Peppermint Christmas Candies
A labor-intensive but completely worth it holiday candy: chocolate-coated peppermint fondant patties. Made for 15+ years — the amount of powdered sugar used varies every time, so go by the consistency of the fondant.
Ingredients
| 8 ounces | 225 g | cream cheese, softened |
| 2½ tbsp | 38 ml | butter, softened |
| 12 cups | 2.9 l | powdered sugar, divided (equivalent to 1.5-2lb bags) |
| 3 tbsp | 45 ml | peppermint extract |
| — | green food coloring | |
| 2 bags | chocolate chips | |
| ⅛ slab | household paraffin wax (I use Gulf Wax found in the canning section) |
Instructions
- In a mixer, cream together cream cheese and butter until smooth.
- Add 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time to creamed mixture, up to 8 cups, and combine completely. Transfer fondant ball into a deep mixing bowl.
- With gloved hands, knead peppermint extract and green food coloring into the fondant ball.
- After adding the peppermint extract and food coloring the fondant will be softer. Knead 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time into fondant ball until it is smooth, holds its shape, but does not crumble or stick to the bowl. You may not need the full 4 cups to reach this consistency.
- Roll fondant into patties and place on a lined baking sheet. Place full tray into freezer for 1 hour.
- In a double boiler, melt chocolate chips and wax until smooth.
- Remove baking sheet from freezer and dip patties into chocolate, one at a time, placing chocolate coated patties back on the baking sheet. If patties begin to soften from the heat of the chocolate, place them back into the freezer to harden again.
- When all the candies have been coated, place baking sheet back into the freezer for 30 minutes to allow the chocolate to harden.
- Store candies in a container in the refrigerator until ready to be served.
See pictures below to help with the steps… excuse the awful pictures! That is what happens when you make candies at night!
A few notes:
- As I said in the instructions, you may or may not use all 12 cups of the powdered sugar. This is a rough estimate. What you are going for is a consistency of the fondant. I've made these candies for 15+ years and each year the amount of powdered sugar used is different.
- If you don't have a double boiler you can do what I do! Bring about 1-inch of water to a low simmer and place a non-meltable bowl on top of it. It works just as well as an actual double boiler!
- Don't be afraid of the household paraffin wax used in the chocolate. I've done my research and many commercial chocolates as well as professional chefs use this wax in their chocolate coated candies. It helps to harden the chocolate. No worries! It is completely edible!