Saturday Morning Escapades

I'm not quite finished my holiday baking, but there is one treat I've been eyeing to make for a while now; Homemade Peppermint Patties. I love mint and chocolate, some crazy people don't, but it's one of my favourites.

This recipe is surprisingly easy to make. I adapted Alice's recipe from here

Ingredients

• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 5 1/2 to 6 cups powdered sugar, sifted (I didn't sift, but I can see that being a benefit)
• 1 tablespoon peppermint extract
• 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used Hershey special dark chipits)
• 3 tablespoons shortening ( I used canola oil because I didn't have shortening on hand)

Step 1- Mix together 2 cups of the icing sugar (you can probably do 3) with the sweetened condensed milk and peppermint extract. Mix on medium speed until combined.

Step 2- Continue adding the icing sugar in 1/2 cup increments (I think I ended up using about 6 cups). You want the dough to be stiff but pliable ( coming off the edges of the bowl)

Step 3- Form into 3/4" balls and press down onto a lined plate, cutting board or tray. (I found lining with silicon mats worked best. When they were just on the plate, I had to scrape off with a knife. Freeze for up to 30 mins. If you're anything like me and don't have freezer space to accommodate all of these, I rotated between the freezer and the fridge.

Step 4- Melt the chocolate. Warning- this is a bit of rocket science. If you microwave, do it in 15 second increments, stirring well each time. You can also use a double boiler method. Once chocolate is melted, add shortening or oil to thin it out. I found keeping it in a pot of warm water worked well, and using a deep tall bowl over a larger shallow one works best. I did have to do this twice because the first time I burnt the chocolate, and once burnt it`s impossible to work with.

Step 5- Using a fork, dip each of the patties in chocolate, wiping off the excess each time. Warning- if you cook like me, this will get messy! Transfer the chocolate dipped patty to a tray or baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. You could sprinkle with crushed candy canes at this point if you wanted to. Transfer back to the fridge to set. They are done when the tops are dry to the touch.

In the spirit of laying it all on the table, if you`re anything like me, this will make a big mess- I got chocolate everywhere, but it was a fun morning adventure! 

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do! Alice`s version says it makes 32, but I got almost 60 out of mine (guess it all depends on how large you want `em!