Cream cheese mints are a fantastic no bake alternative for a quick and fun appetizer or dessert that everyone loves. And these super festive Christmas Cream cheese mints are so easy to make that they can be whipped up and ready to serve in as little as 30 minutes.
Traditionally served at weddings, cream cheese mints also look great on holiday platters. You will find a lot of recipes for these little bites of buttery and creamy goodness and I have tried enough to know that they all pretty much yield similar results.
Cream Cheese Mints
When it comes to cream cheese mints, there are two kinds- you can make a delicious cream cheese mint that basically consists of cream cheese , powdered sugar and extract or a little more refined wedding cream cheese mint that has a butter flavor (that recipe is here under Homemade Butter Mints). No matter which mint type you chose, you still get a gorgeous and rich wedding mint. You can easily eliminate the butter from this recipe for no affect on the end result.
Optional: Gel Food Coloring
or Colored Food Paste
, Mint Molds
Cream Cheese Mint Recipe Tips:
- The only thing to really know when you are making mints is you have to be careful not to over add add watery ingredients. For example, if you melt the butter or cream cheese down, it will never stiffen up. If you add too much extract or a liquid coloring, you may also have a huge problem with your mints forming into a ball.
- Its always better to add a little less because you just cant take it back.
- The key is not to over mix, add a little more powdered sugar if needed to keep the stickiness down, and to keep the room temperature even.
Christmas Cream Cheese Mints
In this recipe case, I made Christmas Cream Cheese mints, which are super fun on a holiday table along side Christmas Cookie Dough Dip and a Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball. You can adjust these for ANY holiday by changing out the sprinkles or adding a drop of food coloring.
Can I use a mold for my Cream Cheese mint?
Yes, but these mints can be sticky, so make sure you coat your mold in powdered sugar prior to pressing your mint in or I have known family members to add melting chocolate and then cream cheese mixture. You want to make sure the mint cant stick. Then stick in fridge and make sure they set before popping out.
Cream Cheese Mints Recipe
Using a hand mixer on low to start, combine cream cheese, mint extract, and half of the powdered sugar in a deep mixing bowl.
Powdered sugar is super messy so I only add half a time and then once mixed, add the other portion.
Now add half of your holiday sprinkles into the mixture, which makes sure they are also in the center of the mint and provide a little crunch.
This is the point I turn to hand mixing.
Dust a little powdered sugar on your hands and mix.
TIP: If the dough is still too sticky, it means you need more powdered sugar.
Add at 1/4 cup at a time until it forms a ball of dough.
In a separate small bowl, combine granulated sugar (or powdered sugar) and 2 tablespoons sprinkles.
Shape cream cheese mint dough into 3/4-inch balls and roll in sugar/sprinkle combination.
Place balls onto a baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes so they can set.
Remove from refrigerator and flatten gently with a fork. They should be slightly hard at this point.
At this point, you can eat them- and I always eat a ton at this stage- so do the kids!
However, if you leave mints out for a few hours in room temperature air (as long as your house isn’t hot), they slightly harden, which a lot of people prefer.
Store in an airtight container
and keep in fridge.
Other fun ways to make mints:
- Dip in Melting Chocolate for a “York peppermint patty”
- Try other types of food oils or extract flavors
This recipe makes a TON of mints!
You can feel comfortable that it will serve a whole party of people!
Christmas Cream Cheese Mints
Cream cheese mints are a fantastic no bake alternative for a quick and fun appetizer or dessert that everyone loves. Cream cheese mints are so easy to make that they can be whipped up and ready to serve in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar, divided
- 1/2 tsp mint extract
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1/4 cup holiday sprinkles, divided
- 1/2 cup granulated or powdered sugar
Instructions
- Using a hand mixer on low, combine cream cheese and mint extract in medium mixing bowl.
- Blend in 2 cups powdered sugar and milk until smooth. DO NOT OVERMIX.
- Add 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons sprinkles. Mix on low.
- Knead in remaining cup of powdered sugar using hands until dough is consistent and smooth. If you dough is still too sticky, add powdered sugar until its no longer sticky and can be formed into a tiny ball.
- In a separate small bowl, combine sugar and 2 tablespoons sprinkles.
- Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls and roll in sugar combination.
- Place balls onto a baking sheet.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Remove from refrigerator and flatten gently with a fork.
- You can now leave mints on the counter to harden slightly and then move to an airtight container. Store mints in refrigerator.
Vanessa says
Can these be frozen and served at a later date?
Trisha says
hi Vanessa! Yes you can freeze them. I have seen people say up to 3 months but I am not a fan of anything frozen 3 months, so I would say a month or so. Take them out of the freezer about 30 minutes before you want to serve. Also if you stack them, they could freeze together, so keep them one layer or place parchment between to prevent sticking. Make sure they are sealed really tight to keep moisture out.
Kelly says
I’ve just made a batch of these rolled in caster sugar and a gold/silver crystal sprinkle – they look like sparkly snowflakes! How long will they keep? I think theres too many for the party and it might be nice to bag some up as Christmas favours 😀
Trisha says
Hi Kelly! They should keep for atleast a week as long as they are stored well! Yours sound SO PRETTY.
Melanie says
Hey! How many mints does this recipe yield?
Trisha says
A lot of this depends on how big you make your mints (if you use molds and stuff) but you build easily make 60-80 mints. Its quite a bit.
Renee says
Hi. These look amazing. Me and my friend are making these for Christmas about approximately how many does 1 batch make? I read it makes alot but don’t know if we should make 1 or 2 batches. Thank you
Trisha says
So a lot of this depends on how big you make your mints (if you use molds and stuff) but you build easily make 60-80 mints.
Cheryl Cassedy says
Love them, but they are sooo sweet. Any way to sugar them down a bit?
Trisha says
Hi Cheryl! Unfortantly its really meant to just be kinda sugary..one thing you could try is using a dram of flavoring, which could take away the sweet a bit. Try balancing it with flavors like Peach, blueberry, chocolate. You can search “dram flavoring” on amazon or buy them in most baking departments at stores. That might take it from just straight up sugar to some flavor!
Bonnie Kaiser says
Would mixing a little bit of cornstarch or similar with the sugar work to lessen the amount of sugar and sweetness? Just reading the ingredients made me cringe due to sugar overload.
Trisha says
Hi Bonnie! I know, this one is full of powdered sugar! Truthfully I dont know what the measurements would be if you used corn start because if you put that much in substitution, they cream cheese mints wouldn’t taste as good ( I think). In theory it would work because corn starch is really fine, but its also super chalky so I am not sure how that would go down. Id actually love to try it and find out!
Tracey Mitchell says
Can i use other flavoring besides mint
Trisha says
Hi! Yes, you can use any flavoring you want! Mint is widely used at Christmas time, but there are 100s of flavorings out there that work if you want to mix it up.
Wyatt says
Hello, these look delectable! What can I use besides milk?
Trisha says
You just need a little moisture, so maybe try whole cream or half and half?
Bonnie Kaiser says
Almond or oat milk should work just as well.
Jennifer says
I am wanting to try these this year. Instead of sprinkles, can I just tint them with red or green food coloring? If so, can you advise me on how I may need to alter the recipe so there does not end up with too much liquid?
Trisha says
Hi Jennifer! Just use gel food coloring instead of liquid food coloring. Its kinda thick so you usually avoid that over moisture. Additionally, if you are concerned about using too much, a great way to use it is to put it on a toothpick, then add coloring a bit of time to the dough.