These easy, vintage candies used to be on every holiday table!
Save this recipe by clicking on the ❤️ heart on the right-hand side of the screen or in the recipe card.
Table of Contents
🗝️ Key takeaways
- Cream cheese butter mints are an easy candy recipe you can create at home with five simple ingredients!
- Homemade cream cheese mints are perfect treats for baby showers, graduation parties, a holiday dessert table, and any special occasion.
- This simple recipe doesn’t need a candy thermometer or special techniques, so anyone can enjoy making it.
Old-fashioned cream cheese mints go by many different names—baby shower mints, wedding mints, and Christmas mints.
Whatever you call 'em, these melt-in-your-mouth bites have the minty flavor and creamy, buttery texture I remember as a little girl!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Variations
- Add a half teaspoon of vanilla extract if you want to temper the intense flavor of the peppermint extract.
- Use different extracts to mix up the flavor, like almond extract or lemon extract for springy candies.
- Feel free to keep your homemade mints white or add a bit of gel food coloring to create pretty pastel colors that match any party theme!
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Mix the cream cheese mixture and powdered sugar in a large bowl.
- Split the dough into separate bowls and add your desired color to each.
- Make small balls of dough.
- Place dough balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten the tops with the tines of a fork.
🍴 Equipment
- stand mixer or electric hand mixer
- cookie sheets
- parchment paper or silpat sheets
🥫 How to store leftovers
Room temperature
Store your delicious cream cheese mints in an airtight container in single layers. Separate each layer with a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper. They'll keep for up to two weeks.
Refrigerate
For firmer mints, keep them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Freezing cream cheese mints
Make 'em last even longer!
Put your mints in a freezer container and freeze for up to three months. Set frozen mints out at room temperature for about 30 minutes to thaw—they're small, so they won't take long.
You can also just freeze the ball of "mint candy dough" and thaw and shape when you're ready.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Use full-fat cream cheese (block-style, not whipped) for the best results. The low-fat stuff doesn't work as well—or taste as good!
- Let your butter and cream cheese warm up to room temperature so it’s easy to blend them with the powdered sugar.
- Sift your confectioner’s sugar if it’s lumpy to ensure the creamiest texture.
- Blend the cream cheese mixture with an electric hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. The dough is too stiff to mix by hand with a whisk or spoon!
- Your cream cheese butter mints should have the consistency of play dough. If your dough is sticky, add more powdered sugar until the texture becomes firm.
- If the dough softens too much while handling, cover the bowls with plastic wrap and set them in the fridge for 1-2 hours to firm up before shaping them into balls.
- Measure out the dough using a teaspoon or a tiny cookie scoop so that your mints will all be the same size.
- If you want the tops of your mints to be smooth, flatten them with the bottom of a glass dusted with powdered sugar.
👩🍳 FAQs
These amazing little mints have a sweet peppermint flavor and a creamy, buttery texture that melts in your mouth. You only need a handful of ingredients to make this easy recipe.
Absolutely! You can replace the peppermint extract with vanilla extract, almond extract, or lemon extract to give your mints a different flavor.
Yep! Cream cheese mints are often formed into cute shapes using silicone molds. Roll your mint dough balls into granulated (not powdered) sugar before pressing them into the molds.
Pretty pastel mints shaped like baby bottles or rattles are adorable favors for a baby shower! Flower-shaped mints are perfect for a wedding shower or wedding reception.
Of course, simple cream cheese mints also make the easiest holiday candy—turn your mints into tiny Christmas trees, snowmen, gingerbread men, or candy canes!
📚 Related recipes
- Easy Egg Nog Truffles are rich and velvety with nutmeg and rum flavoring. They're the perfect sweet treats for the holiday season!
- Try my Old-Fashioned Fudge Recipe made with marshmallow fluff—no need for sweetened condensed milk or any special equipment!
- Buckeyes are fun homemade candies that taste just like Reese’s peanut butter cups, with the smoothest, creamiest peanut butter filling ever.
📞 The last word
I grew up on these delicious candies. They were always served in a pretty candy dish for special occasions. It's one of those recipes I'd like to see make a comeback!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Cream Cheese Butter Mints
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, full fat, room temperature
- ¼ cup butter, room temperature
- 2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted if there are lumps
- 1 ½ teaspoons peppermint extract
- gel food coloring
- extra powdered sugar for shaping if necessary
Instructions
- Add cream cheese and butter to a large mixing bowl.
- Blend with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
- Continue to mix and add the mint extract.
- Gradually, add the remaining powdered sugar. Mixture should feel like Play-doh.
- Separate the mixture into separate balls for each color.
- Poke a well in each ball and add desired food color.
- Knead until the color is uniform throughout the mixture with no white streaks. You may need to add more powdered sugar.
- If the dough seems soft cover and refrigerate it for an hour or two before proceeding.
- Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Set aside.
- Pinch off small amounts of the dough and form into 1-inch balls.
- Gently press the tines of a fork into the top of each ball. If it sticks try dipping the fork in powdered sugar before flattening the balls.
- Let stand, uncovered, for at least 4 hours or until the mints are firm and dry. If the bottoms have any moisture, flip them over and let them sit until the bottoms of the mints dry.
- Store in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment or waxed paper, for up to 2 weeks at room temperature.
- Mints can be refrigerated or frozen if desired.
Notes
- Use full-fat cream cheese.
- Let your butter and cream cheese warm up to room temperature - this is important.
- Sift your confectioner’s sugar if it’s lumpy to ensure the creamiest texture.
- Your cream cheese butter mints should have the consistency of play dough. If your dough is sticky, add more powdered sugar until the texture becomes firm.
- If the dough softens too much while handling, cover the bowls with plastic wrap and set them in the fridge for 1-2 hours to firm up before shaping them into balls.
- Measure out the dough using a teaspoon or a tiny cookie scoop so that your mints will all be the same size.
- If you want the tops of your mints to be smooth, flatten them with the bottom of a glass dusted with powdered sugar.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
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