A Southern Grace: mentos--the freshmaker

May 21, 2008

mentos--the freshmaker

Yum

I loved those commercials. You remember them, right? Goofy people face some sort of dilemma, pop a Mentos, and come up with some wacky, clever solution.


Cue cheesy grin and roll of mints...and scene.


These don't really have anything to do with Mentos (for one thing, they won't cause your coke to erupt)(and they're as yet unassociated with a maddening jingle), but the temperature is back down to the 30s and 40s here and my brain is foggy and confused. And they are minty...


These are my butter mints. They're quick, easy, smash-and-breakage-resistant, and tasty, and are therefore a shoo-in for the wedding reception.


Butter Mints
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
food coloring (I used red decorating gel)
bit o' granulated sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream butter well. Blend in the powdered sugar gradually, mixing until smooth. Add milk, peppermint extract, and food coloring and blend well until the color is uniform throughout. (I had to resort to hand-kneading in order to achieve this.) Form better non-bitter butter batter (too bad botter isn't a word...) into small balls, roll in sugar, and press into molds. Let the mints set up for a couple of hours, or until they easily pop out of the mold. Store in an airtight container in a cool place.
Makes 3 to 4 dozen mints.


Butter mints--the cavity-maker!

One last thing: If you have an interesting sense of humor like I do, you'll appreciate this. I won't lie--it got a great big guffaw out of me.

33 comments:

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

These would be excellent for the wedding reception Grace:D

Anonymous said...

Those are lovely, Grace!

The link--not sure what to say about that, hehe.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic wedding reception idea! I love the idea of making your own sweets but I always thought it would be really hard. These look really lovely though :)

Anonymous said...

Those are just awesome! A perfect addition to the menu! Would even work well for favors, don't you think? :)

Albany Jane said...

I saw that chocolate the other day. I agree - hilarious!

krysta said...

So cute! Those would be great party favors. I loved the link! Thanks for the laugh ewww gross laugh of the day!

April was in CA now MA said...

Those mints are oh so beautiful! The perfect addition to a wedding reception.

I came across the "chocolate" yesterday as well and have since FWD'd that to several people. I won't repeat any of the comments I got.

Anonymous said...

Making homemade mints? Wow, this is really a great idea! Yes, I loved those commercials too!

Sharon said...

Those are adorable. I think they'd be great for the wedding.

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

What a great idea for the wedding!

LyB said...

Those are just so cute! The mints of course! ;)

Anna said...

Oh, how I love cavities. And pink sweets. These are pretty much a win on all fronts XD.

Anonymous said...

First, why can't you live closer, you are so funny, we could laugh all day.

Second, these are perfect for a wedding. When I renew my vows, I'm ordering these!

Anonymous said...

You made these yourself? Wow! How pretty they are!

Anonymous said...

I love these! Grace, well done! Thanks for posting the recipe. I will try these for my sister's baby shower.

toontz said...

Grace-Those are so sweet and dainty. I could not have those around my house, I would eat every single one (and not have any guilt about it, either)!

Anonymous said...

Great, have you had the ones made with cream cheese?

Anonymous said...

Cool photos it too me a few looks to realize that that first one is the mints still in the mold. I was thinking you has some how captured the mints falling onto the table with granules of sugar suspended in mid air.

Gigi said...

Cool idea! I am in charge of desserts at my friends baby shower and this is going to make parting gift.

Pixie said...

Grace, I'm truly impressed- Please send a container my way. lol

RecipeGirl said...

Those are the cutest!! What a perfect choice for the wedding reception :)

Anonymous said...

grace! these looks gorgeous.love the colour.
and also, i was quite the sucker for the mentoes adverts. :S haha..

Anonymous said...

You went looking for edible anus, didn't you!!! Shame, shame, girl. (o;

The mints look awesome! I'm going to hold on to that recipe. By the way, both Stephanie & I have tried your We Wish We Were Reese's Cups Bars and they were a hit!

Ulla said...

I love the color! So great!

amycaseycooks said...

finally - another recipe for all those candy molds I bought at the craft store.

test it comm said...

Those look so nice! What and great colour. I like the sound of the butter mints.

Emily said...

Omigosh! They're so cute and pretty.

Anonymous said...

Ooooh! These will be perfect for the wedding!!! :) So pretty and pink!

And...LMFAO at the edible butthole, but there's no way on God's Green Earth I would stick that in my mouth. Chocolate or not.

Anonymous said...

those are so very shiney and purdy! love those buttermints! LOL about the belgiananus

Sophie said...

Yummy! What pretty buttery mints, great picture too :). I am so jealous of your 30/40 degree weather! Here in Texas, I'm melting in the sweltering 90-100 degree weather! I bet these mints would cool me off, though!

P.S. Yes, I remember those fun Mentos commercials :) -- the ones from the 80s. Their jingle gets stuck in my head so easily :P!

Peabody said...

Homemade buttermints are the best. I usually make them for baby showers.

Stef said...

I don't eat mints, but that isn't stopping me from being super impressed with your homemade ones! I don't think I've ever seen homemade mints before. Way cool!!

Anonymous said...

The discovery of yet another toss-in-the-shopping-cart item that can be made at home! I love it. I'm adding you to my blogroll.