Butter mints are a staple at Southern showers, teas, and receptions. Sweetly pastel, they sit proudly between the mixed nuts and petit fours on our party tables. Butter mints are no wallflower though. Their pale colors belie their assertive flavor.
A few Christmases ago, Husband and I went to visit his parents. We hadn’t been there very long before my mother-in-law put a little dish of butter mints down on the coffee table in front of me. “Try these,” she said, “I just made them.”
Made them? It had never occurred to me that you could make these melt-in-your mouth treats at home. I thought butter mints were something that could only be bought, like a lemon drop or an orange slice.
But Pam is one of those people who can make anything. I’ve told you about her before and shared her apple cake recipe. And I shouldn’t have been surprised at all when she just whipped up a batch of homemade butter mints.
In my mind, butter mints was an impossible task. I don’t know why, because they are just what you think they are — butter, sugar, and mint. And with Pam’s recipe, now you can surprise your friends and family when you make your very own batch of butter mints.
Pam’s Butter Mints
Ingredients
- 1 stick of butter, melted
- 4 cups of powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
- 3-4 drops of peppermint oil (not extract)
- Food coloring (optional)
Directions
- Add powdered sugar to melted butter until you can mold the dough with your hands.
- Mix in mint oil to taste. You can add the food coloring now if you’re using it.
- Dust wax paper with powdered sugar, and roll dough into thin logs.
- Cover a baking sheet in wax paper, and place logs on baking sheet, and place in freezer for at least 15 minutes.
- Remove from the freezer and slice mints into bite-sized pieces.
- Once you set them out, they dry into that creamy yet powdery consistency you know and love.
Ever hear your Mom’s voice in your head? My mama passed awhile ago, but when I read your post’s title, I could hear her, clear and strong. “Oh My Lord, somebody makes those?”
Thanks for surprising me and Mama!
That’s exactly what I said!