What would your sweety like for Valentine's Day? Chocolates? How about chocolate AND Peppermint! I left these 'rustic' so you could see that beautiful white peppermint center. You could easily cover the tops completely to make them look more like my Homemade 'Peanut' Butter Cups. Or you could use a pastry brush to 'paint' the rolled dough with the melted chocolate before you cut them out, and cut little squares or shapes like Andes candies with the peppermint layer showing through. Valentine hearts? Christmas stars? Easter bunnies? My goal was simple. A 'no dip' candy, because that is where all your time goes when you are making chocolate covered candy. Of course you could also dip these if that is what you prefer. then they would come out more 'patty' shape. Isn't it funny how we are so programmed to expect things to match what is manufactured and sold to us? Who says peanut butter cups need to be, well, cups and peppermint needs to be patties? I think we need to imagine more. Think outside the box.
When you have mixed all the powdered sugar you can into it, you are going to knead more into it to get enough sugar in there to keep it from being sticky.
When my girls were little my grandmother gave me a bucket full of cookie cutters. I think she liked the idea of them learning to make and bake homemade cookies. We had a lot of fun with them, and some are still my go to for different occasions. This one was the perfect size and shape to cut these out. I may never know what it was actually designed for, but I like to think maybe a small cookie with a filling. (I think it must have had a little handle way back when) It is basically the same size as a liquid medicine cup, so you could use one of those if you don't have any antique cutters laying around. These were just the right size to fit my mini muffin papers. Feel free to make them larger if you would prefer, but you will need to find a different 'mold' than the mini muffin pan papers. Or dip them.
I got 111 of these using every scrap of dough. For those of you familiar with Lord of the Rings, that's eleventy-one. (about 9 dozen) That would be a LOT of dipping! Once you get them all cut, you actually want to let them 'dry' a bit, so just let them hangout while you get your chocolate ready. They will shrink a teeny bit too.
Of course, if 111 is a bit overwhelming, you can easily package these little guys up and pop them in the freezer for another day. A ready made hostess gift or afternoon treat!
Peppermint patties, as we know them, come coated in a deep, dark chocolate. I upped the dark with the Enjoy Life dark chocolate. The Enjoy Life minis that come in the yellow bag are also dark, just not quite this dark. You can use whatever chocolate works for you, but I do recommend a dark chocolate as opposed to a milk chocolate. Otherwise they will not taste like what you are expecting. Feel free to try something else if you want to mix it up a bit though.
I thought these actually went together pretty quickly. There is no wait time between layers, so you can just put a dollop of chocolate in the bottom, then drop in a wafer and push it down. It will press the chocolate to the sides and up the cup. No spreading required!
Then dollop more chocolate on top, no need to wait for things to 'set'. I used the back of a little 'baby' spoon to press the top chocolate, and then spread to the edges. To get the rustic look, just don't spread the top layer all the way over the edges.
The most important part is to pick up the individual cups and lightly tapped the bottoms of them on the counter until the tops are smooth. This is quicker than spreading, and makes the tops smooth and glossy.
Handmade Peppermint Patties
DOUGH
Ingredients
1/2 cup sweetened condensed coconut milk*
3/4-1 tsp peppermint flavor**
1 3/4 cups confectioner sugar
1/4-1/2 cup confectioner sugar for kneading and rolling
*you can use regular sweetened condensed milk if you do not need to work with a dairy allergy. Sweetened condensed coconut milk can be found in some grocery stores and I have found it on Amazon. Read about sweetened condensed coconut milk here.
**you will find peppermint extract, peppermint flavor, and peppermint oil in stores. These are NOT the same. You can use any one of them, but you will need to adjust the amount. With peppermint oil you will only need to use a few drops, my peppermint flavor was a blend of peppermint oil and sunflower oil - so it took more than just peppermint oil. Peppermint extract may require even more. Start with a small amount and increase until you get the taste you like.
Directions
Mix sweetened condensed coconut milk with the peppermint extract
Add in the confectioner's sugar, 1/2 cup at a time until smooth
dust surface with confectioner sugar
dump dough onto surface
dust dough with more confectioner sugar
knead sugar into dough
(fold dough in half, press top half into bottom half)
continue adding confectioner sugar and kneading until dough is no longer sticky
dust surface with more confectioner sugar
roll dough 1/2 inch thick
cut dough with small cookie cutter
(a liquid measure medicine cup is a good size for the mini muffin cups)
I got about 100 mini sized cups
Melting Chocolate
2 cups Enjoy Life chocolate chips
with 1 1/2 tsp palm shortening
I used my little dipper crock pot, I recommend looking buying or borrowing one if you think you will be doing a lot of recipes with melted chocolate
you can melt the chocolate in the microwave, but you may need to keep remelting it as you go. If it gets too thick, return to the microwave for 30 seconds at 50%
In Microwave-
Don't melt more than 1/2 a cup at a time.
Add the shortening after it is melted
Don't melt more than 1/2 a cup at a time.
Add the shortening after it is melted
Melt at 50% power for one minute then stir
continue to melt at 50% for 30 second intervals, stirring every 30 seconds
The chips do not need to be microwaved until they are melted completely, If you keep stirring they will continue to melt. (Otherwise you run the risk of burning the chocolate)
Make sure your chocolate stays warm enough. You will see it thicken as you go, so you know when to reheat again.
Make sure your chocolate stays warm enough. You will see it thicken as you go, so you know when to reheat again.
To Make
90-100 parchment mini muffin papers
(there are 90 in a box, I did experiment with reusing the papers if your final candy is going naked. You can reuse once, but the size of the second candy will be a bit larger because the paper will flatten out more on the bottom when you peel it from the first patty)
(there are 90 in a box, I did experiment with reusing the papers if your final candy is going naked. You can reuse once, but the size of the second candy will be a bit larger because the paper will flatten out more on the bottom when you peel it from the first patty)
I used a 'baby' spoon (you could use a 1/2 tsp measuring spoon) to spoon the melted chocolate into the mini muffin paper
then drop in a wafer and push it down. It will press the chocolate to the sides and up the cup. No spreading required!
spoon more chocolate on top, no need to wait for things to 'set'.
use the back of the spoon to press the top chocolate, and then spread to the edges.
pick up the individual cups and lightly tapped the bottoms of them on the counter until tops are smooth
* If you are planning on leaving these in the papers, you will want to try to be neat.
*If you want to take these out of the papers neatly, chill in fridge for 5-10 minutes.
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