FOOD TIP OF THE DAY: Peppermint Patties
These are from the Wisconsin Cheeseman, but your own homemade peppermint patties will be a much bigger hit. |
If you love peppermint patties, making them at home is easy. Combine 1 pound confectioner’s sugar, 3 tablespoons softened butter, 3 teaspoons peppermint extract and 1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract. Mix in 1/4 cup evaporated milk. Roll into 1-inch balls, place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet and chill for 20 minutes. Next, flatten the balls with the bottom of a glass to 1/4″ thick, so they look like peppermint patties. Now prepare the chocolate coating in a double boiler: 12 ounces of good-quality semisweet chocolate (you can use chocolate morsels, but the key is to get the best-tasting chocolate you can find, like Guittard or Valrhona) with 2 tablespoons shortening (not butter, or it won’t cling to the center). Dip the patties and place them back onto the waxed paper to harden. | |
If you want to go all-out, you can decorate the tops of the patties with candied mint leaves: Dip tiny leaves or cut pieces of leaf and crystallize in sugar syrup. The recipe makes about 5 dozen peppermint patties. Be sure to make extra for friends and family—these are so good, you’ll want to eat the whole batch. If you want to let others make the candy, take a look at the Candy Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine. |