After Dinner Mints Recipe

After Dinner Mints Recipe makes delightful and delicious mints made from scratch like Grandma used to make.

Substitute butter for one ingredient in the same formula and enjoy Old Fashioned Butter after Mints Recipe, too. (Recipe below.)

After Dinner Mints Recipe makes a dessert the entire family will enjoy making together as well as eating.

After Dinner Mints Recipe

• 2 cups granulated sugar
  
  
• 1/2 cup water
  
  
• 1/4 cup corn syrup (I use white Karo Syrup)
  
  
• 1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint oil or 1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract*
  
  
• butter for greasing pan
  
  
• sifted, fine powdered sugar for dusting
  
  
• candy thermometer**
  
  
• powdered sugar to dust mints
  
  
• 12" or 14" marble slab* or a cookie sheet with sides
  

Place sugar, water and corn syrup in a 2 quart saucepan and set it on medium heat.

Stir until it comes to a boil.

Place the lid on pot and time boiling for 3 minutes.

This is to wash down any sugar crystals that are clinging to sides of pan.

Remove the lid.

If there are any sugar crystals left on sides of pan, lightly dip a pasty brush in water and wash them down into the candy.

This prevents your batch of candy from crystallizing.

Place your candy thermometer on the inside of the pan so that the bulb is down into to liquid but not touching the bottom or sides of pan.

Let the candy cook without stirring until it reaches 260F.

Remove pot from heat and let set 3 or 4 minutes to cool.

Gently stir in peppermint oil or peppermint extract.

Pour syrup slowly and carefully onto your buttered marble slab.

Or pour your candy syrup onto a cookie sheet with sides which will help to keep it from running over the sides.

Your candy syrup will cool fast enough as you slowly and carefully pour it onto the slab and prevent it from running over the sides.

The marble slab remains cool when hot candy syrup is poured onto it, allowing you to start working on your batch almost immediately.

When the edges of the candy batch start to cool, lift the edges up and fold them over into the middle of the batch.

This will help the candy cool evenly, especially if it has been poured onto a cookie sheet.

When the whole candy batch has cooled enough to handle, turn it over so the bottom side will cool slightly too.

When all the candy is cool just enough to safely pick it up, grease your hands lightly with butter.

Start to pull it with both hands, stretching it out with your arms to make a rope about 2-3 foot long.

Fold the rope over in half and keep pulling into a rope and folding it in half again.

Twist the candy rope a little as you pull it, creating the classic design of pulled mints.

Pull until it becomes light colored but still warm and pliable.

It will begin to get hard to pull because of heat loss as you pull.

Do not let it cool completely or it will be too hard to cut and you will need to break it into pieces.

It you break it into pieces it will taste fine, but it will not be so attractive.

Sift and sprinkle a thin layer of powdered sugar on your marble slab or cookie sheet.

Lay the finished, slightly warm, rope down on a surface such at your cookie sheet, or the marble slap you cooled it on, that has been sprinkled with sifted powered sugar.

You may have to cut it into 2 or 3 ropes, depending on the length of your pan or slab.

I use my countertop at this stage, unless I have added food colorant.

You can shape and roll the whole rope getting the diameter the same size from end to end, if you concentrate on it as you pull. 

With a pair of greased, sharp scissors, working quickly, cut the rope into 1 1/2" lengths, or the size you prefer, separating them so they don't touch each other.

Sift powdered sugar over them to cover and leave mints out for about 8 hours or overnight to harden on the outside.

They will get firm on the outside and creamy on the inside.

After the outside has hardened, shake the powdered sugar off or sift them gently to remove any loose powder.

Store them in an airtight container.

These mints develop a stronger flavor if they are allowed to rest a few days before consuming.

The menthol develops as as the mints age.

Pure peppermint oil gives you a stronger flavor than flavoring because the menthol is more concentrated.

However, pure peppermint oil is not as readily available as the peppermint extract and a lot more expensive.

You may find pure peppermint oil in specialty food stores, health food stores, at the pharmacy and online.

It is wise to test your thermometer before beginning to make your candy.

To test it for accuracy, place the bulb of your thermometer in the pot you are going to use making sure the bulb in in the water and not touching the sides of the pan.

Bring it to a full rolling boil.

If it is accurate it will read 212F. when it starts to boil.

If the boiling point is off a degree or two, adjust your candy finished temperature accordingly, up or down.

Old Fashioned Butter
After Dinner Mints Recipe

• 2 cups fine white sugar
  
  
• 1/2 stick butter (1/4 stick)
  
  
• 1/2 cup water
  
  
• 1-2 drops food grade liquid colorant (red for pink color, green, yellow and blue are recommended)
  
  
• sifted powdered sugar
  
  

Follow the cooking instructions as in the After Dinner Mints Recipe at top.

If you chose to color your mints add the colorant, drop the colorant on the batch just before you start to pull the candy.

It will mix the color in as you pull.

You might want to wear food handling gloves to keep the colorant off your fingers.

You can also drop the pure peppermint oil on the candy at this stage instead of in the syrup as shown above.

Fold the candy over a few times and knead the candy until the peppermint and colors are blended before you start to pull it.

When pulling your candy mint rope if you want a smooth looking mint fold the rope over without twisting as I did the white mint in the above image.

If you want your mint to have the rope traditional look as I did in the green mint in the image, twist the rope each time you pull it.

This will give each piece of candy a little different twisted design.

Mints made with these After Dinner Mints Recipe and the Old Fashioned Butter After Dinner Mints Recipe are perfect for serving at any event where a dessert is served:

• Both versions are especially wonderful for serving after your dinner.
  
  
• Serve them as a between-meal snack.
  
  
• Serve them at wedding receptions, anniversary parties and baby showers.
  
  
• Seal them in cellophane bags and tie pretty bows on the bag for a great looking, thoughtful gift.
  
  
  

Marble Slabs

Nice, thick Marble Slabs for great this after Dinner Mints Recipe homemade candy making is a must, in my opinion, if you intend to make this candy and others often, for your loved ones.

The slabs last a lifetime and can be passed down to your family.

To save you a lot of money on a purchase, check with your local or nearby Marble and Granite Company to see if they will sell you a custom cut slab in the appropriate size, including thickness.

That is how I got mine.

I hope you enjoy making this After Dinner Mints Recipe.

HAPPY CANDY MAKING!

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