These delicious little mints melt in your mouth, are a cinch to make, and disappear quickly. Even better, since they’re so easy, you can turn out a whole platter of them for a party or work function in no time flat. We’ve already made three batches this season. I made two to send to my husband’s work and when they requested more, Katy made a batch all by herself.
All that is needed is to mix up the ingredients in a bowl, pinch off bits and roll them into a ball, and stamp or flatten them out a bit to make the mints. You can even color them if you want to. Make them pink or baby blue for a shower, red and green for Christmas. Whatever cranks your tractor or keeps your tractor idle, whatever your desire may be!
You’ll need: Confectioner’s Sugar, Butter, Cream Cheese, and some Peppermint Oil*.
*This is usually found in the craft department at WalMart during Christmas time. You can also find it at places like Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, and JoAnn in addition to specialty bake shops and such. It only costs a few dollars and will last ten forevers. Note: Peppermint oil is very strong. Use sparingly and if you get it on your fingers, don’t touch your eyes 🙂 Also, make sure the package specifically says for candy and baking. I have heard a lot of the essential oil companies (DoTerra and Young Living) sell oils that are food grade and safe for consumption – I’m not talking about those here. I have never used them and have no idea if they are equivalent in strength or flavor. You are welcome to try but just know that if you go that route, you’re going rogue and it may or may not end up being the same recipe as this.
Place your room temp butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl and add peppermint oil (exact amount in recipe at bottom)
P.S. Peppermint oil smells good. You know how I told you not to touch your eyes if you got some on you? Well, if that happens, before you wash your hands, dab a bit behind your ears and on your wrists 😉 Look at you! Now you smell like a candy cane! How can that not make you smile? ~GRIN~
Cream that together with an electric mixer until it is nice and fluffy looking.
Gradually add in your confectioner’s sugar.
This is code for “Dump it all in at once”.
Beat the mess out of it until it is well blended, scraping down the sides if need be.
Now, it is going to seem dry as a bone at first and you’re going to think this is never in a million years going to come together.
Then two minutes later you’ll exhale and say “Oh! There it is!”.
If, for some odd reason, it is too dry (I blame aliens), add a tablespoon or two of milk and beat again.
It should be like a stiff cookie dough.
Only it’s not cookie dough.
It’s even better.
Because you can eat it without people freaking out over salmonella.
Make little one inchish balls of the cream cheese dough.
Roll ’em in some more confectioner’s sugar and then place on waxed paper or parchment paper or aluminum foil – whichever you grab first or whatever falls out of the pantry.
Now it is time to press them down with your finger, the tines of a fork, or some little stamps.
Of course, you can leave them as little balls if you want, too, and just call them snowball mints.
In a rare stroke of high maintenance-ness, I decided to use little stamps…
Okay, I actually couldn’t find the little stamps I wanted so I made them. But it really was easy because I am one with the glue gun! ~holds her gun up to the heavens in a dramatic display as she says that~
Seriously, the glue gun is my homie. A few weeks ago, I even made a case for my son’s marching snare drum with a glue gun, a storage bin, and an egg crate mattress. That may not impress you if you’ve never priced marching snare cases so you’re gonna have to trust me that you should be impressed with this.
I used to say that I could likely save the world if given a chance to make enough banana pudding, but nowadays I know that isn’t true.
In order to save the world, I’d need God, Banana Pudding, a whole passel of multi temp glue sticks…
and maybe a switch or two… 🙂
I went looking for actual small stamps but was unable to find any. Okay, I found some but they only came in a set and that set was $29.99 so I didn’t feel the least bit tempted to buy it. After coming up empty handed while shopping for the easy solution, I had to get creative. Some of the best options are often found this way.
So, I had these tiny decorative buttons that I’d purchased at Hobby Lobby in the Christmas craft section (I’ve also seen the exact same set at Michael’s in the kid’s craft section by the foam craft stuff and I think this is the same thing here on Amazon) and I bought some little shaker pegs and hot glued those puppies onto the end of them.
