These Cream Cheese Mints are one of the easiest candy recipes to make. They are a simple blend of cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and mint extract. These little no bake treats are not only great at Holiday parties, but also popular at baby showers, bridal showers, as wedding mints or many other special occasions.
Looking for more popular holiday desserts? Try this Saltine Cracker Toffee, this easy Peppermint Bark or this White Trash Recipe.
Table of contents
Best Candy Mints
This is one of my favorite old-fashioned Christmas treats to make. They’re easy to make, even for beginners. You can make them in less than 10 minutes total. I often make these cream cheese mints to give as gifts, because they store well in the refrigerator or freezer. I’ve given them as gifts to bus drivers, teachers, and neighbors. They are popular with both the young and old.
They are truly melt in your mouth creamy mints bursting with warm minty flavor. You can make these homemade mints in different colors for different occasions. Make bright Christmas colors or a classic baby shower mints in pastel colors for other events to match the dessert table theme.
Ingredients/shopping list
Cream Cheese – Make sure to use softened cream cheese for this recipe. Full fat cream cheese creates the best creamy consistency.
Butter – Use real butter and not margarine.
Mint Extract – I used peppermint for these to give them a perfect light mint flavor.
Powdered Sugar – The powdered sugar helps to create that velvety smooth texture for this mint recipe.
Food Coloring – Now you can use any colors of food coloring you would like. Do red and green for Christmas, pink and white for wedding showers, pastels for Easter, etc. This is the easiest holiday candy as it is so versatile.
Variations/ Substitutions
1. Candy molds can be used if you want to change the look of the mints. Maybe little leaf shapes, hearts, etc. depending on the occasion. Rubber molds or a cookie press work great for this.
2. Also feel free to change up the color of the butter mints. Use any liquid food coloring or gel food coloring. Start with a little and add more to enhance the colors even more.
3. If you don’t want to use mint flavoring, you can swap with almond extract, wintergreen, orange, raspberry, etc. Any flavor works to alter the flavor of the homemade cream cheese mints.
4. Leave out mint extract for a butter flavor. You can even add in butter extract to enhance the butter flavor.
5.I used fork tines to create the lines on top of the mints. Now you can skip this if you want, I just find it is a great addition in how it looks.
How to Make this Butter Mints Recipe
It’s the simplest mints recipe with ingredients you might already have on hand.
Step One: In a large bowl, add the softened cream cheese and butter, and blend with a hand mixer on medium speed.
Step 2: Once light and fluffy you will slowly add in powdered sugar and follow up with the peppermint oil extract.
Step 3: Divide the dough into 3 equal sections and add food coloring to each bowl. Create any colors you want. (or more sections if using more than 2 colors)
Step 4: Once mixed, cover the bowls with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 2 hours.
Step 5: Then line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a piece of wax paper and sprinkle it with powdered sugar.
Step 6: Roll out tablespoon sized balls and place them on the lined baking sheet. Dip a fork in powdered sugar and press onto the mints to create the lines on top.
Tips
- The confectioners’ sugar is going to help keep the mints from sticking together.
- Make sure your brick-style cream cheese is room temperature along with butter. Otherwise the mixture will be lumpy.
- Separate bowls for mixing up food coloring works the best. That way the colors don’t run together when you are working with the cream cheese mixture.
- Dusting the work surface with powdered sugar will keep the mint dough from sticking.
FAQ’s
These mints do need to be refrigerated. Place them in an airtight container in single layers with parchment paper between the layers. Store for up to a week in the refrigerator.
You can freeze mints if you’d like. Just place them in an airtight freezer container and freeze for 3-4 months. Place a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper between the layers to prevent the them from sticking together.
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Cream Cheese Mints
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 2 pounds powdered sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons mint extract
- ½ Cup powdered sugar for sprinkling
- Green and Red Gel Food Coloring
Instructions
- In the large mixing bowl, add softened cream cheese and butter and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. (you can also use the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment).
- Add one cup of powdered sugar and mix on low speed mixing until incorporated.
- Then add in the mint extract.
- Add in remaining powdered sugar in batches of ½ cup, blending in after each.
- Divide the dough mixture into 3 equal sections and place each in a separate bowl.
- Add a little green food coloring to one bowl and red food cooling to another bowl.
- Stir each well to blend the food coloring in evenly. (add food coloring to your desired color a little goes long way)
- Cover the bowls with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle it with a little powdered sugar.
- Scoop out dough in 1 tablespoon size scoops and roll them into a ball and place them on the cookie sheet.
- Dip a fork into the additional powdered sugar and press the tines into each ball to flatten them.
- Once all the dough has been rolled and pressed, allow the mints to sit out for at least 4 hours or until the outside is hardened. (If the bottoms are still soft flip the mints over and allow them to sit for additional time).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclosure
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.
Haley
The wording has me a bit confused, do the mints themselves get 2 or 4 cups of powders sugar in them?
Sherri
The entire 2 pounds is added in. I just add it in batches so it blends in evenly.