Friday, May 4, 2012

Homemade Junior Mints

3 oz cream cheese (I used Trader Joe's organic light whipped cream cheese and used a scale to weight it)
1/2 tsp mint extract
3 to 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 bag dark chocolate chips


Beat the cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Beat in the mint extract. Add in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, (only needed 3 cups) until the mixture is stiff. It may look crumbly, but you should be able to push it together with your hands. Roll mixture into small balls and flatten slightly. I made these a little larger than junior mints but not quite as big as york patties, they were about the size of the ones you can buy for 25 cents.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, add a splash of milk if your chocolate does not seem smooth enough. Dip each mint in the chocolate until well coated and then place on wax or parchment paper on a baking sheet... Put this in the fridge until the chocolate sets... store in the fridge.

I was also thinking if you wanted these to be extra yummy you could crush up some hard candies or candy canes and add to the cream cheese mixture for holiday treats...