This easy homemade peppermint patties recipe is the ultimate holiday treat. A creamy peppermint center is surrounded by dark chocolate and finished off with festive sprinkles. Perfect for gift giving!
If you’re a fan of York Peppermint Patties, you’re going to LOVE this DIY version that tastes so much better than the original. These peppermint patties also happen to be super easy to make which is always a bonus!
This year at Halloween, after sampling every candy imaginable, one of my 6 year olds declared that York Peppermint Patties were her favorite candy. I decided to surprise her with these homemade peppermint patties and she declared them to be WAY better than the store bought version. She’s right, the centers are so much fresher and softer than what you’d get in a store bought peppermint patty. This peppermint patties recipe is also quite easy to make, and is a lovely homemade holiday gift for family and friends.
How to make peppermint patties
The centers for these peppermint patties are just sweetened condensed milk, peppermint extract, vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Stir it all together until a dough forms, then use a cookie cutter to cut out rounds of the peppermint mixture. You can make these patties as big or as small as you like, I use a 1 or 1 1/2 inch cookie cutter. The centers need to be very cold before they get a dip in chocolate, so put them in the freezer before you start this step. You’ll want to work quickly as you dip the patties, I use a fork to toss them in the chocolate, and then I tap the fork to remove any excess chocolate. Add festive holiday sprinkles while the chocolate is still wet, then let cool. You’ll have a fun and delicious holiday treat in no time!
I like to package these homemade peppermint patties in festive tins and deliver them to friends and family around the holidays, it’s always such an appreciated gift. People will be SO impressed to hear that you make them yourself! This is also a great recipe to do with the kids, my girls love rolling out the dough and cutting out the centers. I’m adding these peppermint patties to my must-make list every year, and I love that they don’t take up precious oven space!
More holiday treats
Peppermint Patties Video
Peppermint Patties Recipe
Ingredients
- 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 1/4 teaspoons peppermint extract or more to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 3/4 cups powdered sugar plus extra for sprinkling
- 3 cups dark chocolate candy melts such as Ghirardelli
- 1/2 cup holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Place the condensed milk, peppermint extract and vanilla extract in the bowl of a mixer. Add half of the powered sugar and beat with a mixer on low speed.
- Gradually add the remaining powdered sugar. Beat until a smooth dough forms. You should be able to pinch off a piece of dough and roll it into a ball and have it hold its shape. If the dough is too soft or sticky, add more powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time to get to the desired consistency. If the dough is too dry or crumble, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time to get to the right texture.
- Sprinkle powdered sugar over a piece of parchment paper. Place the peppermint dough on the parchment and sprinkle powdered sugar over the top. Roll into a 1/2 inch thick circle.
- Coat a 1 or 1 1/2 inch round cookie cutter with cooking spray. Use it to cut out circles from the dough. If your dough does not cut easily, simply place it in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up, then try again.
- Transfer the peppermint rounds to a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover and freeze for 20 minutes.
- Place the chocolate melts in a medium microwave safe bowl. Cook at 30 second intervals until melted, stirring occasionally.
- Using a fork, dip the patties one by one in the chocolate melts, then place on a piece of parchment. Add sprinkles immediately. Let cool until set, then serve. Store in the refrigerator.
Tips- be sure to cut them out thick enough and that they are very cold. HUGE difference in working with them. And refreeze if they get warm/soft when dipping. I made some a little then and they were too hard to work with. And more freezer time made them way easier to dip. Sadly, mine did not look as “pretty” but tasted good.
I think I am going to make these but I am going to use orange extract instead of mint! Thoughts?
I think that should be fine!
I have made these as peppermint and also as mixed berry flavour (With some pink food dye and boysenberry and strawberry essence). The mixed berry ones were an absolute hit and everyone LOVED the peppermint ones as well! Just an excellent recipe.
