bonus that they keep for more than a week in the refrigerator. if you can keep your husband out of them.
creamy mints
30 minutes, makes about 3 dozen candies
update 12.28.2011 - in response to the overwhelming number of questions in the comments for these, here are a list of responses to frequently asked questions. please read through them before making the mints. good luck!
storage. mints will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4+ weeks.
cream cheese amount. three tablespoons is enough to keep the mixture together. it will be really stiff, which is exactly what you want so the mints keep their shape at room temperature.
reduced fat vs regular cream cheese. regular cream cheese makes the mixture a bit softer and will require more powdered sugar to get a stiff mint.
crumbly mints. if your mixture starts to become too dry and crumbly, and you have cream cheese left, make sure it's nice and soft and add a little bit at a time (a teaspoon or tablespoon, depending on how dry it is). make sure it's mixed in really evenly and add it a little at a time until you have the right consistency. if you're all out of cream cheese, try water. add a very small amount (no more than a teaspoon) at a time, mix really well, until you have the right consistency.
too wet mints. if your mixture is too wet, add more sugar, a little bit at a time.
storage. mints will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4+ weeks.
cream cheese amount. three tablespoons is enough to keep the mixture together. it will be really stiff, which is exactly what you want so the mints keep their shape at room temperature.
reduced fat vs regular cream cheese. regular cream cheese makes the mixture a bit softer and will require more powdered sugar to get a stiff mint.
crumbly mints. if your mixture starts to become too dry and crumbly, and you have cream cheese left, make sure it's nice and soft and add a little bit at a time (a teaspoon or tablespoon, depending on how dry it is). make sure it's mixed in really evenly and add it a little at a time until you have the right consistency. if you're all out of cream cheese, try water. add a very small amount (no more than a teaspoon) at a time, mix really well, until you have the right consistency.
too wet mints. if your mixture is too wet, add more sugar, a little bit at a time.
3 tablespoons reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 teaspoon mint extract
food coloring (optional) - i used a few drops of yellow to get a very soft butter color
4 to 4 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
about 1/4 cup superfine or granulated sugar
- beat the cream cheese until soft and fluffy, about two minutes. add the mint and food coloring, if using, and mix until blended.
- add the confectioners sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until it forms a stiff mixture.
- form balls with about 1/2 teaspoon of the mixture. roll in the superfine sugar and flatten with your thumb or tines of a fork. store in the refrigerator.
I love it when they have these things at weddings and such. So good and so addicting!
ReplyDeleteThese look delicious! Is three tablespoons of cream cheese really enough to hold all that powdered sugar together?
ReplyDeleteoh man, these bring back memories of my childhood. i'll have to make them soon!
ReplyDeleteWow. I've never seen these before. And so simple too! Thanks for sharing. They look absolutely beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYum, how long can I store them?
ReplyDeletei made a batch last year for christmas,kept them in the refrigerator in a sealed plastic food storage container, and they lasted 4+ weeks. i finally threw away the few that were left...not because they were bad, but because we were sick of eating them!
ReplyDeleteand yes, three tablespoons of cream cheese is really enough to hold all that sugar. the mixture will be really really stiff, which is good, since the mints need to keep their shape at room temp.
ReplyDeleteI had some toy molds the kids used with play dough. They had a baby rattle, a bow, a rose...and I boiled it and made all kinds for showers using this ratio and a drop or three of food coloring.
DeleteAlso good: Make the balls, freeze, dip in chocolate, freeze, then eat.
ReplyDeleteUmmm, yum!! So easy, yet so delicious! I bet they would be over the top dipped in chocolate!
ReplyDeleteYUM! Those look so great, and SO easy!!!
ReplyDeleteThese are so pretty and so versatile! I love mints at showers. I'd like to invite you to join my linky party on A Well-Seasoned Life's Sweet Indulgences Sunday.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wellseasonedlife.com/2011/06/sweet-indulgences-sunday-7.html
I love how simple they are to put together ... I have a ton of family birthdays coming up and I'm dying to take these to one of them!!!
ReplyDeleteLovely! Must try.
ReplyDeleteJust popped over from Sweets for Saturday...great idea for the start of dainty summer parties! Great blog too - will be back! :)
ReplyDeleteCame over after finding you on pintrest and I'm so glad I did! We seem to be similar cooks. ~Merrilee
ReplyDeleteI ended up using 3 oz. of cream cheese (6Tbs) instead of 3 Tbs, but I loved them and they turned out great.
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to press this into rubber molds of wedding bells or baby shoes etc. Any idea where to find these molds online?
ReplyDeleteI have seen molds in Michaels & Joanns and I bet Amazon has some also. I don't know of any specialty stores that would sell them.
ReplyDeleteAC Moore has them too...can't wait to try these!
ReplyDeletemy daughter and I made these for gifts about 30 years ago (in pink) and lost the recipe thanks so much for posting this - I must make some.
ReplyDeleteMy Grandmother used to make these by the hundreds for local weddings when I was a child. As I got older, I'd help her. We'd do them in rose shapes a lot for weddings. I haven't made these in ages but after seeing the recipe again, I suddenly want to!
ReplyDeletenever seen these ! But looks so dreamy. Going to try for sure !
ReplyDeleteI found this on Pinterest and just remembered making them in Home Economics class in school. Loved them! Need to make them again! Thx!
ReplyDeleteJust tried this and my mixture was very crumbly. It didn't get as stiff as it was supposed to but the more sugar I put in the more crumbly it got. The taste is amazing but please help me with the "dough" part!!!
