Cream Cheese Mints
Updated
Updated
These homemade Cream Cheese Mints are an old fashioned classic candy recipe, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture and a bright peppermint flavor. They’re super easy to make with just 4 ingredients and you can customize the color to suit any occasion. Great for baby showers, weddings, holidays, and gift giving!
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My parents weren’t much on entertaining or hosting big holiday parties when I was a kid, so I had to get my fill of haystack cookies, thumbprint cookies, and snowballs from my best friend’s house – her mom always put out an awesome treat tray of candies and cookies. And these cream cheese mints were a staple at all the other homes.
Over the years, I would also spot these old fashioned mints at graduation parties, weddings, and baby showers. I recently had them again and they were just as good as I remembered. Little gems of buttery, melt-in-your-mouth candies with a bright peppermint flavor. You can customize them any color you like and they’re great for gift giving!
What’s in this Cream Cheese Mints recipe?
You only need 4 ingredients, plus food gel coloring if you want to dye them, to make this easy cream cheese mint recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Cream cheese – Make sure it’s softened to room temperature for easy blending.
- Butter – Also softened to room temperature. If you use unsalted, add in a pinch of salt.
- Powdered sugar – Provides the sweetness and smooth texture. Avoid granulated sugar or it will be grainy.
- Peppermint extract – For the bright minty flavor.
- Food gel coloring (optional) – You can use any color that you like to suit your holiday or occasion.
Possible Recipe Variations
- Adorn the mints with simple mark of fork tines, as I did.
- Flatten them with the bottom of a glass.
- Make them extra festive with a cookie press.
- Dye them any color to fit the season or occasion.
- Keep the dough white and coat them in a mixture of melted chocolate and coconut oil.
- Try different flavor extracts like peppermint, mint, almond, or lemon.
Helpful Tips
- Use powdered sugar not granulated sugar. Avoid regular white sugar or the mints will have a grainy texture.
- Add the powdered sugar gradually. This recipe calls for 8 cups of powdered sugar, but it should be blended a cup at a time to ensure the mixture is fully combined and smooth.
- Keep the dough covered as you form the mints. This recipe make 70 mints! As you’re forming the mints, keep any dough you’re not working with covered to avoid it from drying out.
- Let stand until firm. Once the mints are formed, they need to stand at room temperature (away from heat or moisture) until fully firm and not squishy at all. This can take several hours, so be patient.
Proper Storage
- Fridge. Cream cheese mints should be stored in an airtight container and kept in the refrigerator (separating layers with parchment or waxed paper.) Just take them out when ready to serve. Stored properly in the refrigerator, they will last for 3 to 4 weeks.
- Freezer. For even longer term storage, you can freeze them up to 6 months. Place them in an freezer-safe airtight container or a resealable plastic freezer bag, separating layers with waxed paper. Thaw in the refrigerator before enjoying.
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Cream Cheese Mints
Ingredients
- 8 ounce package cream cheese, , softened to room temp
- 3 tablespoons butter, , softened to room temp
- 1 & 1/4 teaspoons peppermint extract
- 8 cups (2 pounds) powdered sugar, , plus more for rolling/pressing
- food gel coloring (of your choice)
Instructions
- Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly dust with powdered sugar. Set aside.
- Using a handheld mixer and a large bowl (or a stand mixer), beat together 8 ounces of softened cream cheese and 3 tablespoons softened butter until combined, smooth and creamy.
- Beat in 1 & 1/4 teaspoons peppermint extract.
- Blend in 8 cups total of powdered sugar until combined and smooth, but start with just 2 cups, then gradually add the remaining powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Scrape down the bowl as needed in-between additions. Dough should be very stiff and not sticky (if it’s still sticky, add more powdered sugar a little at a time until it has the consistency of Play-Doh.)
- Leave the dough white or divide into four separate bowls (or however many different colors you’re using.)
- For pastel colors, add 1 small drop of food gel coloring to each bowl of dough you're coloring and mix until well incorporated and no white streaks remain. (Work with one color at a time and keep the remaining dough covered, so it doesn't dry out.)
- Pinch off small amounts of the dough (about 1 teaspoon) and using the palms of your hands, form into balls, rolling until any cracks disappear.
- Transfer to the prepared baking sheets a few inches apart. Working quickly, dip a fork in powdered sugar and gently press the tines into the top of each ball to flatten them (this helps prevent sticking.) Repeat rolling and pressing the remaining colors/batches of mints.
- Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature away from any heat or moisture for at least 3 hours until the mints firm up and the powered sugar has been absorbed. (If the bottoms of the mints have any moisture, flip them over and let stand again until the bottoms are also firm. They shouldn't be squishy at all.)
- Cream cheese mints can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 weeks or freezer-safe container in the freezer for 6 months. Keep them in a single layer between sheets of wax paper to avoid sticking together.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!
Would this recipe allow me to shape the dough using a silicone mold? I have another recipe where I roll in granulated sugar which helps them come out of the mold, but yours says specifically not to do that. Thanks!
Hi Molly – Hm. My recipe doesn’t specifically say not to do that, but I’ve never actually tried them that way. I can’t see why not, though.
Yum! I had a half-block of cream cheese left from another recipe so thought I’d try these. Delicious and easy to whip up.
Taste is perfect. Mine hardened in the freezer but softened quickly at room temperature when placed on cookie tray. Thanks!!
First time making these and they were easy and delicious. Thank you for the clear instruction.
This recipe is GREAT! Just like I remember the mints at my Nona’s house at Christmas time. Thank you for sharing and the detailed instruction. I love your site!
Thanks for sharing the recipe, they turned out beautifully. I dyed mine red and green for Christmas.
I made these but instead of using food coloring, I kept them white and dipped them in chocolate!
Awweee my Mom will love that she got a shout out for her holiday treats! Do you remember the chocolate log and mexican wedding cake cookies she made every year? These mints look fun to make. I’ll have to try this with the kids. Xoxoxo
Yaaassss! I remember everything she used to make!
Made these and ate 10. LOL. YUM!
Are these similar to the (in)famous Hickory Farms melt-away mints?
I would say similar in taste, but different in texture. These are creamier. So IMHO, better. Ha.