Chocolate PepperMints

Cold PepperMints

What is more Christmasy than cold weather?

The pure whiteness of snow of course, the twinge of a cold breath of air, the red noses, the quick, yet careful steps across slippery parking lots, I miss it all!

To replicate that sensation, just take of breath when you pop one of these in your mouth!

Super cold, super pepperminty.

Pure Peppermint

The recipe is from The Kitchn.

Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
1.5 tbsp softened butter
2 tsp peppermint extract
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cream
8 ounces (about 1-1/3 cup) dark chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp vegetable shortening

Preparation:
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper or a silpat. In a blender, cream together the sugar, butter, extracts, and cream on low speed. After the ingredients are combined, raise the speed to medium-high and beat for an additional 1-2 minutes until mixture holds together very well and is creamy, not powdery.

Using a teaspoon, roll the candy into small balls and flatten them on the wax paper or silpat with the palm of your hand into patty shapes. When done, put them in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the chopped chocolate and the shortening in the microwave or over a double boiler.

Using dipping tools or two dinner forks, dip the patties into the chocolate one by one. Drag them across the lip of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate. Return them to the wax paper or silpat, and place back in the refrigerator to set the candies. They should be ready to eat in a few hours.

And that's it! Due to the dairy ingredient, these need to be kept in the refrigerator. Layer the patties between sheets of parchment in an airtight container. They'll last for a month.

My personal notes are that I used salted butter, I'm sure not the intention of the recipe, but it's all I have and it worked just fine.

I also substituted milk for cream and actually had to double the amount to make the mint innards creamy enough to mold.

I also used milk chocolate chips (kindly brought to me from the states by my sister!) for the outer layer.

It made about 36, but I shaped my smaller than a real York's Peppermint Patty.