Peppermint Patties

I realize the holiday baking season is over, but these can be made and eaten for any occasion. They are a favorite in our house.

First step is to mix up the recipe.

 Then, form into a ball and flatten with your hand.

Let them harden up a bit. Then, melt some chocolate almond bark mixed with a few chocolate chips and a tiny dab of shortening.

Once the patties are hardened, dip them into the chocolate and lay them on wax paper to harden.

A note of caution here. These are addictive! We keep ours in a bag in the fridge. The nice thing about these, other than the taste, is that you can adjust the amount of peppermint oil to suite your taste for it. My dad thinks most peppermint patties have too much mint in them. He really liked ours and took home a bag of them for himself.

I made two different recipes last year. This year, I combined them with excellent results. You can scale it up or down depending on how many you want to make.

4 oz. softened cream cheese

1/2 can sweetened condensed milk

powdered sugar, enough to make a thick dough

peppermint oil to taste

That's it. Mix it up. It will be sticky but fairly firm. It will harden quickly as it air dries. You want them to have a crust on them to make them easier to handle and dip in the melted chocolate.