Peppermint Patties are one of my favorite candies. They have a creamy and intensely minty interior and firm, bitter-sweet chocolate exterior. They are perfectly balanced.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!I don’t know why, but I tend to associate Peppermint Patties (and other mint desserts) with St. Patrick’s Day. Is it the name? Is it the green color that mint desserts are often colored? Who knows. I just know that I have been craving these little mint candies for a while now and decided it was time to make a batch. And, I’m happy that I did. These Peppermint Patties were easy to make and really, really good. In fact, my family has decided this is my best candy yet.
These Peppermint Patties are made with whole ingredients, versus the store bought varieties that are often laden with unsavory ingredients such as polyglycerol polyricinoleate (or PGPR), invert sugars and artificial flavors. Who wants that? Instead, I use shredded coconut, coconut cream and pure mint extract to achieve that creamy, minty interior and high-quality, bitter-sweet chocolate for the exterior. These Peppermint Patties can easily be made into a vegan candy by using vegan chocolate, rather than milk chocolate. So, it’s candy time for everyone! Grab your ingredients and let’s ring in Saint Patrick’s Day with a homemade batch of Peppermint Patties. I think you will love them as much as I do.
To make these candies, add four cups of shredded sweetened coconut flakes to a processor and chop the coconut flakes until very fine, about 5 minutes. Next, add ⅔ cup of coconut cream from the top of a can of full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk (I use Thai Kitchen), leaving the water behind. Save the coconut water for making my Green Smoothie recipe later on. To the food processor, also add ½ cup of powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of pure mint extract and 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract. Process the mixture until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Divide the mint mixture into half and spoon each half onto a cookie sheet that has been lined with wax paper. Cover the top of the mint batter with another piece of wax paper and gently roll the mixture out into rectangles that are about ¼ of an inch thick. Remove the top piece of wax paper and place the cookie sheets into the freezer for about 20 minutes to harden. If your freezer is not big enough for both cookie sheets (mine isn’t), freeze one sheet at a time. The other sheet will be fine sitting on the counter until it’s ready to be rotated into the freezer.
While the mint batter is in the freezer, melt 1 ½ bags of high-quality bittersweet chocolate chips with 3 teaspoons of coconut oil, using a microwave or double-boiler until smooth and shiny. When the mint mixture has firmed, pull the cookie sheet out of the freezer (replace it with the other cookie sheet!) and, using a small biscuit cutter, cut the mixture into circles.
Place each mint disk onto a fork and dip it into the melted chocolate, spooning additional chocolate over the top of the mint so that it is completely coated. Let the excess chocolate drip off of the mint disk, then place it onto an empty cookie sheet that has been lined with wax paper.
Dust each pattie with colored sugar, if desired. Repeat until all disks have been coated in chocolate, then pop the cookie sheet back into the freezer and allow the candies to harden completely. Store the candies in the refrigerator and enjoy at your leisure. This recipe makes 35-40 candies.
Peppermint Patties
Ingredients
- 4 cups shredded, sweetened coconut
- ⅔ cup coconut cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp pure peppermint extract
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ bags (or 15 ounces) of bittersweet chocolate chips
- 3 tsp coconut oil
Instructions
- Using a food processor, finely chop the shredded sweetened coconut until very fine, about 5 minutes.
- Add coconut cream, powdered sugar and the peppermint and vanilla extracts to the coconut and process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Divide the mint mixture into half and place each half onto a cookie sheet that has been lined with wax paper. Top each layer with an additional piece of wax paper and roll the mint dough out into rectangles, about ¼ inch thick.
- Remove the top sheet of wax paper and place the cookie sheets into the freezer to allow the mint mixture to firm, about 20 minutes.
- While the mint mixture is in the freezer, melt the chocolate chips with the coconut oil until smooth and shiny.
- Working in batches, take one pan of mint mixture out of the freezer and cut the dough into circles, using a small biscuit cutter. Using a fork, dip each mint disk into the melted chocolate coating it completely. Place the coated mints onto an empty cookie sheet that has been lined with wax paper. Dust the candies with colored sugar, if desired. Repeat until all mint disks have been coated in chocolate, then return the candies to the freezer to harden completely.
- Store the chocolates in the refrigerator and enjoy at your leisure. This recipe makes 35-40 candies.
