Dairy-Free Cocoa-Coated Butter Mints

As a child I loved to scoop up a handful of green and white butter mints from a bowl inside the front door to my parents’ favorite restaurant. I loved the soft texture of the mints and the smooth, buttery mint flavor. I still find butter mints now and then, but look wistfully at those neat white plastic pillows (no one leaves food out unwrapped anymore) and walk on by. Those delicious candies I remember so fondly from my youth are packed with ingredients I now avoid, including butter, artificial food coloring and loads of sugar.

It didn’t occur to me to replicate those mints until I ran across a recipe in Yvette Van Boven’s Home Made Christmas that sounded similar to the after-dinner mints of my childhood., I removed the dairy and replaced some of the sugar with powdered xylitol or erythritol. I don’t use refined (organic) sugar often, but I make an exception for these special-occasion mints. Hers are dusted with powdered sugar, but I roll mine in unsweetened cocoa. Mint and chocolate is one of my favorite sweet flavor combinations.

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Dairy-Free Cocoa-Coated Butter Mints

By Springhouse Turtle – Serves: many

Prep Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes

These crunchy smooth candies contain no dairy, but they taste like a buttery sweet blend of mint and chocolate. I make them as a special treat to be eaten after a holiday or birthday meal.

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons dairy-free cream cheese at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons dairy-free butter at room temperature
• 1/8 teaspoon peppermint flavor
• 1.5 cups organic powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup powdered erythritol or xylitol (see NOTE)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

1

Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

2

Pour the cocoa powder into a small bowl. Set aside.

3

Mix all remaining ingredients in a stand mixer at medium speed for about 2 minutes. (If it's very dry, add a few drops of non-dairy milk until it holds together in a smooth ball.)

4

Scoop out balls of this "dough" (I use a 1/2" melon baller) onto the prepared cookie sheet.

5

Roll each ball in unsweetened cocoa.

6

Press the balls flat with a decorative stamp or the tines of a fork.

7

Allow to dry at room temperature, about 4 hours.

8

Store mints (if any are left) in the fridge in a sealed container.

9

Remove from fridge for 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

1: I use Swerve brand powdered erythritol. If it's not available, I make my own powdered erythritol or xylitol by pulverizing 1/4 cup of sweetener crystals in a high-speed blender or food processor for a minute or two. It will turn into about 1/2 cup of fine powder. Whisk in 1/4 teaspoon of starch (corn, potato, amaranth or tapioca) to keep the powdered sweetener from getting lumpy. 2: To make smaller mints, put the dough in a pastry bag and press small dots onto a parchment-covered cookie sheet. Dust with cocoa and allow to dry as is, or press flat with the tines of a fork or the bottom of a glass.

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