Soft Christmas Peppermints (Easy Butter Mints) Recipe
These Soft Christmas Peppermints are easy-to-make butter mints perfect for holiday gifting and celebrations. With a smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture and festive red and white swirls, these candies combine buttery richness with refreshing peppermint flavor in colorful twisted ropes.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes plus 24 hours drying time
- Yield: Approximately 100 servings
- Category: Candy
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract (adjust to taste)
- Red coloring gel (or food coloring)
Instructions
- Prepare Work Surface: Lay out parchment paper, waxed paper, or a baking mat to use as your workspace; have extra powdered sugar nearby for dusting while rolling the dough.
- Beat Butter: Place room temperature butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until it becomes light and fluffy, which helps create a smooth candy base.
- Add Ingredients: Incorporate heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and peppermint extract into the butter. Mix thoroughly until you achieve a firm dough consistency.
- Divide and Color Dough: Split the dough into two portions. Color about one-quarter of it with red coloring gel, leaving the remaining three-quarters plain white. Shape each portion into balls and set aside.
- Form Twists: Roll smaller ropes of red dough alongside thicker ropes of white dough. Twist the two ropes carefully together to create a festive spiral effect.
- Roll and Smooth: Pinch off smaller sections of the twisted rope and roll them between your palms to smooth and shape the candies evenly.
- Dry the Candy: Place the twisted ropes on wax paper and allow them to dry for about 1 to 2 hours until they’re less sticky and firm enough to cut.
- Cut Candy Pieces: Using a pizza cutter, slice the dried ropes into bite-sized peppermint pieces. Waiting for the candy to dry reduces stickiness and eases cutting.
- Final Drying: Leave the cut pieces out for 24 hours to complete the drying process, ensuring they firm up properly.
- Store the Candy: After drying, store the peppermint candies in an airtight container. Refrigeration is optional but not required.
Notes
- Use room temperature butter for easy mixing and fluffy texture.
- Adjust the peppermint extract amount to your preference for stronger or milder mint flavor.
- Extra powdered sugar helps prevent sticking while rolling the dough.
- The candies firm up better after drying for 24 hours, so patience improves texture.
- Red coloring gel provides vibrant color without affecting texture; adjust color intensity as desired.
- These mints keep well at room temperature and do not need refrigeration unless preferred.
