Homemade Peppermint Patties

Homemade Peppermint Patties – It’s easy to make everyone’s favorite sweet, minty and refreshing chocolate candy from scratch with this brilliantly simple peppermint patty recipe!

Why We Love This Recipe

When my kids were little, we had a fun cookbook meant for children. Out of all the simple cutesy recipes Ava and Carson tried, their favorite was making copycat peppermint patties from scratch.

Today’s Homemade Peppermint Patty recipe is a tweaked version of that old-timey recipe. These homemade candies are similar to York Peppermint Patties, yet with a stronger, more robust minty flavor. In fact, making them from scratch allows you to have full quality control, including how pepperminty you would like them to be, or selecting fun sprinkles for the tops.

Homemade chocolate peppermints make a fabulous holiday gift, or addition to your annual cookie exchange. No baking required! You need just 6 simple ingredients to make 80 pieces of lightly chewy, chocolatey, perfectly pepperminty treats.

6 Ingredients You Need

• Sweetened condensed milk – the sweetness and thick, rich consistency of condensed milk is perfect to mimic the texture of classic peppermint patties
• Peppermint extract – more or less to your liking
• Vanilla extract – to balance the peppermint and sweet flavors
• Powdered sugar – makes the candies lightly chewy when combined with the sweetened condensed milk
• Semisweet chocolate chips – for that traditional peppermint patty taste you know and love
• Vegetable oil – to make the chocolate coating smooth and shiny
• Candy sprinkles – optional for a super festive treat

How to Make Homemade Peppermint Patties

Set out a large mixing bowl and a hand mixer. (Or use an electric stand mixer.) Add the sweetened condensed milk, peppermint extract, and vanilla extract to the bowl. Beat to combine.

Then slowly add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar at a time until you have a thick pliable peppermint dough that can hold its shape.

Place a little extra powdered sugar on a clean work surface. Dump the dough onto the work surface and fold it into a firm ball. Then roll the ball out into an even ¼-inch sheet.

Use a 1-inch cookie cutter to cut out peppermint discs, cutting close together.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and move the discs to the baking sheet. You should be able to cut about 80 peppermint discs from the dough. You may need to gather and re-roll the scraps once or twice. 

Once all the discs are cut, move the baking sheet to the freezer. Freeze the discs until they are very hard, for at least one hour.

When ready to dip, place one bag of chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Remove one handful of chips for later use. Microwave the chocolate in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until the chocolate chips are melted and smooth.

Then throw the last handful of chocolate chips back into the chocolate and stir until smooth to temper the chocolate. 

Pull 3-4 frozen peppermint discs out of the freezer at a time. Place a frozen disc on a fork, lower it into the chocolate, coat on all sides, then tap vigorously on the side of the bowl to drain off excess chocolate.

Get the Complete (Printable) Homemade Peppermint Patty Recipe Below. Enjoy!

Place the dipped candies on a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle with decorative sprinkles if desired.

Pro Tip: Work in small batches so that the peppermint patties stay frozen while you are dipping. At some point, you may need to reheat the chocolate.

When you’ve used all of the chocolate from the first bag, melt the second bag of chocolate chips and continue dipping.

Recipe Variations

• Elevate these candies to a more “adult” treat by swapping semisweet with dark chocolate.
• Or really mix things up and dip them in melted white chocolate.
• This is, obviously, a peppermint patty recipe. However, you can make these candies with other extracts! Try classic mint for a more mint chocolate chip taste, fruit extracts like cherry or strawberry, or nutty flavors like almond or hazelnut.
• Use whatever color sprinkles are most appropriate for your festivities… These are great for baby showers, Halloween with orange and black sprinkles, and game days decked out in your team’s colors.
• Or add other goodies you like! Try sprinkling on crushed candy canes or peppermint sticks, edible glitter, or other little candies.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long are peppermint patties good?

You can store the homemade peppermint patties in the refrigerator for up to a month, or leave them out at room temperature for up to one week.

Are peppermint patties made with real peppermint?

They are made with peppermint extract, which is made from real peppermint leaves. So technically, yes! The leaves are processed with water and alcohol to get lots of big minty flavor in each tiny drop of the extract liquid.

Are homemade peppermint patties healthy?

Similar to their store-bought counterparts, no, these candies are not considered healthy. Sweetened condensed milk is made with full-fat milk and a good amount of sugar; then we add powdered sugar and dip the treats in chocolate. This makes them a super tasty treat to enjoy in moderation for special occasions.

Looking for More Easy and Fun Candy Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:

• Layered Peppermint Fudge
• Fluffy Divinity Candy
• No-Bake Peanut Butter Balls (Buckeye Candy)
• Peppermint Rice Krispies Snowballs
• How to Make a Breakable Chocolate Heart

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