mentos--the freshmaker

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.