Tempt My Tummy Tuesday… Peppermint Patties

I love peppermint with chocolate!  And those two flavors are perfect together when making Christmas treats, which is why this recipe is so great.  I made a batch of homemade Peppermint Patties last weekend, and will be making another batch for my husband’s office Christmas party, this week.   The first batch were included in gift baskets for friends.  I found the recipe easy to follow and fun to make.  The results were better than I expected, and they are as good – if not better- than a York Peppermint Pattie!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp water
• 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
• 1 (1 pound) box confectioner’s sugar (3 3/4 cups)
• 1 Tbsp shortening
• 10-12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
• 6 hard mint candies, crushed in a ziplock bag with a rolling pin

1. In the bowl, using an electric mixer, stir together the water, corn syrup, lemon juice and peppermint extract, then sift in half the confectioner’s sugar.  Add the shortening.  Beat on medium, then slowly sift in the remaining confectioner’s sugar until the mixture is well combined.
2. Knead the mixture into a ball.  (It will be very stiff; if necessary, add 1/2 tsp water to make it workable.)  Use a rolling pin to flatten the ball between to sheets of wax paper.  You want a circle that is about 9 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch thick.   Lay the waxed paper covered disk on a cookie sheet and freeze it until it is firm, about 15 minutes.
3. 

   Homemade Peppermint Patties!

   Place the frozen disk on a cutting surface and remove and reserve the waxed paper.  Cove the cookie sheet with parchment paper.  With a small round cutter, cut out circles from the disk, then place them on the cookie sheet. Gather the scraps into a ball, and repeat using rolling pin and waxed paper to flatten the dough and cut more circles, until the entire disk is used up.  Freeze the circles for about 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate using a double boiler.  Coat the patties on at a time: balace each on a fork and dip it, then shake off any excess chocolate before returning the coated patty to the parchment.  Sprinkle each patty with a bit of crushed mint candy.
5. Harden the finished patties in the refrigerator for at least an hour, and preferably overnight. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge, layered between sheets of waxed paper, for up to one month.  (My recipe says it makes 5 dozen, however when I made mine, I only got about 3 dozen.)

Merry Christmas!