Cream Cheese Mints
Everyone loves little seasonal treats that brighten the day, especially these Cream Cheese Mints that are so sweet and fun to make!
Sweet and so simple to make, these Cream Cheese Mints are the ideal, festive treat to whip up and make your family’s day. Cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, peppermint, and food coloring are the five simple ingredients you need for this cheerful confection!
Gleeful Snacking
If you love food as I do, then you know what gleeful snacking is. When your eyes light up at the sight of a certain SWEET treat on the table, something that fits the occasion so perfectly and something you can’t wait to eat, well, that’s gleeful snacking. You’re just so happy to see it and eat it! Maybe I love food a little too much and making up fun ways to describe eating- I’m ok with that. Cream cheese mints are the height of gleeful snacking. Because you can use whatever food coloring you like, you can customize the mints for holidays and special occasions, like pastel for Easter or a baby shower and red and green for Christmas. Whatever colors you like will make these Cream Cheese Mints the best gleeful snacking!
Other Recipes to Serve with Cream Cheese Mints
- Looking for another delicious and fun to make mint treat to add to the dessert table? Try these scrumptious mint and chocolate Mint Balls!
- Easter Bunny Chow will disappear as fast as your little bunnies can eat it- you may not get any!
Ingredients
Refrigerated Items: You will need softened cream cheese and butter.
Pantry Items: You will need quite a bit of powdered sugar, a little peppermint oil (or extract), and your choice of food coloring.
How to Make Cream Cheese Mints
STEP ONE: Using a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, combine the cream cheese, butter, and peppermint oil. (Peppermint oil is pretty strong, which is why you only need such a small amount. If you use peppermint extract instead, you need 1/2 teaspoon.) Add 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time to the bowl, and until “dough” forms. You don’t want the mixture to be sticky, so add a little powdered sugar as needed and mix until it is no longer sticky.
STEP TWO: When the dough is the right consistency, divide it into bowls, and add the food coloring. Knead in the color and check again to make sure the dough is not sticky, adding more powdered sugar again if needed.
STEP THREE: Roll small pieces of the mix into little balls and place them on parchment paper. Flatten the balls with a fork and allow them to dry on the parchment paper before refrigerating or freezing the mints.
Tips for Success
- The dough will dry out quickly so it is best to press each ball as you go, instead of rolling all of the balls and then pressing. If the dough gets too dry before pressing it will form small cracks rather than looking smooth when you press them. Cover the dough between batches to keep it moist and if the dough does start to dry out, simply knead it with your hands- the warmth will soften it again.
- You want your cream cheese and butter to just be soft and not melted for best mixing and for avoiding any lumps.
- You can change out the food coloring to match any holiday. I liekt o amke these mints for Easter and Christmas, but you could do red, white & blue for the 4th of July or even green, orange, and purple for Halloween.
- Any small piece of dough not big enough for an entire mint can be smushed together until swirled and then made into mints. They look like tie-dye mints.
Do I have to Use Peppermint?
Peppermint is a very popular flavor but you can use any flavor that you love! Using flavored extracts like lemon which would also be amazing for Easter, Root Beer for Halloween, or almond because it’s yummy, are all great alternatives!
Start by adding a small amount of the extract, 1/4 teaspoon, and testing the flavor of the dough. Add a little more at a time until you are happy with the taste and remember to add some more powdered sugar if the dough gets too sticky.
Can Cream Cheese Mints be Left Out?
Initially, the Cream Cheese Mints need to be left out for about 2 hours to set up before they can be served. After that, they should be refrigerated or frozen for storing. The mints can be left out for about 4 hours when you’re serving them. If the Cream Cheese Mints are frozen in an airtight container, they will last for 10-12 months.
Need More Sweet Snack Inspiration?
- Easter Crock Pot Candy
- Candy Corn Bark
- Crock Pot Salty Sweet Candy
- Bunny Munch Mix
- Strawberry Cheesecake Dip
Cream Cheese Mints
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 8-9 cups powdered sugar (32-36 ounces)
- 4 drops peppermint oil (see note)
- Food coloring (see note)
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer (or hand mixer in a large bowl) combine cream cheese, butter, and peppermint oil on medium speed until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time with the mixer on low speed. After 8 cups of powdered sugar have been added, check the consistency. It should feel like dough and not be sticky.
- If the mixture is still sticky, gradually add up to 1 more cup of powdered sugar until little balls can be easily formed.
- If you want to color the mints, divided the dough evenly by the number of colors you want to use. Add 1-3 drops of food coloring to each ball of dough and knead until colored. Add more food coloring until your desired shade is reached. If the dough becomes sticky, add 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time as needed.
- Roll the dough into little balls and set them on parchment paper. Cover the remaining dough while you roll pieces. If it becomes too dry, knead with your hands until smooth.
- Use a fork to flatten the dough right after rolling the ball. This will help prevent the mints from having a cracked surface.
- Allow the mints to dry on parchment paper for about 2 hours before freezing or refrigerating in an airtight container.