Boom, instant mint stamp :).
You can use regular buttons (tree shaped if you like), the tines of a fork, the bottom of a glass, or even carve a shape out of the bottom of a carrot if you want – although the carving a carrot thing is a bit too time involved for me to go there just to make a few mints. If it were me and I didn’t have the stamps I made, I’d just press them lightly with my fingertip to flatten a bit.
If you end up having a stamp (or using a fork), just gently press the design (or tines of a fork) into confectioner’s sugar and then into the mint. Here is me doing that exact same thing with a stamp I made.
Look how precious 🙂
If Grandmama were alive, she’d take one look and say “Well, God love it!”
Because God loves babies and mints – of course!
Now, let mints sit out for a few hours to dry. I flip them over after about an hour or so to help speed the process. They are ready when you pick them up and they don’t feel tacky. Store them in a sealed container in the fridge or at room temp if you are going to eat them in a day or two.
- 8 ounces softened cream cheese
- 3 tablespoons butter softened
- 7-8 cups powdered sugar (start with 7, reserve 1 cup for dipping later)
- 4-6 drops peppermint oil
- Place softened cream cheese, butter, and peppermint oil in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy.
- Add 7 cups of confectioner's sugar and beat again until dough like in consistency. It will seem stiff and dry at first but after a minute or two it will come together. If it is too dry to form balls after you are done mixing (this is rare), add in a tablespoon of milk and mix again.
- Form into small one inch balls and place on waxed paper.
- Roll each ball into confectioner's sugar and flatten slightly with your fingertip, a fork, the back of a spoon, or a tiny seasonal stamp.
- Allow mints to dry for a few hours before storing. If they will be eaten in a day or two, I leave them out at room temp in an airtight container. For longer storage, place in the refrigerator.
“The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well.”
~Alfred Adler
Yum
Thanks so much for this recipe, I made it tonight but I could not find peppermint oil and used peppermint extract instead. This meant I had to add extra powdered sugar to make up for the moisture it added to the recipe. It seems the dough is still too soft and it sticks to my fingers, while upon tasting I think if I add more powdered sugar it will be too sweet. I put it in the refrigerator to chill a little to see if it will be easier to roll into a ball. I’ll let you know how it comes out.
Okay, so the refrigerator trick worked as well as making sure I had powdered sugar on my hands while I rolled into balls. The only problem I have is the candies seem to be weeping on the bottoms even though I have turned them to dry out. It’s ok though, they taste great and I put them into little candy cups to add to my Christmas goodies trays. I put them in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Do you know how long they will keep in the refrigerator or if I can freeze them and then thaw in the refrigerator before I make up my gift plates?
I was also curious to see if you could use peppermint extract and what amount of that to use??
That would be helpful info if you know!
Thanks!
How long do these last refridgerated and do you think I can freeze them???
Hi Keri, you can freeze them! I am not sure exactly how long they will last in the refrigerator, because they don’t last too long around here, but I would say at least a couple of weeks.
Hi I just wanted to say, I like your style. The glue gun idea was great.
Merry Christmas
Kari
Thank you Kari!!! I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!!
Can you use peppermint extract?
I was wondering the same. Can I use extract or does it have to be the oil?
I absolutely LOVE your writing style! Thank You for posting this recipe!
Thank you Dee!!! Merry Christmas!
I followed your recipe and mine were very sticky and hard to work with. Very messy to make, but they still taste great.Any tips?
This recipe was a disaster for me. I’ve made cream cheese butter mints every Christmas and thought this year I’d try a new recipe. This recipe has more butter than others. It wasn’t just sticky as another commented stated, it refused to harden. I wasted an entire afternoon attempting to make it twice and just threw out what was essentially cream cheese icing. VERY DISAPPOINTED.
