Candy Cane Cream Cheese Mints Recipe

As a kid, I distinctly remember helping my mom and Aunt Kim prepare one of my favorite treats -- Cream Cheese Mints. They're visually satisfying with the perfect level of sweetness -- each one just melts in your mouth.

Since I will be using this recipe around Christmas, I've chosen to make mine red and white, like a candy cane. With different food colors, they can be done up for just about any celebration. Specifically, I remember having these at weddings, baby showers and birthday parties!

The original cream cheese mints recipe calls for cups of powdered and granulated sugar. With a few low carb modifications, my new recipe is totally suitable for a Keto diet.

For an extra special dessert, use a candy mold with your favorite shapes. Hearts and bells were common during weddings when growing up.

For this recipe, I went the traditional route and just used the tines of a fork to flatten and mark them. If you decide to try this method, I find that using a fork dipped in erythritol works great.

Candy Cane Cream Cheese Mints

My Cream Cheese Mints recipe is the perfect mixture of sweet and satisfying -- no one will ever know they're low carb!

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 10 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 24 people

Calories 80 kcal

Ingredients

  

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• 16 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
• ½ cup butter (room temperature)
• 1½ cups powdered erythritol
• ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
• 3-5 drops food coloring (optional)

Instructions

 

• With a hand mixer, beat together cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl until smooth.
• Gradually add in 1 cup of powdered erythritol and mix until combined (be sure to reserve ½ cup for later step).
• Add peppermint extract and food coloring. Beat until color is evenly distributed.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for a minimum of one hour. This will help firm up the mints.
• After cooling in the refrigerator, use a spoon or cookie scoop to form individual servings. Place them in a bowl with the remainder of the powdered erythritol and swirl to coat. This will make them much easier to roll with minimal sticking.
• With clean hands, roll the cream cheese to form small balls. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet, about 1-2 inches apart.
• When all balls are rolled, take a fork dipped in erythritol and apply a crosshatch design on top. Use the tines of the fork (jagged edges) to make your design.
• Refrigerate until completely cooled.
• Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cream cheese mintCalories: 80kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 1gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 1g

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Tips for Delicious Cream Cheese Mints

• Make sure that you are using peppermint extract. I find that most other mint flavorings taste a little too much like toothpaste.
• Want to make it easy? Do everything in a food processor.
• Don't have powdered sweetener? Blitz the granular version in your food processor or blender. It mimics the texture of powdered sugar.
• When you add the powdered sugar replacement to the cream cheese & butter mixture, do it gradually. If you add it all at once, you may be left with a kitchen covered in a layer of erythrtiol.
• Another sweetener can be used, but the cooling effect of the erythritol works extremely well when paired with the peppermint extract.
• When cooling these in the refrigerator, a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or waxed paper works great!
• Planning on using candy molds? Instead of small balls, you may need to roll them at a different size. Make sure you have enough mixture to fill them.
• Keep the carb count low by using certain brands of cream cheese. They can vary from 0g to 2g carbs per serving. I usually go with the Philadelphia brand based on the flavor and 1g carb count.
• Make sure you have enough room in your refrigerator to cool -- especially if you're doing a big batch on sheet pans.
• Have you peeped the nutrition info? These are great as a fat bomb!

When all is said and done, what's more impressive than homemade mints? No one has to know how simple it was!

What's your favorite Keto dessert? Comment below!