Sunday, December 30, 2012

Homemade Peppermint Patties


As many of you know, sometimes it is hard to find a treat or snack from your home country for a reasonable price.  My husband loves peppermint patties, and the only time he really gets them anymore are from my mom on Christmas.  While browsing Pinterest (for the billionth time), I came across a recipe for a homemade version.  I did try it, but although I liked the idea, there was something not quite right for us, so I tried again, and we loved these.  My super picky eater also loved them..and that is saying a lot because he barely eats anything.

The ingredients are simple

380 g of powdered sugar
90 g of plain cream cheese
1/4 - 1/2 tsp peppermint extract (depending on your love of the flavor)
500 g (or a bit more) of melting chocolate..either the chips or the block
20-30 g powdered sugar, reserved

You will need something to melt the chocolate in. A double boiler, a microwave, a fondue pot...just don`t get any water in with the melting chocolate or it will not work. 

Leave the cream cheese out for about a half hour before starting to soften it. Put it in a bowl and add a little of the sugar. Mix and continue to add.  When you get to 350 g of sugar added, start feeling the texture.  You do not want it to be super sticky, nor do you want it to be super hard.  I was actually able to roll the mixture in my hands without creating a sticky mess.  

Once you have reached the desired consistency, add the peppermint. mix well to incorporate it throughout the mixture. 

The blog post I looked at, said that you could only do about 3 or 4 at a time and that you needed to keep the bowl covered constantly. I did not have any trouble with this.  I ended up making 40 without covering. Of course, she was making indentations in the `patty`and I was not, so that may be the reason. In any case, if you find things drying out, cover your extra mixture with a damp towel. 

Get a hard surface that will fit in the fridge and put some baking paper (parchment paper) on top. Put your dollops of patty mixture on top so they don`t stick. Using your reserved powdered sugar, put it in a bowl and get a small flat bottomed glass.  Dip the glass in the sugar and lightly press down. You want it to be about 1/4 of an inch thick. Any thinner and it will deform while adding the chocolate. 

If you roll the patty mixture into a ball first, you will have a more round circle at the end. I used a teaspoon like for cookies. 



Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for at least 2 hours. More is fine. 

Melt your chocolate


With a fork, or small spatula, drop the patty in the melted chocolate and then flip it to coat. Place on a clean sheet of parchment paper.  When done, put back in the fridge to harden.  You need to coat the patties quickly or they will deform. 



And there you have it, super easy peppermint patties.  I think I made 40, but I am not sure as a few of them went `missing`before counting time. :-)



If you would like to check out the other recipe, here is the link

Basically, once you have put your patties on the paper, using the back of a spoon or finger, dipped in sugar, press gently to make a depression.  Refrigerate for a few hours and then melt your chocolate.  Using a spoon, or bag with the corner snipped off, fill the depressions with chocolate and then refrigerate once again.  

afoodave or americanmarket should have peppermint extract if you do not have any. Otherwise, it is very simple to make your own...you just need vodka and fresh peppermint (and a bit of time, so start now to have it for later!)

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