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With just five ingredients, you can make our sweet and creamy homemade butter mints recipe – perfect for any gathering, and great for gifting!
A Favorite Homemade Candy!
If you’ve ever eaten butter mints at a wedding or baby shower, you know that they just melt in your mouth. They were a favorite as a child because our grandma Luna placed them in a bowl at many holiday gatherings.
Fast forward a few decades and we’ve finally learned how to make them at home. Surprisingly, these 5 ingredient homemade mints are even better than store bought making this candy irresistible!
We love a good candy recipe, especially for holidays like Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Christmas. A word of caution: These butter mints are addicting, and if you love this homemade candy, you’ll also like our homemade Turtle Candy and Caramel Candy!
WHY WE LOVE IT:
- Simple ingredients. There are only 5 ingredients!
- Store for later. Because these need to chill and store SO well, they are perfect for making ahead of time!
- Rave reviews. Similar to our Cream Cheese Mints these are often called “wedding mints” and always get rave reviews.
Ingredients
PREP TIME: 12 minutes
CHILL TIME: 13 hours
- ½ cup unsalted butter – How to Soften Butter Quickly
- 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 1 pinch salt
- 5-6 drops peppermint oil – or peppermint extract. Try other flavors such as cherry, lemon, or mint extract. Food oils taste more potent than extract but either can be used. Do not use essential oils.
- 3¾ cups powdered sugar – plus more for rolling the dough
- 2-3 drops food coloring – Make a single color or several pastel colors. See below for more detailed instructions.
How to Make Butter Mints
- BATTER. Beat ½ cup butter, 1 tablespoon heavy cream, 1 pinch salt, 5-6 drops peppermint oil, and ¾ cup of powdered sugar in a stand mixer until very smooth and creamy.
- Slowly add in the remaining 3 cups powdered sugar, scraping the sides of the bowl often.
- You can make all one color, or divide the dough into 4 equal portions. For each portion add a different food color and beat for 2-4 minutes, or till smooth and fluffy.
- CHILL. Scrape each color mixture into a mound, and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Chill for at least an hour.
- When the dough is firm enough to handle, divide each colored portion into 5 or 6 sections.
- SHAPE. To form mints, sprinkle your counter liberally with powdered sugar. Roll each section out into a rope about ½” thick.
- Use a dough scraper or knife to cut each rope into small pillow-shaped pieces approximately ½” long.
- Alternatively, shape the pieces to create mini mint balls or roll the candy out like cookie dough and use mini cutters to stamp out different shapes.
- DRY. Place each mint on baking sheets lined with wax or parchment paper.
- Let mints sit at room temperature for at least 12 hours to dry out.
Pro Tip!
The dough should have a similar texture as play dough. If your kitchen is warm and humid it can cause the dough to be stickier. In this case, add up to 4 teaspoons more of powdered sugar.
Butter Mints Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, unsalted, softened
- 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 1 pinch salt
- 5-6 drops peppermint oil
- 3¾ cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 drops food coloring, optional
Instructions
- Beat butter, cream, salt, peppermint oil, and ¾ cup of powdered sugar in a Kitchenaid till very smooth and creamy.
- Slowly add in the remaining powdered sugar, scraping the sides of the bowl often.
- You can make all one color, or divide the dough into 4 portions. For each portion add a different food color and beat for 2-4 minutes, or till smooth and fluffy.
- Scrape each color mixture into a mound, and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Chill for at least an hour.
- When the mixture is firm enough to handle, divide it into 5 or 6 pieces. To form mints, sprinkle your counter liberally with powdered sugar. Roll each piece out into a rope about ½" thick.
- Alternatively, shape the pieces to create mini mint balls or roll the candy out like cookie dough and use mini cutters to stamp out different shapes.
- Use a dough scraper to cut each rope into small pillow-shaped pieces approximately ½" long. Place each mint on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Let mints sit at room temperature for at least 12 hours to dry out.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Store in a plastic airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks, in the refrigerator for up to 1 month, or freeze in a freezer bag for up to 2 months.
Unsalted butter?
Yes, I usually use unsalted. Then you can adjust the amount of salt depending on how much you want to add.
I used 1 Tsp Peppermint extract since I didn’t have the oil. My 2nd attempt at making mints.
This recipe worked!! The other recipe I found 1st called for cream cheese & it just didn’t taste right. These set perfectly overnight. The “dough ” was way easier to roll too!! Ty for sharing! If you’re new at candy making, I highly recommend this recipe. Next time I’ll try adding food color rt before putting in the fridge to chill!! Merry Christmas!!
Thanks for the feedback!! And for giving the recipe a try. So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
This recipe was so easy to follow. My butter mints came out delicious and was a hit with my family.
Hooray!! I’m so happy to hear that the mints were a success. Thanks for sharing!
Can you use different flavored oils?
I personally have not, but different ones would work 🙂
Can you use any other flavor theN mint? VaNilla? Lemon?
I haven’t tried, but you sure could 🙂
Hello I was wondering if peppermint extract would work instead of oil and if so how how much? These sound delicious but I’ve never heard of PEPPERmint oil thank you:)
You sure could. Extract is a little lest potent, so you may want to add a little more. You can start with the same amount but my add a few more drops. Peppermint oil is in the baking aisle. Maybe 1/2 teaspoon?
Love it ! Great Recip thanks!
You are so welcome! Thank you!
Can you use peppermint extract instead pf oil
I haven’t tried, but I don’t see why not.
Cream as in whip cream or milk cream that is made after the fresh milk comes down to a room temperature after boiling??
Sorry, whipping cream 🙂
Being a guy, I’m thinking cool whip. I’m guessing it’s heavy whipping cream?
Yes, it’s made from heavy whipping cream 🙂
Do these need to be refrigerated? I want to ship them to my daughter in a care package
No, they don’t need to be 🙂 Hope she likes them!
The recipe seems easy. I will try it this weekend and give another rating. What is the serving portion for this recipe?
This recipe is from my contributor, but I would guess maybe 1/2 cup?