Sunday, December 27, 2009

Mrs. York

You can just call me Mrs. York, as in, York Peppermint Patties. They are my favorite candy and I decided to make them for the holidays this year.

I think I have tried making them before and failed...I can't remember how my attempt failed but I remember throwing most of the filling out. Maybe it didn't stiffen too much. Eh.

Not this time. These. Are. Perfect. After dipping the first one a slow smile came over my face. These would certainly wow my family and friends. The chocolate was smooth. The middle was cool and minty. The balance of chocolate and mint was perfect. The looked gorgeous!

I didn't temper my chocolate. I didn't do anything to the chocolate other than melt it. I used Ghirardelli dark chocolate bits. Yum.

Oh...and I didn't have a 1 inch cookie cutter (I just ordered a set of round cutters from Amazon) so I used a shot glass. Worked perfect.

I will definitely make this again and again.


Peppermint Patties
Source: Gourmet Magazine
Yield: 3-4 dozen

2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
1 T shortening
10 ounces 70%-cacao bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Make filling:
Beat 2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar with corn syrup, water, peppermint extract, shortening, and a pinch of salt using an electric mixer (with paddle attachment if using a stand mixer) at medium speed until just combined. Knead on a work surface dusted with remaining 1/4 cup confectioners sugar until smooth. Roll out between sheets of parchment paper on a large baking sheet into a 7- to 8-inch round (less than 1/4 inch thick). Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Remove top sheet of paper and sprinkle round with confectioners sugar. Replace top sheet, then flip round over and repeat sprinkling on other side.

Cut out as many rounds as possible with cutter, transferring to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze until firm, at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, gather scraps, reroll, and freeze, then cut out more rounds, freezing them.

Temper chocolate and coat filling:
Melt three fourths of chocolate in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Remove bowl from pan and add remaining chocolate, stirring until smooth. Cool until thermometer inserted at least 1/2 inch into chocolate registers 80°F.

Return water in pan to a boil and remove from heat. Set bowl with cooled chocolate over pan and reheat, stirring, until thermometer registers 88 to 91°F. Remove bowl from pan.

Balance 1 peppermint round on a fork and submerge in melted chocolate, letting excess drip off and scraping back of fork against rim of bowl if necessary, then return patty to sheet (to make decorative ridges on patty, immediately set bottom of fork briefly on top of patty, then lift fork straight up). Coat remaining rounds, rewarming chocolate to 88 to 91°F as necessary. Let patties stand until chocolate is set, about 1 hour.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

YUM! This is going on my must make list!

Megan said...

yum!! these look like the "Real thing"!

Melissa said...

I love peppermint patties, but never thought to make them myself! I see a nice Valentine treat coming with these!

megan said...

Definitely on my "to make" list! These look incredible! I love peppermint patties, I can't wait to make these. Thank you so much! :)

Cibaria Oils said...

Delicious! Saw this on foodgawker, and just had to say how wonderful these look!

scrambledhenfruit said...

These are absolutely gorgeous! Peppermint patties are my favorites...I am going to try these when I have lots of people to help eat them. :)

Veronica M. said...

York Peppermint Patties are my husbands fave as well--I will make these for his Valentines day gift! Yours look superb.

Kate at Serendipity said...

Oh, man. I live in Belgium, and we dont' have York patties here. I LOVELOVELOVE them. Thanks to you, I can now make them myself! ...if I can find pure peppermint oil...

THANKS for this recipe.

bldvdb said...

Wow! Thanks everyone!
Kate, I think it is so cool you are in Belgium. My grandfather was born and raised in Ghent!

Ashley M. [at] (never home)maker said...

This is one of the coolest things I've seen in the food blog world in a LONG time!!! Can't wait to try 'em :)

Anonymous said...

Noob question, what does '1 T shortening' mean? XD

bldvdb said...

One Tablespoon of shortening/Crisco.

Anne Coleman said...

These are AWESOME! Thanks so much for the recipe :)

Leslie said...

These are my FAV!!!

incrediblecrunchyflavor said...

wow! can't wait to make them!

http://incrediblecrunchyflavor.com

Unknown said...

Brilliant! I can't wait to give these a go as soon as the weather cools down.

Peggy said...

i absolutely love peppermint patties! these look delicious!

Marisa said...

Yes!!! These look so amazing. So professional. It's good my teeth can't reach through the screen or I would've gobble them up straight off of your photo.

Veronica M. said...

I just made a batch for birthday treats for a friend that likes minty stuff. I love them so I know he will too! Thanks for sharing.

Brandi Helstrom said...

I made these and everyone loved them! People even said they tasted better then the store bought peppermint patties. Great recipe and very easy to make yet a little time consuming.

Anonymous said...

These turned out great, but there is no way they yield 3-4 dozen. I used the top of a shot glass to cut mine out, and I got 18 patties from the batch.