Happy Holidays! Every year since 2014 I've challenged myself to do something creative and make something I've never done before for the holiday season.
It started when my friend Ariel shared Disneyland's recipe for Gingerbread Cookies, and I thought to myself "I've never made homemade gingerbread. I should try it!" Since then, I've been making different treats every holiday season that I've never attempted before! Things like Homemade Candy Canes (2015), Fudge (2016), Peppermint Marshmallows (2017), Figgy Pudding (2018), Eggnog (2019), A Holiday Yule Log (2020), English Toffee (2021), and Pepperidge Farm Cookies (2022). In 2023, I branched out and instead of making something to eat, I made something to wear. With some help from my mother, I learned how to sew a Santa Hat (2023), so I made a few for me and even more for the rest of the family.
This year, we're back to the tasty treats. While I was pondering what I would attempt this year, my Facebook feed must have known what I was thinking about, and showed me recipes for butter mints. Hmm. I know some butter mints are peppermint flavored, and my Dad loves (and seeks out) the soft peppermint candies.
Looking around for recipes, I found one I wanted to try at
SaltySideDish.com for Best Butter Mints.
The ingredients are pretty simple. Butter, Powdered Sugar, Vanilla, Peppermint, Salt, Half and Half, and optional food coloring. (not having peppermint oil, I substituted 1 tsp peppermint extract)
It starts by looking like this.
Gets all crumbly after a minute.
And finally goes super smooth. I had to add just a splash of half and half to make it all come together.
I separated a bit of it, then added food coloring to make a red (pink) portion as well.
Then it was time to roll out my long snakes of peppermint dough.
Which I then combined to make one cohesive rope.
Time to cut all these into pieces.
Mostly what I was going for with the look.
These need to sit out overnight to "dry". I might have sampled a few first, just to see what they tasted like. They were very very smooth. Not dry or crumbly, but creamy. The mint is also a light peppermint flavor. Not overpowering and blowing you away, but subtle and making you want a little more.
The next day, these were ready sample!
All the reviews were very positive, with everyone wanting to come get more.
The overnight drying left a very thin, slightly crunchy shell on the otherwise smooth mints. The insides were still wonderfully smooth.
Avery would go back and forth, asking her momma if she could have another one.
And the real critic?
Of course he likes them. It's a yummy holiday treat.
Nice Christmas sweater Patrick. You match the candies perfectly.
In the end, the Peppermint Butter Mints were super easy to make, tasted great, and were a hit with everyone.
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