Homemade Peppermint Patty Candy

If you love the classic combination of peppermint and chocolate, this Homemade Peppermint Patty Candy recipe is for you! These refreshing dark chocolate coated sweets also make great food gifts for friends, family, and teachers during the holiday season.

Mint is one of my favourite fresh herbs and I grow an abundance of it in my summer herb garden. It’s a refreshing flavour in many recipes from cocktails like Strawberry Mojitos and Moscow Mules to a Simple Watermelon Feta Salad. However, during the holidays, my fresh mint leaves are under a foot of snow and it’s time to bring out the peppermint extract.

Homemade Peppermint Patty Candy

If you love Andes candies, Junior Mints, After Eights, or York Peppermint Patties candy you will love this peppermint patty recipe. Though these homemade candies may look difficult to make, they are surprisingly simple and take almost no time at all to make at home.

Like a York Peppermint Patty, these minty delights feature a soft minty filling surrounded by a thin layer of chocolate. When you bite into a chocolate peppermint pattie, there’s an immediate burst of fresh mint flavour, followed by the roasted, slightly bitter cocoa flavour of the chocolate. It’s the perfect package!

These sweet treats evoke such great food memories for me. As a child, my parents would always add a box of Junior Mints or a Pep bar into my Christmas stocking. As a result, the scent of peppermint, mixed with other aromas like coffee and bacon always brings me back to Christmas morning.

Is There a Difference Between Peppermint and Mint?

You bet there is! Did you know that ‘mint’ is a general term which for herbaceous plants of the Mentha family? Each variety of mint has its own unique flavour due to the prevalent flavour compounds found within the edible leaves. Peppermint is merely one species within the mint family. Other species include spearmint, apple mint, and water mint.

Peppermint has the strongest flavour as it contains the most amount of menthol, the component which produces the unique cooling effect on your tongue. This species of mint is a popular flavouring for many culinary and medicinal products. Peppermint is naturally antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory, so it makes a great natural remedy for colds and sore throats.

However, the flavour of peppermint is so strong, fresh leaves are rarely added directly to dishes. Instead, the flavour is extracted into oils. A drop or two of concentrated peppermint oil is all that is needed to bring out this unique flavour in baking and candy making.

Ingredients in Peppermint Patty Candy

My friends, there are only four ingredients (besides the colourful nonpareils) in these chocolate peppermint patties, and they are entirely gluten free.

• Sweetened Condensed Milk
• Confectioners Sugar
• Peppermint Extract
• Chocolate
• colourful nonpareils or Christmas sprinkles (optional)

Be sure to grab sweetened condensed milk from the grocery shelf, not condensed or evaporated milk. I can’t count the times I have brought the wrong kind of milk home. Evaporated milk will not work in this recipe.

I always buy a fresh bag of Confectioners, or powdered, sugar for this recipe. It is one of the main ingredients and if it tastes stale, it will affect the final flavour of the patties.

For the ultimate chocolate treat, use high quality dark chocolate with minimal ingredients and a cacao content of at least 50%. This includes chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter (yes, this natural cocoa fat is vegan!), and vanilla. The fewer ingredients, the purer the chocolate. In a pinch, you can also use dark chocolate chips or milk chocolate.

If you wish, you can use nonpareils (also called sprinkles or hundreds and thousands) in the colour scheme of your choice. Or you can use a spoon to drizzle some of the melted chocolate over the tops.

How to Make Peppermint Patty Candy

There are two components to make in this candy recipe: the filling mixture and the melted chocolate. I highly recommend you use a stand mixer to mix up the peppermint scented dough filling. It can be very stiff and requires a lot of stirring.

To melt the chocolate, use a microwave, double boiler, or use the method you prefer.

Additionally, you will need measuring cups, parchment paper, baking sheets, a freezer, and a fork or other tool used for dipping chocolates.

Make the Dough Filling

Begin by mixing the sweet, condensed milk and peppermint extract together in the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl. Next, with the mixer on low, incorporate the confectioner’s sugar by adding 1/2 cup at a time.

Once the dough comes together in a stiff ball (but is not sticky) it is ready to be formed into 12 balls. Divide the dough into 12 portions, then roll them with your hands to make balls. Place the balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and gently press down to form equal sized disks. Freeze for an hour to allow the patties to harden before dipping.

Melt the Chocolate and Get Dipping!

Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval. When the chocolate is mostly melted, continue stirring until the remaining chocolate melts.

Working quickly, use a fork to dip each patty into the melted chocolate. Allow any excess to drip and place the patties back onto the parchment. Immediately decorate with nonpareils, if using.

Store peppermint patty candy in the fridge until ready to serve, up to two weeks. Wrap each one in cellophane and give them away as individually wrapped sweets or enjoy them on a Christmas cookie platter. They also freeze well.

Alternative Variations

If you do not love the chocolate mint combination, you can add any kind of flavour extract to the filling. Try berry flavours such as raspberry or strawberry, or citrus flavours like lemon, orange, or even lime.

Non fruit flavoured extracts such as coffee, cinnamon, almond, hazelnut, and peanut butter work well with the chocolate too.

Use white, milk, or dark chocolate to cover the filling and vary the size of the patties from bite sized to one large patty that you can slice.

If you make this Homemade Peppermint Patty Candy recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe, please tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see what you guys are making! Thank you so much for reading my blog.