Homemade Peppermint Patties / James Mints
So these are what I like to call James Mints. The story is that basically they are peppermint patties but they reminded me of junior mints and my older brother is James Junior in our family, so I thought why not call them James Mints. Cleverly personalized.
Also, I made these for my sister's bridal shower a couple weeks ago and let me tell you, they were a hit! Whether it's winter where you are from and you want that rush of the peppermint, or you just like the candied taste of peppermint patties.. enjoy these anytime of the year. Even pairing with a glass of hot chocolate would settle your taste buds.
Recipe
4 cups confectioners sugar, plus more for dusting
1 tbsp of lemon juice
1 egg white
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
2 1/2 cups of chocolate (best you can find)
Preparation
-In a bowl beat the egg white with the lemon juice until it starts to foam, add the peppermint, sift in the confectioners sugar and combine. Once the mixture gets tough, bring together with your hands and knead it a little on a surface dusted with icing sugar. You can roll out the dough and cut little rounds with a cookie cutter or you can shape by hand by rolling into a little ball placing it on a lined and dusted tray and pressing down with a fork and leave them to dry out for about 2-5 hours.
(If you want to make them like little junior mints, take little pieces of the dough and roll into balls a little smaller then a grape and let them dry out about 2 hours)
-In a double boiler melt the chopped up chocolate. Dunk and cover each patty in the chocolate and let set on a lined baking sheet to dry.
If you don't like the taste of peppermint try adding another extract. Almond, or vanilla bean by chance? Or even make it festive by adding a little food coloring when the lemon juice is added!
recipe adapted from butterflyfood
