Made with no added sugars or dairy, these Peppermint Patties need only 5 all-natural ingredients! Their deep chocolatey base is topped with a layer of minty coconut butter. Toasted quinoa gives it an added crunch, putting a twist on the classic that makes this a treat worth stashing!
Let’s play “remember when….” I’ll start.
Remember when we got peppermint York patties? The shiny silver wrapper with its familiar blue circle, calling our names. It made a crinkling sound when we tore it open. And then that first crisp bite, as we breathed in the fresh minty taste. Do you remember?
It’s been eons since the last time I ate a peppermint patty. (Back then I was also a huge fan of after dinner mints, the small pastel colored squares melting on my tongue.) Fast forward many years and the only source of mint I have is in toothpaste. Now, I know that for plenty of people mint is a flavor that belongs in the realm of oral hygiene, how the stuff the dentist uses to clean your teeth tastes. Possibly also in gum, if you’re into that. But my heart always kept a special place for the chocolate and mint combo.
On a freezing cold day not too long ago, while my mind wandered away from my work, I wound up on the ski slopes where my family used to go in the winter. You’ll never guess what we kept in our pockets. Mint Mentos! Sometimes while on the ski lift I would pop one in my mouth, enjoying the warmth that spread through me as the candy dissolved.
It seems daydreaming has its productive side effects, and I had a new way to get toasty. Adding chocolate was a no-brainer. Let’s face it, nearly every idea I have includes the question “how can we work chocolate into the mix?” Needless to say, this experiment quickly turned into a stroll down memory lane.
You only need 5 ingredients to make these Peppermint Patties– compare that to the traditional candy in the stores and I know you’ll be jumping on the copycat version asap. All it takes is dark chocolate, coconut oil, coconut butter, mint extract, and toasted quinoa. Surprise! I snuck some in for a fun crunch. That was the only thing missing from the York patties.
Are you shocked there’s no dairy? No added sugars?
I would have been too, but then I saw it, tasted it, and had no choice but to believe it. When it comes to chocolate, there is one teeny tiny caveat. Not every chocolate bar is created equal, which I touched on here. Always go for a higher cacao content, because of the extra benefits from the cocoa beans, as well as the lower sugar content. If the coconut is sweet enough for you, then I recommend using 100% cacao. Kudos to everyone who craves all-natural peppermint patties, just save one for me please.
In case it’s not enough to convince you though, you also only need about 10 minutes (less the more practice you get) of actually doing anything to make these! The rest is merely waiting for the layers to set, but you could always speed that up by sticking it in the freezer. Driving to the store, finding the peppermint patties, waiting in line, and driving back probably takes just as long, if not longer. Why would you ever swap your comfy slippers for real shoes if you could just make it yourself? After all, we do live in an age where DIY and Pinterest are household terms.
But really, guys, come on. I don’t believe that I need to sit here and persuade you to spoon some melted chocolate and coconut butter into mini cupcake liners when you have a few minutes to spare. There’s just no way you don’t want Crunchy Peppermint Patties for when the mood strikes and venturing out of your house is not an option.
- 1 tbsp raw quinoa
- 3 oz bar 88% dark chocolate*
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- ⅓ cup coconut butter*
- ⅛ tsp mint extract
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Put 12 mini cupcake liners either on a pan or in a muffin tin and set aside.
- Spread the quinoa on a baking sheet and toast for 5 minutes, until lightly golden. Be careful not to burn it!
- Meanwhile, break up the chocolate into a bowl together with the coconut oil. Melt in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until completely smooth. Pour about 1 teaspoon of the chocolate into each cupcake liner, then place in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes.
- Mix the coconut butter, mint extract, and toasted quinoa. Once the chocolate is hardened, spoon about 1 teaspoon of the coconut mixture into each cup, making sure to keep the quinoa evenly distributed. Put back in the fridge to chill for at least 10 more minutes.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
*You can use any good quality, aka high cacao content, dark chocolate here. The higher the cacao content, the better it will harden, which is ideal for the base of these cups. I recommend at least 72% if 88% is too dark for you.
*Coconut butter is very expensive in the stores, so I made my own simply by processing about 7 oz of unsweetened shredded coconut in the food processor until a smooth liquid formed. It took about 5 minutes, and I stored the remainder in a container in the pantry. Keep in mind that coconut butter does solidify at room temperature (it is, after all, a saturated fat), but all you need to do is stick it in the microwave for a few seconds or let it sit in a hot water bath.
I love this idea! Especially with the little crunch from the quinoa!
Thank you Savannah! I was really missing York patties and this totally hit the spot 🙂