P is for Peppermint Patties

When I found this recipe online I thought "Of course I want to make peppermint patties, how yummy will that be..." 3.5 hours later I thought "Delicious? Yes. Time-consuming? Yes. Special occasions only? Definitely yes."

These were really fun to make, but are definitely a Sunday afternoon activity. From beginning to end they took about 4 hours.

Filling:

2 cups icing sugar

1/4 tsp peppermint oil (not extract, I found my oil at the Big Carrot on the Danforth)

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp evaporated milk

1.5 tbsp softened unsalted butter

Mix all of these ingredients together on medium/high until creamy. Place in a bowl, cover and put in the fridge for 45min until the filling is firm enough to form into 1 inch balls. Once all your filling is shaped into balls you want to press them down until they are about 1/4" thick disc. Then back in the fridge for another hour until the discs are firm.

Coating:

9 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

1 tbsp shortening

Melt the chocolate and shortening over a double boiler.

Take the hard patties and using a fork dip them in the chocolate. Then place on a pan that is covered with aluminum foil and dusted with icing sugar. The chocolate covered patties go back in the fridge for at least an hour to harden.

Finally, once hard you have your patties - they are well worth the weight! Delicious.

Recipe reference: joyofbaking.com