Looking for a butter mints recipe that’s simple and sweet?
Butter Mints
This butter mints recipe is a true nostalgic treat with lots of creaminess and a silky-smooth texture. Package these melt-in-your-mouth candies as fun favors at a shower or just to have around the house when company arrives.
The best part is that by using paste food coloring you can make these in a rainbow of colors to match the season (such as pastels for spring) or the occasion (blue for a baby-boy shower). Turn your kitchen into a mint-making operation with just 20 minutes of prep time, followed by several hours (or overnight) of refrigeration. Your butter mints will be ready to enjoy!
Butter Mints Ingredients
- Butter: Make sure the butter is unsalted and softened before you make the recipe.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Also called powdered sugar, this sugar is sold in the baking aisle at grocery stores.
- Half and Half Cream: The reason this is called half and half is because it’s 50% whole milk and 50% cream.
- Vanilla Extract: This popular baking ingredient won’t make your mints taste like vanilla but will enrichen the butter and sweeten the sugar even more.
- Peppermint Extract: Without peppermint extract these won’t taste like mints. Even a ¼ teaspoon injects minty flavor.
- Paste Food Coloring: This is the most fun ingredient because it’s an opportunity to personalize—and there are many colors to choose.
Directions
Step 1: Beat the ingredients and add the food coloring
In a large bowl, beat the butter, confectioners’ sugar, cream and extracts. Divide the dough into portions and knead in the food coloring.
Test Kitchen/Editor’s Tip: Instead of half-and-half cream, use whole milk. It has less fat and is therefore healthier.
Step 2: Shape the dough into mints
Form the dough into balls by teaspoonfuls and then flatten them into patties. Or, roll the dough between two pieces of waxed paper to 1/8-inch thickness and cut into desired shapes. Cover and refrigerate the dough for several hours or overnight. Store them in the refrigerator.
Butter Mints Variations
- Decorate with edible luster dust: We love edible luster dust so much it’s among our top 25 gourmet baking ingredients. Just brush this iridescent powder onto the mints and voila! You’ve just added a shiny sheen.
- Swap the vanilla for other extracts: Yes, other flavors of extracts can work really well in butter mints. Using orange extract instead of the peppermint will give these a flavor similar to an orange smoothie. You could also use cherry, coffee or even rose petal extract. Stick with using extracts instead of oils, as extracts will give the mints a softer texture.
How to Store Butter Mints
These are super easy to store! Butter mints will stay fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator or for longer periods in the freezer.
Can you freeze these mints?
As long as you keep the butter mints in a resealable freezer bag or airtight container, they will keep for two to three months. To avoid freezing them in a messy clump, first arrange the butter mints spaced apart on a baking sheet. Then, once they’re individually frozen (this takes one to two hours) place them in a bag or container.
How long do butter mints last?
If kept in the fridge—in a covered, air-tight container—butter mints stay fresh for one to two weeks.
Can you make these mints ahead of time?
This is a recipe that’s already super easy and requires chilling time before you eat them so in a sense you are already making the butter mints ahead of time.
Butter Mints Tips
How can you make butter mints in other shapes?
You can make whatever shape you want by rolling out the dough and using your desired cookie cutter. If you want to make them in the popular pillow shape, roll your dough into a 1/2-inch thick log and then cut them into 1/2-inch lengths.
What can you do if the mint dough is too sticky?
Dust them with a little more confectioners’ sugar (if you don’t have it at home or just ran out, here’s how to make confectioners’ sugar from granulated sugar) if your butter mints are too sticky. Pick up the sifter from our list of candy making tools that we love to help with dusting! Try your hand at our other homemade Christmas candy recipes after you make butter mints.
Can you make these sugar-free?
This isn’t as easy as removing the sugar. Sugar-free butter mints would be an entirely new recipe.
Butter Mints
Prep Time
20 min
Yield
about 8 dozen
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 tablespoon half-and-half cream or whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
- Paste food coloring, optional
Directions
- In a large bowl, beat the butter, confectioners' sugar, cream and extracts. If desired, divide dough into portions and knead in food coloring.
- Form into balls by teaspoonfuls; flatten into patties. Or, roll dough between 2 pieces of waxed paper to 1/8-in. thickness; cut into desired shapes. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Store in the refrigerator.
Nutrition Facts
1 mint: 27 calories, 1g fat (1g saturated fat), 3mg cholesterol, 8mg sodium, 5g carbohydrate (5g sugars, 0 fiber), 0 protein.
Loading Popular in the Community
These creamy butter mints are smooth as silk and melt in your mouth! As a wife and mother of three youngsters, I treasure treats like these that come together quickly but taste terrific. —Bev Schloneger, Dalton, Ohio
Recipe Creator
Loading Reviews
