Buttermints

This time of year, my mom, sisters, and I all get the bug to start making candy. Sometime during the season we try to get together for a day and make some. For a few years, we tried to kid ourselves into thinking we were great chefs and could make anything, including buttermints. After SEVERAL failed attempts, and pounds and pounds of wasted sugar, we have given up on making buttermints, much to our disappointment.

Today I was looking through a magazine that I keep getting for some reason, "Wonder Time" (I know I didn't order the magazine), and they had a recipe for buttermints that seemed really easy. You didn't have to boil the sugar for the right amount of time, or worry about the sugar turning to crystals. You didn't have to try to pull the dough while it was boiling hot and get blisters on your hands (Erin). So I gave it a try, and it was really easy and they turned out really well. I made the whole batch in about 1/2 hour. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Here is the recipe.


Buttermints
1/2 stick butter, room temperature
1 lb powdered sugar (about 4 cups)
1 tlb plus 2 tsp. ice water
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. peppermint oil or 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
Green, red blue and yellow food coloring

In a large bowl, cut butter into sugar with two knives or your fingers. Add 1 tlb ice water, salt, and peppermint oil, and toss with a fork. Press mixture into a ball; if it seems crumbly; add more ice water, 1 tsp. at a time, until dough presses together easily. Turn dough out onto a work surface and knead until it's smooth and satiny, 3-4 minutes. Quarter dough, tint each quarter a different color (use sparingly; paler colors are prettier). You also could leave a quarter white. Roll dough into 1/2 inch balls and flatten them slightly with your palm (keeping remaining dough covered with plastic wrap as you work so it doesn't dry out). They need to set for 2-3 hours, uncovered, at room temperature. Then move them to a covered container in a cool place (where they should ripen for 2 days to improve flavor and make them easier to handle) before being eaten. They will keep at room temperature for 2 weeks and in the fridge for a month.