Vegan Peppermint Creams Recipe | Gluten Free

So, I think we can all agree that mint chocolates are synonymous with the festive season, right? Whether it’s After Eights or you’re more into mint crisps, most houses have some sort of mint chocolate stocked up at this time of year. I decided to attempt my own vegan peppermint creams recipe this year, but I faced a couple of hiccups along the way.  The first one being that apparently people from other places call them peppermint patties? So I didn’t know what to call them. 

When I first decided I wanted to make these, the obvious question is how to make the peppermint cream. I assumed that most vegan versions would use coconut. A quick Google of a few recipes proved that assumption to be correct. Those of you familiar with my dietary rants may remember that coconut products give me cystic acne and are a complete no go for me. So, I decided to try and make mine with cocoa butter. Theoretically, this should work the same way. Both are solid, white, high fat ingredients that become oily when melted.  

Well, kind of. It does work, and it does make a delicious peppermint cream filling. What I didn’t account for is that the chill time is a lot longer. I looked at a couple of recipes using coconut as a guideline, and mine were not ready in the times suggested in those recipes. I tried to add the chocolate before they were completely frozen, and things got a bit messy. You’ll be able to tell from the photos that some of them are a bit sloppy, and that’s why. The chill time for these is very long, but it won’t turn out right if you try to speed it up. If you have the time, I’d actually recommend making the peppermint cream the day before and leaving them to set overnight if that’s possible. Not essential, but it will make sure that they’re 100% set before adding the chocolate. 

Some of the sloppy ones

Nutritional Information 

At around 125 calories each (based on 20 per recipe), they are quite indulgent for a single chocolate but dark chocolate is a soure of iron. And because the peppermint cream is partially made from cashews, they contain roughly 1g of fibre and protein each. Not a lot, but the little bits add up. 

Vegan Peppermint Creams Recipe 

A vegan and coconut free version of a Christmas classic found in most homes.  

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, soy free, coconut free and vegan. It does contain nuts (cashews).  

And a smoother one that had longer to set.

5 from 2 votes

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Vegan Peppermint Creams Recipe

A vegan and coconut free version of a Christmas classic found in most homes.

Course Sweets

Cuisine American, British

Keyword Vegan Christmas Recipes, Vegan Christmas Snacks, Vegan Peppermint Creams Recipe, Vegan Peppermint Patties Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes

Freezing time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 20

Calories 126 kcal

Ingredients

• ½ cup raw cashews soaked (see note)
• ½ cup cocoa butter melted (or coconut oil)*
• 3-4 tablespoons maple syrup to taste
• 2 tablespoons almond milk or other non-dairy of choice
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• ¾ cup dark chocolate chips
• ½ tablespoon melted cocoa butter OR 1 tsp vegan butter

Instructions

1. Place cashews in a bowl and cover with water. Let soak overnight, or for at least 4 hours.
2. Drain and rinse the cashews after soaking. Add the cashews, melted cocoa butter, maple syrup, almond milk, and peppermint extract into a blender. Blend until completely smooth. This can take a couple of minutes. If your blender isn’t great, you may want to add the cashews first so that they’re semi smooth before adding the other ingredients
3. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Add a half tablespoon of filling to the baking tray, aim to keep it as round as possible. Repeat until you don't have any filling left (you should get about 20). Freeze, uncovered, for at least an hour, or until firm to the touch. It may take longer.
4. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and remaining cocoa butter (or vegan butter) in a small pot over the lowest heat. When half of the chips have melted, remove it from the heat and stir until all the chips are melted. Allow the chocolate to cool slightly for a few minutes before dunking the patties.
5. Remove the patties from the freezer and dunk them into the melted chocolate with a fork. Tap the side to shake off excess chocolate and place on greaseproof paper. Do this step as quickly as possible so the patties don't melt. You may need to add the chocolate to a low heat again if it starts to thicken up during this step.
6. Return the patties to the freezer until set, for about 10 minutes, until the chocolate coating is firm. Store leftover patties in the freezer/fridge until ready to eat.

Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

* If you already have coonut oil at home and don't need a coconut free recipe, subbing the cocoa butter for coconut oil will work perfectly in this recipe too.

Are you a fan of peppermint creams at Christmas or do you prefer a mint crisp? 

Until tomorrow,

Sophie

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