Description
These festive Christmas Mints are a delightful homemade peppermint candy perfect for holiday gatherings and gift-giving. Soft, colorful, and bursting with refreshing peppermint flavor, these treats are easy to make using simple pantry ingredients and no-bake preparation.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons light/clear corn syrup (such as Karo brand)
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 4¼ to 5 cups powdered sugar, divided
- 6 drops green liquid food coloring
- 6 drops red liquid food coloring
Instructions
- Prepare the tray and sugar: Line a large rimmed baking tray with parchment paper. Place the granulated sugar into a small bowl and set aside for coating the candies later.
- Mix wet ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer on low speed, beat together the cream cheese, unsalted butter, light corn syrup, and peppermint extract for 1 minute until smooth and well combined.
- Add powdered sugar gradually: Slowly add 4¼ cups powdered sugar, about ½ cup at a time, mixing on low speed. As the dough thickens, switch to a spatula or wooden spoon to finish mixing by hand once it becomes too stiff for the mixer.
- Prepare dough surface: Lay out parchment paper on a clean counter and sprinkle ¼ cup of the remaining powdered sugar onto it. Turn out the dough onto the sugared parchment.
- Divide and color dough: Divide the dough into three equal portions. Create a shallow well in two portions; add red food coloring to one and green to the other. Leave the third portion white.
- Knead food coloring into dough: Knead each colored dough ball thoroughly to distribute the food coloring evenly. Add up to an additional ¼ cup powdered sugar as needed to counteract stickiness caused by the liquid food coloring. Knead the white dough slightly with 1-2 tablespoons powdered sugar if needed.
- Form dough ropes: Roll each dough ball into an 18-inch long rope about 1 inch thick.
- Slice into pieces: Cut each rope into ½-inch thick slices until all ropes are sliced into pieces.
- Shape into balls: Roll each slice between your palms to form small balls and set aside.
- Coat dough balls: Drop 2 to 3 dough balls at a time into the bowl of granulated sugar and toss to coat evenly. Arrange the coated balls on the prepared baking tray.
- Flatten and decorate: Using the tip of a fork, lightly press each dough ball into a small disc. The fork tines will create a decorative striped pattern atop each peppermint patty.
- Set the candies: Allow the patties to sit at room temperature on the tray for up to 24 hours to dry and set before transferring to a serving platter.
Notes
- If the dough feels too sticky while kneading, add powdered sugar gradually, a little at a time, to achieve the right consistency.
- The drying time of up to 24 hours is essential to allow the patties to firm up properly; do not skip this step.
- Use clear/light corn syrup for best texture and sweetness.
- Keep the dough covered if not working with it immediately to prevent drying out.
- Store finished mints in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Candy
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Christmas mints, peppermint candy, holiday candy, no-bake candy, festive treat, homemade peppermint patties
