With our easy Cream Cheese Mint Candy Recipe, you can enjoy these colorful, melt-in-your-mouth treats at home. Make a big batch for an upcoming holiday, wedding, or package them up for simple homemade gifts.
Feel free to get creative and use different colors and candy molds. And for more homemade peppermint candy ideas, you can also try these Peppermint Patties, Peppermint Bark, or these Chocolate Covered Peppermint Pretzels.
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Cream Cheese Mint Candy Recipe
Does anyone else have vivid childhood memories of eating cream cheese peppermint candies at a baby shower or wedding? They are colorful, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth soft, and have the most pleasant peppermint flavor. And the reason they’re so popular as wedding mints or as baby shower mints is because they are so simple to make for a crowd!
Making cream cheese mints is as simple as mixing up a quick dough made from cream cheese, powdered sugar, a little butter, peppermint extract, and your choice of food coloring. There’s no baking or boiling sugars involved.
From there, you can make little balls that are marked gently with a fork, or press them into candy molds to create all sorts of different shapes. They also make a great gift to give away to teachers, friends, or neighbors
Ingredients You Will Need
- Cream Cheese - be sure to use full fat cream cheese for these candies. If you try to use lite cream cheese, the texture won’t be quite right. Plus, if you are trying to cut calories, these are so small that it really isn’t going to make much of a difference!
- Powdered Sugar - the powdered sugar both sweetens and binds these candies together. You may need to add a little less or a little more in order to get the candy dough to be the right consistency. It should be firm enough to hold and shape, but not tough. If you find that it is just way too sticky to handle, you can add about ¼ cup more and stir.
- Butter - these have a little bit of room temperature butter just to smooth out the candies a bit, and keep them melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
- Vanilla Extract - in addition to the peppermint, I like to add a little vanilla extract to boost the flavors.
- Peppermint Extract - be sure to use peppermint extract and not mint extract!
- Gel Food Coloring - gel food coloring has less water content so is the best choice for this recipe as extra liquid can make these sticky.
How to Make Cream Cheese Mint Candy
- Mix the candy dough together. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. Use the paddle attachment and cream together until smooth.
- Add food coloring. Divide into 4 small bowls. Add a drop of desired food coloring to each bowl, then stir until the color is even throughout each of the colors.
- Scoop into balls. Use a small cookie dough scoop to scoop into about ¾" balls. Roll the balls in your hands until smooth.
- Create the patterns on top. Place the mint balls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spray a fork with coconut oil and then press them down gently to make an indentation.
- Let them dry. Let the candy dry in a cool, dark place until the cream cheese mints are set. From there, store in the fridge or freezer. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you find that your cream cheese mints are super sticky, you can stiffen them up with more powdered sugar. Add about ¼ cup at a time to be sure you don’t add too much. If they are just a little sticky, you can spray your hands with coconut oil while you are working on rolling them into little balls.
You can use any kind of small candy mold that you want to turn these mints into all sorts of cute shapes. In order to prevent the candies from sticking, you may need to add slightly more powdered sugar. Then, scoop a small piece, roll into a ball, and press into your mold. Remove from the mold gently, then place onto the baking sheet to set up.
If you are making cream cheese mints for a crowd, such as a wedding, I would plan on about 2-3 mints per person. This, of course, depends on the occasion, the ages of guests, and other personal factors that are specific to your event and group. However, planning on 2-3 should cover those who take a little more or none at all.
Storing Instructions
- Refrigerator: store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month.
- Freezer: store in freezer bags or another airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Cream Cheese Mint Candy Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Full-Fat Cream Cheese room temperature
- 8 cups Powdered Sugar or 2 pounds
- 2 Tablespoons Butter room temperature
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1½ teaspoons Peppermint Extract
- Gel Food Coloring as desired
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. Use the paddle attachment and cream together until smooth.
- Divide the cream cheese mixture into 4 small bowls. Add a drop of desired food coloring to each bowl, then stir until the color is even throughout each of the colors. Add more coloring if desired.
- Use a small cookie dough scoop to scoop into about ¾" balls. Roll the balls in your hands until smooth. (Note: if they become sticky you can spray your hands with coconut oil spray)
- Place the mint balls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spray a fork with coconut oil and then press them down gently to make an indentation.
- Let the candy dry in a cool, dark place for at least 2 hours, or until the cream cheese mints are set. From there, store in the fridge or freezer. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More Peppermint Dessert Recipes
- Peppermint Pretzels
- Chocolate Peppermint Meltaway Cookies
- Crushed Peppermint Cookies
- Dipped Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Peppermint Patties
- Peppermint Bark
- Mint Chocolate Oreos
- Mint Chocolate Fudge
- More Dessert Recipes
- More Homemade Candy Recipes
These melt-in-your-mouth cream cheese peppermint candies are easy to make at home using just a few ingredients. Make them for special occasions like weddings and baby showers, or give them away as easy homemade gifts.
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