ReplyDeleteChris & Anna (and anyone else with crumbly mints) - if your mixture starts to become too dry and crumbly, and you have cream cheese left, make sure it's nice and soft and add a little bit at a time (a teaspoon or tablespoon, depending on how dry it is). make sure it's mixed in really evenly and add it a little at a time until you have the right consistency. if you're all out of cream cheese, try water. add a very small amount (no more than a teaspoon) at a time, mix really well, until you have the right consistency.
ReplyDeleteif your mixture is too wet, add more sugar, a little bit at a time.
Thank you so much! My husband is a HUGE mint fan and loved these, especially dipped in chocolate! Looking forward to trying your suggestions this weekend to make more!
ReplyDeleteThese are perfect! Remind me of the ones my family always had at the holidays, though we bought them at candy shops and now can't find them. These will be a surprise for my mom and sister!
ReplyDeleteHELP!!! I'm having trouble...is it supposed to look like crumbly balls? I have been adding and mixing and still have about 1 cup of confectioners sugar left to add and it keeps getting crumbly-er
ReplyDeleteam I doing it right>?
mimartin - did they come out ok?!? it is a lot of sugar, and unless it's too dry, looks really crumbly at first. keep mixing and it should come together. if it doesn't, try adding a bit more cream cheese or water to hold the mixture together.
ReplyDeleteDo you use a peppermint extract? I've heard there are a couple different kinds, and I have peppermint in my cupboard.
ReplyDeleteOK....We made them in Home Ec, too, so I was glad to refind this on pintrest. Now that I've made a normal batch (no choco to dip them in {sad}) I'm going to try some in Rum, then Root Beer dipped in White Chocolate, Cherry dipped in Dark Chocolate, and Anise (L.O.V.E licorice) I can totally see all kinds of things to do with this recipe! :-) THANK YOU!
ReplyDeleteEmily.....You can use whichever kind of mint you prefer. The instructions given are for extract, however, if you are using candy/flavoring OIL, then use only about 1/3 the amount.
ReplyDeleteI used a strawberry gel flavor instead of the mint extract, and dipped them in candy melts chocolate. Yum!
ReplyDeleteI also had trouble- i'm going to take a jump and blame the low humidity in my house as opposed to the recipe. :) i was only able to get 2.5 cups of powdered sugar into 3 TBS of cream cheese. what i ended up with was so dry and crumbly that i added another spoonful of creamcheese and then eventually sprinkled some water in there.
ReplyDeletemy question- what should the resulting mix look like? should it get crumbly and then start sticking back together (which is finally what happened when i put the water in there) or should it blend more into a smooth 'batter' that you can scoop and roll?
my stuff was falling apart, i ended up just pressing it into shapes between my palms/fingers. every time i tried to roll it into a ball it fell apart. It's definitely user error in my case, i'm sure!! i just am not sure what i'm doing wrong.
hi sarah - the mixture should be like a very stiff batter, definitely able to roll into a ball without falling apart.
ReplyDeletei've definitely noticed a difference in the texture between using low fat cream cheese and regular cream cheese. when i made these with regular cream cheese, they were a bit dry and i had to add water. low fat cream cheese was perfect.
i think it's time for me to update the recipe with all these tips!
I just tried these, and I couldn't eat them. WAAAYYY too sweet! I guess my sweet tooth isn't strong enough.
ReplyDeleteGreat recipe! I made these last night.
ReplyDeleteQuestion, should they be softer/creamy or more of a solid/creamy?
I thought they were more like the butter aka after dinner mints you see that are pink, green, yellow, and white. But mine are soft. They've been in the fridge the whole time.
can you add whatever color to them that you want them to be?
ReplyDeleteSarah - they should be more solid/creamy. i've noticed if you use regular cream cheese, instead of low fat, they tend to be softer. and if you used low far and they're still soft, and a little bit more sugar. that should stiffen them up.
ReplyDeleteanonymous - yes, you can add whatever food coloring to them to make the color you want.
I found this mixture to be too crumbly. I had a hard time rolling them they just fell apart. Does anyone have a solution to this?
ReplyDeleteWe just made these with orange extract and orange food coloring, and WOW!!!! They taste like orange creamsicles!!!!
ReplyDeleteJust made these - so good! I ended up having to use 6 tablespoons of cream cheese too. The 3 tablespoons just would not form the dough. Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteI made these in 3 flavors- mint, strawberry, and almond; each flavor more nasty than the last. I ate these as a kid and loved them! Maybe it is just this recipe or I did something wrong because as pretty as they looked, they tasted horrid.
ReplyDeleteI did these with my daughter according to the recipe & they fell apart. It did not appear that there was enough cream cheese in the recipe. I did mix till fluffy but when we added the confectioners sugar, they just didn't mix into anything... very disappointed. :(
ReplyDeletegreat recipe, i just made it and they were delicious... i used more cream cheese and less powdered sugar btw.... AND you HAVE TO use a electric mixer im pretty sure this recipe would be close to impossible when mixxing by hand
ReplyDeleteI want to use lemon instead mint and call it a lemon melt
ReplyDeleteHas anyone tried using a spritz cookie press to shape these?
ReplyDeleteThis is a recipe in the KitchenAid booklet that comes with the mixer, so possibly it's harder to get the correct consistency using a hand beater.
ReplyDeleteMade these today and they turned out great!!
ReplyDeletebeen making these for years, yellow w/ lemon, red w/ raspberry, green w/ almond or peppermint,
ReplyDelete