I've been making homemade peppermint patties for the last few years. They are made with coconut, cashews, and peppermint. And they're pretty delicious.
But then I got to thinking: what if I wanted to make them nut-free? I have a good friend, Lindsay, whose husband is allergic to nuts. It takes all of my memory space to remember this! I'm the person who's always throwing nuts on as a topping or secret ingredient.
When I do baking or cooking demos, that's one of the most common questions that I get: can you make this nut-free? Sometimes, I can say yes right away. Other times, I have to do experiments and research.
This recipe reminds me of a Trader Joe's product. They make three-ingredient peppermint patties - however one of their ingredients is honey, a vegan no-no. The middles are light and creamy, so I wanted to recreate that. As for my previous homemade peppermint patties with cashews; those taste more like York Peppermint Patties.
You can choose to make a raw coating from my s'mores sauce, which I did, or you can dunk each frozen patty in melted chocolate.
Healthy Peppermint Patties (Nut-Free)
10 medjool dates, pitted
3 T. coconut oil, softened
3-4 tsp. peppermint extract
2 T. peppermint schnapps, optional
raw chocolate sauce, for coating OR
dark chocolate, melted, for coating
Directions
In a food processor, combine the dates, coconut oil, and peppermint extract. Process this mixture and, while it's processing, stream in the schnapps. You want to process it until the mixture is smooth and gummy. Taste the mixture and make sure that it's minty enough for you!
Spoon the mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap and freeze the "dough" for 20 minutes.
After, you can choose how to make your patties! You can roll and flatten the patties to dunk them. You can put them in a mini muffin tin, like me, and drizzle chocolate on top.
Enjoy these minty, nut-free treats!
Cheers,
-Aileen