Lifesavers Peppermint Recipes

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.

BABY PACIFIERS (SHOWER FAVORS)

Steps:

• Unwrap all the Lifesavers.
• Take one Lifesaver and apply a thin layer of frosting around the inner hole.
• Grab a jellybean and place one of the short, ROUND ends in it, so the length of the jellybean is coming out of the hole.
• Flip the Lifesaver over.
• On the other side, take the frosting and make a slightly thicker (yet still on the thin side) layer of frosting around the inner hole/center, and place another Lifesaver perpendicular attaching edge of 2nd Lifesaver to center of 1st Lifesaver with jellybean attached to it.
• Place on flat surface and allow to dry.
• After drying for 3-4 hours, thread curling ribbon through the hole of the 2nd Lifesaver and tie in a knot.

PEPPERMINT HARD CANDY

Steps:

• Line a 13-in. x 9-in. pan with foil. Grease the foil with 1 tablespoon butter; set aside. In a large heavy saucepan, combine sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cover and cook for 3 minutes to dissolve sugar crystals. Uncover; cook over medium-high heat, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 300° (hard-crack stage)., Remove from the heat; stir in extracts and food coloring. Pour into prepared pan. Cool; break into pieces. Store in airtight containers.

CANDY TRAIN

Steps:

• Glue the roll of Lifesavers candy to the pack or gum.
• Glue the peppermint candies on each side to make the wheels.
• Glue the Hershey's Kiss on the top-end of the Lifesavers to make the train smokestack.
• On the other end of the train glue a Rollo candy to make the engineer's room - glue a small candy on top for the roof (use a Starburst candy or mini chocolate bar).
• Take your mini Hershey's bar and run a glue the entire length and place on back end of the Candy Train.