Creamy Homemade Peppermint Patties
My mother loves Peppermint Patties. My dad used to buy them for her every year and put them in her Christmas stocking. Big bags. Lots and lots of Peppermint Patties. For all I know, she has a stash of them somewhere, in a secret bunker hidden in that big house they have now. She may have had to have dad haul them all up here under the guise of night in his dump truck when they moved… really.
But I doubt it.
Because like I said, she loves Peppermint Patties. I, however, prefer Junior Mints. I like the gooey factor. So creamy and minty and just plain delicious. I had to try to invent something that was the best of both worlds though – bigger in size like the mini Peppermint patties, but still kind of gooey like the Junior Mints.
I succeeded.
These creamy disks of chocolate and peppermint are the epitome of holiday goodness. They hold their shape like a Peppermint Patty, but one bite and they melt into a drippy mouthful of flavor that no store bought candy can deliver.
Give them a shot!
Creamy Homemade Peppermint Patties
makes about 30
- 2 1/2 cups Confectioners Sugar
- 2 Tbsps Light Corn Syrup
- 2 Tablespoons Water
- 3/4 teaspoon Peppermint Extract
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 1/2 Tbsps Shortening
- around 1/4 cup Confectioners Sugar for kneading/Dusting
- 1 – 12 ounce bag Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the sugar, corn syrup, water, extract, shortening and a pinch of salt until combined. Remove from mixer and knead by hand on counter, incorporating more confectioner’s sugar as you go. Roll out between two pieces of parchment paper dusted with more sugar. When flattened to around 1/4 inch, place in freezer until firm, at least 2 hours.
Remove from freezer and cut into circles. I used a small round cookie cutter, about 1 inch across. Too small makes the process very tedious, and too large will just not be very functional. 1 to 1 1/2 inches is perfect.
Once all of the filling has been cut, place on baking sheet and return to freezer for another hour. Scraps can be re-rolled and cut until all filling is used.
While filling is freezing, prepare your melted chocolate. Place chips in a bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals until the chocolate is smooth and shiny.
When rounds are frozen (they won’t get solid), remove when you are ready to dip. Use a fork to dip the rounds in the melted chocolate, and place on parchment to dry. If chocolate gets difficult to work with, return it to the microwave and reheat for 10 seconds.
Allow patties to cool – and enjoy!
