula or wooden spoon and finish mixing by hand to fully combine the dough.
- Prepare dough for coloring: Lay a piece of parchment paper on a clean surface and sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of powdered sugar over it. Turn the dough out onto this parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Divide and color the dough: Divide the dough into three equal portions. Make a shallow well in the center of two portions. Add red food coloring to one portion and green food coloring to the other; leave the third portion white.
- Knead the colored dough: Knead each colored dough ball to evenly distribute the food coloring. Add up to an additional ¼ cup powdered sugar as needed while kneading to prevent stickiness caused by the liquid coloring. Knead the white dough lightly if sticky, adding small amounts of powdered sugar as necessary. Be cautious to add powdered sugar gradually to avoid making the dough too dry.
- Roll the dough into ropes: Roll each dough ball into an approximately 18-inch-long rope about 1 inch thick on a clean, flat surface.
- Slice into pieces: Slice each rope into ½-inch thick pieces by cutting from one end to the other, resulting in small individual pieces for mints.
- Shape into balls: Roll each slice gently between your palms to form little balls and set them aside.
- Coat with granulated sugar: Drop 2-3 dough balls at a time into the bowl of granulated sugar and toss to coat evenly. Then place the sugar-coated balls onto the prepared baking tray. Repeat this process until all dough balls are coated and arranged on the tray.
- Flatten and decorate: Using the tip of a fork, lightly press each sugar-coated ball to flatten it into a small disc. The fork tines will create a decorative striped pattern on top of each peppermint patty.
- Allow to set: Let the Christmas peppermint patties sit at room temperature on the tray for up to 24 hours before serving. This resting period helps the mints dry and set properly for the best texture.
Notes
- Yields approximately 100 peppermint candies.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
- For deeper color, you can add up to ½ teaspoon of liquid food coloring.
- If the dough is too sticky, gradually add more powdered sugar until it reaches the right consistency—not too stiff, but not sticky.
- Gel food coloring works well as it produces vibrant colors without adding extra moisture and is safe for those with nut allergies.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 peppermint mint (approx. 5 g)
- Calories: 25
- Sugar: 3.5 g
- Sodium: 10 mg
- Fat: 1.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 3.2 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0.3 g
- Cholesterol: 5 mg
