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Learn how to make butter mints with this homemade butter mints recipe! Ubiquitous at weddings, baby showers, and other celebratory events, these soft and creamy pastel-colored mints are easy to make and require just six ingredients.
Why Make This Butter Mints Recipe?
Known for their creamy, “melt in your mouth” texture and sweet, slightly minty flavor, butter mints make popular party favors and after dinner treats. You’ll often find butter mints at weddings (they’re sometimes called ‘wedding mints’ for a reason!), bridal showers, baby showers, and other special events. I’ve also seen dishes of butter mints at restaurants, usually on the host’s stand, or in business waiting rooms or reception areas.
Butter mints consist of butter (duh!) along with confectioner’s sugar, milk, and peppermint oil, which blend together to give these tiny sweets their distinctive texture and flavor profile. And while store-bought butter mints will work in a pinch, I prefer to make my own from scratch.
What’s Great About Homemade Butter Mints?
- They’re easy to make – Blend butter and sugar in a mixing bowl, add flavor and color, roll the dough, cut it with a knife, and voila! Butter mints. The hardest part is waiting 8-10 hours for the mints to dry.
- They require just six ingredients – Butter, confectioner’s sugar, peppermint oil, gel food coloring, milk, and a pinch of salt. That’s it. If you’re an avid baker, you probably have all six of these in your kitchen cabinet right now.
- No need for refrigeration – Thanks to the high sugar content, you can safely store your homemade butter mints at room temperature. (Just be careful where you store your mints—see my notes below!)
- They’re highly customizable – Tint the dough to match your wedding scheme; make blue and pink for a gender reveal; create red and green for Christmas; or whip up a batch of butter mints in the colors of your favorite sports team.
- You’ll have fun making them – Rolling and shaping homemade butter mints reminds me of playing with Play-Doh. It’s so easy, even children can participate—just make sure an adult takes care of the cutting!
- Great for gifting – Try packaging homemade butter mints in small mesh bags or pretty cello bags.
Ingredients for Making Homemade Butter Mints
To make this butter mints recipe, gather the following ingredients:
- Butter – Choose a good-tasting, unsalted butter (these are called butter mints for a reason!) and allow it to come up to room temperature before use.
- Confectioner’s sugar – A.k.a. powdered sugar, or icing sugar, to give the mints their sweet taste and slightly crumbly texture. The high sugar content in this recipe also acts as a preservative, allowing for room temperature storage.
- Whole milk – Use just enough to bring the dough together. It’s okay to add a tiny splash of extra milk if the mixture seems too dry, but resist the urge to add too much liquid. Sticky dough will be difficult to roll and cut, and it won’t dry properly.
- Kosher salt – My go-to is Diamond Crystal, but any type of kosher salt will work. You can also substitute fine sea salt.
- Peppermint oil – Choose natural peppermint oil, not flavoring or extract. I use LorAnn Oils in most of my candy recipes, including these butter mints (as well as my peppermint patties and cream cheese mints!) but any good-quality peppermint oil will work. I suggest starting with 1/4 teaspoon, then adding more oil to taste. With peppermint oil, a tiny bit goes a long way, so don’t go overboard!
- Gel food coloring – I went with yellow, pink, and green for spring, but you can choose any colors you’d like. I prefer the Chefmaster brand of gel colors.
Butter Mints Recipe Tips and Tricks
Take the time to properly sift the confectioner’s sugar before adding it to the butter mixture. If your sugar contains lumps or clumps, there will be lumps in the finished mints, too.
After slicing, allow the mints to sit uncovered until dry. Depending on the temperature and humidity levels in your home, this may take 8-10 hours. If drying overnight, gently place a sheet of parchment over top of the tray to avoid the mints collecting dust.
Finished butter mints won’t be hard or crunchy (this isn’t hard candy!) Instead, the mints should feel dry (not sticky) to the touch, and indulge your tastebuds with a creamy, “melt in your mouth” texture.
While shaping the mints, keep un-used dough wrapped in clingfilm/plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.
Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions
Think carefully about where and how you choose to store your homemade butter mints. These will absorb odors! Pick a location without strongly-scented food items (coffee, onions, teas, cinnamon sticks, etc.) or you’ll find that your butter mints soon taste and smell like their cabinet companions.
Homemade butter mints will keep well for 2-3 weeks when stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Other candy recipes you might enjoy:
Homemade Candy Corn
Cream Cheese Peppermints
Cookies and Cream Marshmallows
Lemon Drops Candy
And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
Butter Mints Recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour (+ drying time)
- Yield: Approximately 600 grams (4 cups) 1x
Description
Learn how to make butter mints with this homemade butter mints recipe! These creamy, pastel-colored mints are easy to make and require just six ingredients.
Ingredients
113 grams unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup/1 stick)
530 grams confectioner’s sugar (4 cups), plus more for dusting
25 milliliters whole milk (1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons)
Generous pinch kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon peppermint oil, or to taste
Gel food coloring
Instructions
Line one large tray (or several smaller trays) with parchment, wax paper, or a silicone mat. Set aside.
Cover countertop with a silicone rolling mat. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whip butter on high speed until light and fluffy.
With a fine mesh strainer, sift the confectioner’s sugar to remove any lumps or clumps.
Gradually add the confectioner’s sugar to the butter, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Mix in the whole milk, salt, and peppermint oil. Continue mixing until a crumbly dough forms.
Turn out onto prepared silicone mat.
Use your hands to bring the mixture together, forming a ball.
Divide into portions, one for each color you plan to make.
Add 1-2 drops of gel food coloring. With gloved hands, knead to evenly distribute the color thoughout the dough.
Wrap balls in clingfilm/plastic wrap. (This will prevent the butter mint dough from drying out while you work.)
Beginning with one color, roll dough into a long rope, about 1/2-inch thick. (If using a smaller mat, you can roll 2-3 shorter ropes.)
With a sharp knife, slice the rope into 1/2-inch pieces.
With a small stepped palette knife, transfer mints to prepared tray.
Repeat with remaining colors.
Allow butter mints to sit uncovered at room temperature for 8-10 hours (I allowed mine to try overnight) or until dry.
Layer between sheets of parchment or wax paper. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three weeks.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Drying Time: 8-10 hours, or overnight
- Category: Candy and Confectioner
- Method: No Cook