Christmas Cream Cheese Mints

Cream cheese mints made in Christmas colors.

Christmas Cream Cheese Mints is a simple, old-fashioned and classic recipe made in festive red and green colors for Christmas! These mints are so smooth, buttery, and melt in your mouth perfection.

Course Christmas, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword christmas cream cheese mints

Prep Time 40

Chill Time & Cooling Time 6

Total Time 6 40

Servings

Calories 39kcal

Author Jessica - Together as Family

Equipment

Ingredients

1 bar (8 oz) full-fat cream cheese
3 tablespoons salted butter softened
8½ cups powdered sugar divided
1½ teaspoons peppermint extract
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
red & green gel food coloring

Instructions

Line 3 rimmed cookie sheets or baking sheets with parchment paper or wax paper. Set aside.
Place 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar in a small bowl, and set it aside for later.
In a large bowl with a hand or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy, fluffy, and well whipped. About 2 minutes.
1 bar (8 oz) full-fat cream cheese, 3 tablespoons salted butter
Add 4 cups of powdered sugar, peppermint extract, and vanilla extract and beat until combined and smooth.
1½ teaspoons peppermint extract, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, 8½ cups powdered sugar
Add the remaining 4 cups of powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating well after each addition until the dough resembles a play dough like consistency.
Divide the dough into 3 equal portions and place each portion in a separate bowl.
Color one portion of the dough green, one portion red, and leave the third portion as white. Cover the bowls with lids or plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
red & green gel food coloring
Use a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon to scoop some dough and roll it into a ball. Roll the ball in the powdered sugar (set aside from earlier) until it's well coated. Place the balls onto the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with all the remaining dough.
Dust the tins of a fork with powdered sugar and press the fork into the cream cheese mint balls to flatten them into a coin shape.
Allow the cream cheese mints to dry at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours or until the outside hardens and they lift easily off the parchment paper.
^{*If the bottom of the mints are still damp, turn them over and allow them to continue to dry at room temperature.}
I prefer serving the cream cheese mints chilled but you can also serve them at room temperature (but they do get softer in texture as they sit out).
Keep the mints stored in the refrigerator, for up to 7 days, in an airtight container.

Notes

These mints make great edible gifts for neighbors, family, and friends during the Christmas season. Place them inside a clear cell bag, tin, or small glass jar and tie them with a festive ribbon.
I recommend keeping the mixer on low speed after adding each addition of the powdered sugar. Turning the speed up too high will most likely make powdered sugar explode out of the bowl. Keep it on low speed and increase the speed slightly as the powdered sugar gets more incorporated into the dough.
Depending on what food coloring you are using, you may have to add additional powdered sugar to the dough portions you added color to. This is usually required for more saturated colors, where you may need to add more dye, such as red. You still want the dough to have a play dough consistency after being dyed.
To avoid having to add more powdered sugar, I highly recommend using gel food colors rather than liquid ones. The gel color is more concentrated and thicker, which means you can use less product and it won't thin out the dough too much.
The cream cheese mint dough works well in silicone molds if you want to make a different shape.
Make sure you use brick-style cream cheese and not the spreadable or whipped kind that comes in a tub.
If using unsalted butter, I recommend adding just a small pinch of salt to the dough when mixing.
This recipe can easily be halved to make a smaller batch if wanted.

Nutrition