Molded Mints From Swiftning Food

OLD-FASHIONED BUTTER MINTS

Steps:

• To the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and salt and beat for 1 minute on medium-high speed.
• Add 3 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, milk, peppermint, and beat on medium-low speed until a dough forms. If the dough seems wet, add additional confectioners' sugar until dough combines (I use 3 1/2 cups sugar). The dough will be crumbly but will come together when pinched and squeezed into a ball.
• Taste the batter. If you want a more intense mint flavor, add additional mint extract, to taste (see note below).
• Remove dough from the mixer, separate it into 1 to 4 smaller balls, and add one ball back into the mixer. Add the food coloring of your choice to the ball by squirting the droplets on top of the dough (careful when you turn on the mixer), and paddle on low speed until coloring is well-blended. Coloring will not blend completely into each and every speck of dough if examined extremely closely, but overall, mix until color is uniform. (I separated approximately two-thirds of the dough and made it green using about 15 drops green food coloring and made one-third of the dough red-pink by using about 7 drops red food coloring).
• Wash the mixing bowl and the paddle in between each color change and repeat until all the balls are colored.
• After the dough has been colored, either wrap it with plastic wrap and place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator to be rolled out later or roll it immediately.
• To shape the butter mints, place a golf-ball sized amount of dough in your hands and roll dough into long thin cylinders about 1 centimeter wide. Place cylinders on countertop and with a pizza cutter (or knife - be careful of your counter), slice cylinders into bite-sized pieces, approximately 1 centimeter long.
• Store mints in an airtight container in the refrigerator where they will keep for many weeks.

CREAM CHEESE MINTS IN CANDY MOLDS

Steps:

• Mix cheese in bowl until soft. Add coloring and flavoring (very slowly -- on high humidity days, it will take less); gradually add the sugar. Mix and knead until it is the consistency of pie dough or putty. Roll into balls the size of a marble. Dip balls in granulated sugar and press firmly into a candy mold. Unmold at once onto waxed paper. Once firm, transfer onto a cake rack and let dry for a few hours. They will keep a long time if you store them in an air-tight container.

MOLDED MINTS FROM SWIFTNING

Steps:

• mix with mixer the swiftening (shortening) add 2 teaspoon powdered sugar
• and egg white add powdered sugar and cream of tarter
• after with water
• divide in 3 parts add 1 teaspoon butter flavoring in 1 part
• add add mint flavoring and green food coloring to color you like
• 1 teaspoon almond food coloring or cinnamon flavoring
• dip molds in sugar
• could need more powdered sugar if
• be sure to knead good underlined
• let dry 1/2 hour or so , other recipes say flip over and dry some more.

HOMEMADE MINTS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and mint extract until smooth. Gradually beat in as much confectioners' sugar as possible; knead in remaining confectioners' sugar. , Divide mixture into four portions. Tint one pink, one green and one yellow, leaving one portion white. For each color, shape into 1/2-in. balls. Dip one side of each ball into sugar. Press sugared side into small candy molds; unmold and place on waxed paper. Let stand 1 hour or until dry before storing in airtight containers; refrigerate. May be stored for up to 1 week before serving.