Showing posts with label Peppermint Patties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peppermint Patties. Show all posts

Monday, December 11, 2017

Excruciatingly Easy Peppermint Patties



Number one son came by today to help me with a few things, and he was immediately drawn to the cute container full of chocolate candies, and, let's face it, who wouldn't be? He popped one into his mouth and exclaimed that they were really good. I thanked him, and told him that I had made them. His eyes widened; he couldn't believe that I had made something that looked so professional, and was so delicious. Your friends and family are going to feel the same. Make these. And then give them away as quickly as you can before you eat them all yourself. Yep, they are that good.

This week I am partnering with Eagle, making great use of one of my favorite products, Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk, wherein I hope to provide you, each day, with enough ideas to allow you to create a lavish and delicious dessert buffet for your holiday gathering, whatever that might be.

We're going to start off with a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, peppermint patties. I first made peppermint patties years ago. It was a huge pain. I used a recipe from a high-end gourmet magazine, and it was one heck of a lot of work. It was frantic, trying to keep the filling from drying out, having to keep it covered with a damp cloth, spray it periodically with a mist of water, and knead it off and on. I vowed right then and there that I would never make them again. Thanks to the people at Borden, there is a much easier way to do it. Thanks to my adaptation of their recipe, it is child’s play!
Excruciatingly Easy Peppermint Patties
Adapted from a recipe on eaglebrand.com

1 (14-ounce) can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon peppermint extract
6 cups confectioners’ sugar, plus additional for kneading
Green or red food coloring, if desired
 1 (12-ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon Crisco or coconut oil

In the work bowl of a stand mixer combine sweetened condensed milk, peppermint extract, and food coloring (if desired). Add 6 cups of confectioners' sugar, and beat on low speed until smooth and well blended. Turn mixture out onto a work surface dusted with powdered sugar.

Knead to lightly form a smooth ball. Roll out dough on a confectioners’ sugar-dusted work surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 1½-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out as many rounds as you can from the dough; discard scraps.

Allow medallions to dry for one and a half hours, turn over and let dry an additional hour.

In a double boiler over simmering water, melt together chocolate chips and Crisco or coconut oil, stirring until smooth. Dip each pattie into the chocolate mixture, turning to coat, and place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet to dry. At this point you can either sprinkle the tops with crushed peppermint candy, or allow them to dry to later be decorated with green or red candy melts as I have done here.

These taste like the real thing, everyone will love them. This recipe makes approximately 60.


 Disclaimer: I received compensation from Eagle Brand Milk to create this post.

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Sunday, December 14, 2014

Peppermint Patties

I was intrigued by this recipe from the moment I laid eyes on it while mindlessly flipping through an issue of Saveur Magazine. I like York Peppermint Patties (Boy, do I!), but had no real clue as to how they were made, so in order to discover this I had to try making them myself. In addition to being a bit challenged in the candy-making area, I have no fondant making experience, so didn't quite know what to expect when I started.

I waited until the house was empty before beginning (as I tend to do when experimenting) in order to avoid the rather amused and pithy remarks that often come from the mouth of Mr. O-P when he sees a genius at work. As I'd allowed an entire evening to make these I was quite surprised that it took relatively little time. I followed the directions to the letter and poured the hot mixture onto the marble slabs. What a pile of glop! Good tasting, minty-fresh glop, but glop nonetheless. How on earth, I asked myself (Yes, I often talk to myself while cooking.), could this turn into anything other than goo (one step up from glop)? But I continued on, sliding it back and forth on the slabs with the only two heat-proof spatulas I had in the house -- pancake turners.

Absolutely NOTHING changed for quite some time, all the while I was thinking of various methods of disposal that would neither point a finger at me nor what I'd been doing. The peppermint aroma was delightful, but strong, and a clever nose could sniff out my failure if it ended up in someplace as obvious as the kitchen garbage. But then, a miracle occurred, dough was forming! Excitedly I continued by gathering the mixture into a ball and kneading it. It was very oily from the butter and I thought, once again, that I'd failed, but then all of a sudden I was there. Fondant! It was like magic! One minute I had goo, the next minute fondant, and such a firm fondant that I had to quickly reach for the spray bottle to keep it moist.

It was fascinating to see what I'd perceived as a failed mess turn into peppermint patties. In fact, once this process began I really needed help because it was drying out faster than I could shape it into patties (be advised). It was supposed to make 36, but I ended up with 20 rather large ones, partially due to the speed at which the fondant was hardening and my enormous zeal to get them formed and shaped before the mixture dried beyond use.

Once the patties were formed, melting the chocolate and dipping them was a breeze. The fondant is sweet, rich, and peppermint-y, so certainly you wouldn't want to indulge in more than one, but they are very good, and your family and friends will be dazzled by your skills. I put one atop a small doily at each place setting for a holiday dinner party one evening and they were quite the topic of conversation. Can you say, 
“Proud?”

If you're the intrepid (and by this I mean foolish) cook that I am, here's the recipe. Give it a try and report back. I'd love to know your experience.

Peppermint Patties
The recipe for this fondant-centered candy is based on one in The Candy Cookbook by Mildred Brand (Ideals, 1979).

2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. peppermint oil
6 drops green food coloring
2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, melted in a bowl

1. Stir together sugar, cream, milk, butter, and cream of tartar in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, without stirring; reduce heat to medium. Attach a candy thermometer to inside edge of pot; cook, without stirring, until it registers 236°F (soft-ball stage), 12-14 minutes.

2. Pour sugar mixture onto a marble slab. Using 2 heatproof spatulas, scrape mixture back and forth to make a fondant, moving it across the marble quickly until it becomes thick and just cool enough to touch, 3-4 minutes. Toward the end, completely work in the oil and coloring.

3. Gather fondant into a ball; knead until it resembles smooth dough, 3-4 minutes. (If it becomes powdery, work in a few drops of water.) Shape fondant into thirty-six 1 1/2"-wide disks, each about 1/3" thick. (Keep unshaped fondant covered while you work.)

4. Working with one fondant disk at a time, dip them into chocolate using a fork; let excess drip off. Transfer to a wax paper-lined sheet pan. Let set in a cool spot. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in a cool spot for up to a week.

Makes 3 dozen.

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