Christmas Butter Mints Recipes

BUTTER MINTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat the butter, confectioners' sugar, cream and extracts. If desired, divide dough into portions and knead in food coloring. , Form into balls by teaspoonfuls; flatten into patties, or roll between 2 pieces of waxed paper to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut mints into desired shapes. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Store in the refrigerator.

OLD-FASHIONED BUTTER MINTS

Steps:

• To the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and salt and beat for 1 minute on medium-high speed.
• Add 3 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, milk, peppermint, and beat on medium-low speed until a dough forms. If the dough seems wet, add additional confectioners' sugar until dough combines (I use 3 1/2 cups sugar). The dough will be crumbly but will come together when pinched and squeezed into a ball.
• Taste the batter. If you want a more intense mint flavor, add additional mint extract, to taste (see note below).
• Remove dough from the mixer, separate it into 1 to 4 smaller balls, and add one ball back into the mixer. Add the food coloring of your choice to the ball by squirting the droplets on top of the dough (careful when you turn on the mixer), and paddle on low speed until coloring is well-blended. Coloring will not blend completely into each and every speck of dough if examined extremely closely, but overall, mix until color is uniform. (I separated approximately two-thirds of the dough and made it green using about 15 drops green food coloring and made one-third of the dough red-pink by using about 7 drops red food coloring).
• Wash the mixing bowl and the paddle in between each color change and repeat until all the balls are colored.
• After the dough has been colored, either wrap it with plastic wrap and place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator to be rolled out later or roll it immediately.
• To shape the butter mints, place a golf-ball sized amount of dough in your hands and roll dough into long thin cylinders about 1 centimeter wide. Place cylinders on countertop and with a pizza cutter (or knife - be careful of your counter), slice cylinders into bite-sized pieces, approximately 1 centimeter long.
• Store mints in an airtight container in the refrigerator where they will keep for many weeks.

HOMEMADE BUTTER MINTS & CHOCOLATE BUTTER MINTS

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, combine the soft butter and salt. Beat for a moment to combine. Add the condensed milk and beat again to combine. Add the powdered sugar a cup at a time, beating to combine thoroughly. Add the peppermint, taste and adjust as needed. The dough will be mostly crumbs, but should stick together when squeezed into a ball. It should not be sticky at all.
• Remove the dough from the mixer and pull off golf ball size sections. (At this point, you can also wrap the dough tightly and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to roll them out.) Roll each ball out into a long skinny strip about 1/2" in diameter. Slice the strips into tiny mint-size pieces. I used a pizza cutter to easily roll back and forth and slice them quickly.
• Alternative method (for the impatient): Roll the dough out to approximately 1/4" thick. Use a knife or pizza cutter to slice the dough into 1/2" (or smaller) squares. They might not be as cute or as authentic looking, but it will only take a couple minutes to cut out all of the mints.
• Spread the soft pieces across a baking sheet and allow them to sit at room temperature overnight. You could speed up the process and put them in the refrigerator uncovered. Mine were fine on the counter though. When they have hardened enough to store, transfer the mints to an airtight container. Enjoy!

CREAM CHEESE MINTS

Steps:

• In food processor, place cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar. Cover; process, using on-and-off pulses, until mixture comes together into a ball. Add mint extract; process just until incorporated.
• Place dough on work surface sprinkled with additional powdered sugar. Add a few drops food color to center of dough; knead until dough is evenly tinted. Roll dough into ropes; cut into small pieces. Roll each piece into a ball; place on waxed paper.
• Flatten each ball with a fork. Let stand 2 hours or until dry.

BUTTER MINTS

Steps:

• Combine butter and 2 cups sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until sugar is moistened, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until well combined. Return mixer to low speed, add remaining 2 cups sugar, and mix until well combined, 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high; beat until light and fluffy, 6 minutes more. Add peppermint extract, milk, and salt; beat until smooth.
• Lightly dust a clean work surface with confectioners' sugar and turn out "dough" onto it. Divide into 5 pieces; tint as desired with food coloring, leaving one piece white. (Keep covered with plastic wrap while working to prevent drying.)
• Roll "dough" into 1/2-inch-thick ropes, then cut into pieces slightly over 1/2 inch long with a paring knife or bench scraper. Transfer to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Let dry, uncovered, at least 12 hours. Mints can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

CHRISTMAS BUTTER MINTS RECIPE

Steps:

• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat butter with a stand mixer or hand mixer on medium speed until light and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. With mixer on low speed, gradually add powdered sugar, and beat until mixture forms a stiff, crumbly dough, 1 to 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Add evaporated milk, peppermint extract, vanilla extract, and fine sea salt. (If using peppermint oil, start with 6 drops, and taste the dough to see if a stronger peppermint flavor is desired before adding more oil.) Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth and soft and has the consistency of modeling clay, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove dough from mixer bowl, and shape into a smooth ball. Cut ball in half; wrap 1 dough ball half in plastic wrap, and set aside. To color the remaining dough ball half, use a wooden pick to deposit a little of the red food coloring gel onto dough; massage in with your fingers until evenly blended. Keep adding food coloring gel, a little at a time, until it reaches the desired shade of red.
• Divide red dough portion and reserved white dough portion into 4 equal portions each to make 8 equal portions (4 red and 4 white). On a flat work surface sprinkled with some powdered sugar, gently knead together 2 red portions of dough with 2 white portions of dough until the mixture looks marbled. (Do not overmix.) Roll into a long, smooth, 1⁄2-inch-thick log with visible swirls of both red and white color showing. Using a sharp knife, cut log into 60 (1⁄2-inch-thick) pieces. Repeat process with remaining 2 red dough portions and 2 white dough portions. Transfer buttermints to prepared baking sheet.
• Let buttermints dry at room temperature, uncovered, 24 hours. (They'll develop a crisp outer shell with a sweet, creamy, minty middle.) At this point, buttermints can be bagged up for giving as gifts, spooned into a candy dish, or stored in an airtight container or ziplock plastic bag for up to 2 weeks.

HOMEMADE BUTTER MINTS

Steps:

• Taste the candy and add more mint extract if desired; different brands have different strengths, and it's better to start with less flavoring and add more if necessary.

THE BEST CREAM CHEESE MINTS

Steps:

• Combine cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl and mix until smooth.
• Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
• Add the mint extract and mix until combined.
• Gradually, add the remaining powdered sugar until smooth and consistent. You can do this with a stand mixer, food processor, or by hand.
• Separate the mixture into four separate bowls, or however many different colors you want.
• Add a small amount of food color to each bowl and stir in until the color is uniform.
• Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm enough to handle. You don't want it sticking to your hands.
• Line 2 quarter sheet pans with parchment paper and liberally dust with powdered sugar. Set aside.
• Pinch off small amounts of the dough and form into a 1-inch balls.
• Roll each ball in powdered sugar and place on prepared sheet pans.
• Gently press the tines of a fork into the top of each ball. (You can also use the bottom of a shot glass if you don't want the lines. Just dip the bottom of the glass into powdered sugar to keep it from sticking.)
• Let stand, uncovered, for at least 4 hours or until the mints are firm. If the bottoms have any moisture, flip over and let stand again until the bottoms of the mints are also firm.
• Store in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment or waxed paper, for up to 2 weeks at room temperature.
• Mints can be refrigerated or frozen if desired.