These are the little pastel squares that show up on cookie trays and at church weddings: soft‑minty, creamy, and just firm enough to stack in a jar without merging into one mega‑mint.
The catch: a lot of cream cheese mint recipes are extremely sensitive to moisture. Use the wrong cream cheese, measure sugar a little light, or get heavy‑handed with extract and food coloring, and you end up with delicious peppermint Play‑Doh that never really hardens.
This version is built to be a bit more forgiving. The ingredient list looks familiar (cream cheese, powdered sugar, peppermint), but the guardrails are spelled out. The short version: brick cream cheese only, and the powdered sugar amount is a floor, not a ceiling.
Snapshot
- Implements: stand mixer or sturdy hand mixer; rubber spatula; parchment‑lined sheet pans; fork or small mint molds
- Heat: no oven; room‑temperature or fridge drying
- Yield: ~100–140 bite‑size mints, depending on how small you portion
Ingredients
Mint dough
- 4 oz (113 g) full‑fat brick‑style cream cheese, at cool room temperature
- 4 cups (about 480 g) powdered sugar, plus up to 1 extra cup (120 g) for adjusting texture and dusting
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract or peppermint emulsion
- Small pinch fine salt (optional, but nice for balance)
- Gel food coloring, assorted colors (gel strongly preferred over liquid)
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Method
Prep your trays.
Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. Set aside a small bowl of extra powdered sugar for dusting your hands, fork, or molds.
Beat the cream cheese.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a deep bowl with a hand mixer), beat the cream cheese on medium speed until completely smooth and lump‑free, 1–2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.
Add the first round of sugar.
On low speed, mix in powdered sugar one cup at a time, stopping after 4 cups. Scrape the bowl and switch to the paddle attachment if you have one. The mixture will go from frosting‑like to very thick; this is what you want.
Flavor.
Add the peppermint extract and the pinch of salt. Beat just until evenly combined, then scrape down the bowl again.
Check the texture and adjust.
Pinch off a small piece of dough and roll it between your fingers. You’re aiming for:
- Smooth and pliable, like play‑dough
- Not sticky or glossy; it shouldn’t cling to your fingers or slump on the tray
If it’s at all tacky, knead in more powdered sugar by hand, 2–4 Tbsp at a time, until the dough is firm and matte. Depending on brand of cream cheese, humidity, and how packed your cups of sugar were, you might use up to the full extra cup.
Divide and color.
Turn the dough out onto a sugar‑dusted surface. Divide into as many color batches as you like and place each in its own small bowl. Using gel food coloring, add the tiniest dab to each portion and knead it in with gloved or bare hands until evenly tinted. If the color adds a little stickiness, dust with a bit more powdered sugar and knead again.
Shape the mints.
For simple squares: roll each color into ropes about 1/2 inch thick, slice into small pillows, and place them on the lined trays.
For classic “pressed” mints: pinch off 1‑teaspoon portions, roll into balls, and set on the trays. Dip a fork in powdered sugar, then gently press each ball to flatten and leave a pattern.
For molds: dust the mold lightly with powdered sugar, press in a small piece of dough, then pop it out and line up on the trays.
Dry at room temperature or in the fridge.
Leave the mints in a single layer, uncovered:
Cool, dry room: 12–24 hours, flipping once halfway through, until the surfaces feel dry and the centers are fudgey but not squishy.
Humid kitchen: slide the trays into the fridge, uncovered, for 8–12 hours. The cold air helps them dry without melting.
Store.
Once the mints are dry to the touch and hold their shape when gently squeezed, transfer them to airtight containers, layered with parchment if you’re stacking.
- Room temp: up to 3–4 days in a cool, dry spot
- Fridge: up to 2 weeks
- Freezer: up to 1 month; thaw in the fridge, then bring to room temp before serving for the best texture
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Notes, swaps, and guardrails
Cream cheese: this is the big one
Use full‑fat brick cream cheese only. Spreadable/tub, whipped, or low‑fat cream cheese has extra water and gums that keep the mints soft and sticky.
“Cool room temp” means soft enough to beat smooth, but not melting. If it feels glossy or very loose before you add sugar, pop it in the fridge for 10–15 minutes.
Powdered sugar: treat the amount as a minimum
4 cups is your starting point, not a hard cap. Different brands pack differently; humidity also matters.
Texture is the boss: if the dough sticks to your fingers at all, it needs more sugar. Add a spoonful or two, knead, and test again.
The trade‑off: more sugar = firmer, sweeter mints. If you prefer less sweet, get as close as you can to non‑sticky with the least extra sugar that still dries out well.
Peppermint & flavor options
1/2 tsp peppermint extract gives a gentle mint. For a stronger hit, edge up toward 3/4 tsp, tasting as you go.
For kids or mint‑sensitive people, you can blend peppermint with vanilla (say 1/4 tsp peppermint + 1/2 tsp vanilla).
Other fun directions: lemon extract with yellow mints, or almond extract with pale pink mints.
Color control
Gel or paste food coloring barely adds moisture; liquid drops do. If you use liquid colors, expect to knead in more powdered sugar.
For that pastel “wedding mint” look, stop as soon as the color is uniform and soft. These go from “barely tinted” to “neon” fast.
Drying & texture expectations
These are meant to be firm on the outside and creamy inside, not rock‑hard like a candy cane. After drying, you should be able to bite through one without effort, but it shouldn’t smear if you stack them.
If they still feel squishy in the center after a full overnight dry, two likely causes:
The dough started out a little too wet → knead in more powdered sugar next time.
The room was very humid → use the uncovered‑in‑the‑fridge method.
Make‑ahead and gifting
The mints actually improve over the first day or two as they finish drying and the peppermint settles down.
For gifting, let them dry completely, then pack in tins or jars lined with parchment so they don’t absorb moisture from cardboard or metal.