Christmas Candy Recipes: Homemade Peppermint Patties
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This recipe makes the PERFECT peppermint patty; you'll never need to buy them at the store again. This is an easy to follow recipe great for new candy makers or for kids to help out. These can be made long before the holidays and frozen. You can roll out the dough to cut with holiday cutters or special shapes. You really can't go wrong.
Cook Time
Prep time: 2 hours 15 min
Ready in: 2 hours 15 min
Yields: 3 dozen 1" circle patties
Ingredients
- 6 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 2 1/4 tsp peppermint extract, NOT PEPPERMINT OIL
- 4-5 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2-3 TBSP shortening
- Using an electric mixer, combine the milk and the peppermint extract. Gradually add 4 cups of confectioners sugar--I did about a 1/2 cup at a time. A thick dough should form; add additional sugar until the dough is no longer sticky and has a clay-like texture.
- Roll out large sheets of waxed paper on a clean work surface. Dust your hands with a little sugar and pinch off small pieces of dough and roll into 1" balls. Press the balls flat either with your fingers or I used the smooth bottom of a drinking glass. You want the patties to be at least 1/4" thick. If they're too thin, they'll fall apart in the chocolate stage.
- Allow the patties to dry on the counter for at least 2 hours. I flipped them over after 1 hour to allow equal drying time on both sides. While the patties are drying, put a couple of cookie sheets in your refrigerator to chill.
- After the patties have dried, melt your chocolate. I used a small skillet to hold water and then placed a small sauce pan in the water bath over low heat. Add the chocolate chips and 2 tbsp of shortening to the sauce pan, be careful not to get water in the mix. Stir until the chocolate is very smooth. You want the chocolate to be a little thin so it coats smoothly. Add more shortening if your chocolate seems too thick.
- I dropped a single patty into the chocolate and quickly flipped it over with a fork then pulled it out and shook off the excess chocolate. Put fresh waxed paper on a chilled cookie sheet and place your dipped patties on to the paper. Once the sheet is covered, put the coated patties in the fridge and take out the other chilled sheet. You'll rotate waxed paper & chilled cookie sheets until all of your patties are coated. I allowed each batch to chill in the fridge for the 10-15 minutes it took to coat the next batch. I put them all on the counter as I switched out pans. I cut the waxed paper to keep the patties in groups of 4 and stacked them in storage boxes to keep in the freezer.
- Do not add water or milk to the chocolate--just use shortening to help smooth it out if it gets clumpy. I also dipped some cookies and marshmallows in the leftover chocolate. :)