These mints don’t harden, they dry out a bit, but they are never supposed to harden. I’m sorry you thought this was like another recipe. It sounds like they most likely turned out exactly as they were supposed to do, by dipping them in the confectioner’s sugar and allowing them to dry a bit as directed they would have been exactly as pictured. I’m terribly sorry you were expecting them to be otherwise and hope you have a MERRY CHRISTMAS just the same 🙂
But how do you avoid the sticky dough before you roll them in the the sugar? I couldn’t even roll mine, they just s stuck to my fingers.
I had this issue and added more powdered sugar. They turned out great after that.
It sounds like you may need to add a little more powdered sugar to your dough Samantha. Different altitudes, humidity levels, etc may affect the dough and require a little adjustment.
I found the pegs but could not find the stamps. I looked where you mentioned, and no luck.
I was so excited to try, and couldn’t. Very disappointed.
I loved how yours looked.
About how many 1 inch mints does this make?
Thank you for the great recipe, tips on making it work and laughs! I was going to press the mints into little heart silicone molds but I didn’t like the look. So I got out my beloved glue gun and made a stamp out of a peg clothespin I had and a button I found that looked like a flower. Brilliant! I rolled the little balls in granulated sugar before pressing them. Also, I used 1/2 tsp each of peppermint and butter extracts. They are currently drying beautifully. Thanks again!
🙂 I am so glad you enjoyed making them!!
I haven’t tried these yet but am planning on it and I don’t have to worry too much on how to store them because I can eat the whole batch in a day or maybe two! (I will try not to and share).
🙂 I know what you mean Lenoria!! I hope you get the chance to try them soon!
I made these mints last year for Christmas months ahead of time. I dried the overnight before storing them in the freezer. They kept beautifully for months. Thank you for another keeper recipe. I can always depend on you for terrific and easy-to-follow recipes.
Thank you so much Leslie, I am so glad you enjoyed the mints!!
Did you freeze in plastic container? Do you thaw at room temp?
I was sitting here craving something minty and remembered these from last Christmas, you saved me a trip to the store, LOL, again! Thanks Christy
I was wondering if there are other oil flavors you can use. I’m not a fan of mint?
You could use any flavor you like 🙂
Bavarian Cream makes amazing mints.
01-16-2017 I found all the supplies! Hooray! Now I can do this recipe. FYI: at Ebay.com in search enter “Artminds Scrapbooking Buttons & Flatbacks – Christmas Cookie Cutters & Buttons” sold by T & S Craft’s Minis & More for @ $2.29 + S/H $2.99 for the exact same stocking, tree, star, gingerbread man (2 of each). Next went to Michaels and found a “Creatology” package of 4 peg people 2.9 in/7.3 cm height by 13 1/16 in (slightly larger than 3/4 in)/2 cm wide base – will hot glue flat shapes to the base. Have all the ingredients on hand. I’m anxious to get started on this enchanting mint. Thanks so much for posting this version of an old standard. You really thought outside the box and I’m so happy to copy your creativity. Didn’t buy the shaker pegs as it was much more expensive holding 8 pegs. Be blessed!
I love these mints! However. When I took the out of the refrigerator they started to get wet again. Should I just leave them out and hopefully they will dry?
I often leave mine out to dry several hours before refrigerating. They should dry Shaun.
I would ike to be able to print the recipe, but I cannot find anywhere that I can do it.
In the boxed recipe under the little picture, there’s a “Print” icon.
I just love these things. I’m calling mine snow mints because this summer I had to dye the dough pink and make five million thousand of them for baby showers! Everyone swooped down and ate every one of them. So white mints for Christmas sounds good to me. Did ya’ll enjoy the snow in the Deep South today? What a beautiful way to welcome the Christmas spirit in .Ya’ll be careful out there and Merry Christmas!
Is the peppermint oil the same as I use in my diffuser?
I don’t think so. It has to be food safe peppermint oil.
No, it has to be a food safe one, you can find it in the baking sections of most stores.