Sweet cream cheese mints are an easy, old-fashioned treat that melts in your mouth! Perfect for Christmas, weddings and baby showers, these pretty mints are soft in the middle with the perfect sweet creamy peppermint flavor.
Ingredients
8ouncescream cheesesoftened
¼cupbuttersoftened, salted is ok
8cupspowdered sugardivided, 2 pound bag plus an extra half a cup
1teaspoonmint extractor peppermint extract
gel food coloringI used green and red
Instructions
Combine softened cream cheese and softened butter in a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer.
Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar and mint extract, then continue mixing until smooth.
Gradually mix in the powdered sugar 1 to 2 cups at a time, mixing well in between each cup to make sure the cream cheese, butter, and sugar mixture are well blended. The mixture will get a little thicker with each cup of powdered sugar until a dough forms.
Cut the dough into three pieces that are about equal size and place in bowls.
With a toothpick, add the green gel food coloring to one portion of the dough, and the red gel food coloring to the second bowl. Stir in the colors well with a spoon, creating one green, one red and one white dough. Kneading the dough by folding the dough in can help mix the color more evenly, but be careful as the food coloring can stain hands and the work surface.
Cover each of the bowls with saran wrap tightly and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sprinkle the parchment paper lightly with powdered sugar.
Scoop out dough in 1 tablespoon scoops and roll into a ball, then add to the baking sheet. Dip the ends of a fork into the powdered sugar. Press the fork into the ball to flatten and create a lined pattern. Repeat until all the dough is rolled and flattened.
You can eat the mints now, but they will still be soft. Allow the mints to dry on the baking sheet for about four hours, or until the outside hardens. If the bottom of the mints are still soft, flip them over and allow them to sit for additional time until dry. Then enjoy!
Notes
Powdered Sugar Amounts And Reducing Sugar
I know this recipe seems like it uses a lot of powdered sugar, but I wouldn't lower the amount. Remember the recipe makes quite a few mints. If you try to reduce the amount of powdered sugar, the dough will not hold its shape. Powdered sugar is much more light and fluffy than granulated sugar as powdered sugar is ground much more finely. About 1 cup of granulated sugar equals about 1 3/4 cup of powdered sugar.