Second year making these, they were a hit for Christmas baking last year. I have a hot tip! I pipe the melted chocolate into 1 and a half inch rounds onto parchment paper, chill, then put the pep patty on the chocolate the pipe with more chocolate to cover, then chill again. I find it a lot easier.
Thank you for the awesome recipe!
I made these last year for Christmas, they were delicious. The only problem I had was rolling them out. This year I rolled them into a ball and flattened them in my palms and refrigerated. They were perfect!!!!!
That’s exactly what I did and it worked great!
OMG! These are the best patties! They came out perfectly!
Perfect! I was a little skeptical about this recipe. But I love peppermint patties and decided to try it. WOW! I am so impressed with how perfectly yummy these came out. Also, super easy which is a plus.
Instead of adding shortening to chocolate look for higher quality chocolate and get one with a slightly higher fluidity. This way you can properly temper the chocolate.
The recipe was a success! These taste great and was a family favorite. Thank you for sharing!
Can you roll these into ball shapes and dip instead
That should be fine!
Hello,
do you know a non-dairy replacement for the milk?
Thank you very much
This recipe requires the thick and sticky texture of the sweetened condensed milk, otherwise the patties will not set up.
I’ve seen a recipe for light karo syrup instead of sweetened condensed milk!
You can use sweetened condensed coconut milk as an alternative.
There is now a sweetened condensed coconut milk that might work well. I plan to try that soon.
My dough turned out extremely hard, I almost blew the motor in my mixer.. I can’t even roll it.. Any suggestions as how to fix this ?
Add more condensed milk, 1-2 teaspoons at a time, until you reach your desired consistency!
How long do they keep in the refrigerator?
Up to 2 weeks!
If using Merkens melting wafers do I still use 3 cups like the chocolate chips?
Yes but you don’t need to add shortening!
Can I use butter instead of the shortening
I don’t recommend using butter, if you don’t have shortening just leave it out.
Can these be shipped?
I’ve never tried it, I think they’d melt in warmer temperatures so you’d need to stick to the winter.
What can be done to make them so they don’t have to be refrigerated? I’d like to make some and share with other Christmas treats.
The completed candies can stay at room temperature for a few hours, I just wouldn’t leave them out for too long or in a super warm house because they might soften.
You can temper your chocolate or use candy melts. I prefer tempering chocolate. It’s worth the extra work for the texture and flavor!
My dough flops when dipping these in the hot melted chocolate. Help!!
Sorry just seeing this now! It’s important that the patties are super cold, and if you’re having trouble you can wait a few minutes for your chocolate to cool to lukewarm. Hope this helps!
I followed the directions to the T, but my peppermint was almost pourable. Definitely couldn’t roll it! I added more powdered sugar, but I was afraid it was get terribly sweet. What could have gone wrong? I went ahead and made them away, popping them into the freezer, and then adding a bottom coating of chocolate and while they taste great, the chocolate is melting fast in my hands while the filling drools out as I bite into them. Any thoughts? TIA
The peppermint should not be pourable, my only thought was maybe it was a measuring issue related to the powdered sugar? The recipe has you add the powdered sugar in two batches, did you add them both? It’s completely fine to add more powdered sugar until you get to the desired consistency, the dark chocolate tempers the sweetness of the filling so you don’t really need to worry about it being overly sweet. Hope that helps!
I was so happy to find this. They are my favourite… Looking forward to making them. Thank you.
Hi! Can I freeze these if I make ahead?
Thanks!
Yes you can, just be aware that when you defrost there might be some condensation on the chocolate, so it’s best to serve them right away after defrosting.
What is shortening and what is its purpose? We don’t have it in the UK (Unless it goes by another name), could I leave it out? I don’t really want to use coconut oil as previously suggested.
Shortening is a solid vegetable based fat. The purpose is to thin out the chocolate to make it easier for dipping. You can omit it, but you may end up with a thicker chocolate shell on your candy!
Thanks for the reply. Thicker chocolate is not a problem for me! 😂😋