A week or so ago I woke up with Granny’s Christmas mints on my mind. I hadn’t eaten them in ages so I’m not sure why my brain decided to open the file of memories I have about them.
Granny loved to make the candy when I was a girl. She’d make various colors and they all looked so pretty. She mostly used peppermint and orange to flavor them.
I loved seeing the shaped candies. It was like magic the way the molds left behind the imprint of Christmas and the colors made the designs seem all the more vibrant.
When I was first married Granny gave me her molds. They were falling apart from years of use. Although I kept them tucked away in my cabinet I never tried to make the candy until this year.
My first attempt was a total flop. I didn’t have the right ingredients. The candy I made was edible, but it wasn’t like the ones Granny made. Mine were more like taffy than soft melt in your mouth candy.
After my first attempt, I found the same molds Granny had on EBay. They had never even been used and were still in the box they came in—just like Granny’s box.
With the correct ingredients in hand and new molds to use, I tried the candy again this weekend and succeeded!
Christmas Mints
- 1 lb. box of powdered sugar sifted
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 2 tsp. orange extract (or peppermint)
- 1/4 tsp. vannila
- food coloring
Combine half the sifted powdered sugar, butter, and corn syrup in a large sauce pan. Cook mixture, stirring constantly, until it comes to a full rolling boil. Stir in remaining powdered sugar, vanilla, extract, and food coloring. Remove from heat and stir until mixture is cool enough to handle. Pour onto waxed paper and knead till mixture is smooth. Press into molds and let set till they’ll hold the shape. Pop out of molds onto waxed paper until firm enough to store. Store in air tight container.
My first go round I tried to use some other candy molds I had on hand and they didn’t work. I learned they were made for chocolate, not for this type of candy. Rather than use molds, you could roll the candy in small balls and press with a fork or leave in round shapes.
I’m tickled to death that my second try really did recreate the candies I remembered from my youth.
The molds I found online belonged to a lady in NC too. I’ve found myself wondering about her, why she never used the molds when Granny about wore her’s out.
Of course there’s no way I could ever know why she didn’t—maybe she had two sets and used the other one and not this one. Or maybe it was one of those meant to be things. Since she didn’t use them, they ended up in an EBay seller’s store and I was able to buy them and recreate part of my childhood which brought me great joy.
Last night’s video: Grandparent Names, Dinner by the Woodstove, When Pizza Hut was Cool, & Living a Creative Life.
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I was catching up on some reading today and was pleasantly surprised to come across an article that shared information about your and Jim’s cookbook. The article was called Southern kitchen traditions. It was in the November issue of Kentucky Living Magazine that is provided by our local electric co-op.
Tipper
So glad your candy mints came out ok! I am going to keep your recipe and make them when I get a candy mold.
My husband and I enjoyed your you tube this morning. It made us hungry for grilled cheese!
We always had grilled cheese with bean and bacon soup with zesty sweet pickle slices on the side.
My husband discovered that you can put mayo on the grilled cheese on each side to toast it instead of butter and it browns and tastes just like butter. We have always put mayo and a slice of onion inside the grilled cheese but just recently started putting the mayo on the outside.
So tonight we fixed our grilled cheese and soup. So good!
I am making your macaroni and cheese recipe for Christmas as one of my side dishes. It looked so good and creamy when you made it on one of your shows.
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!
Still praying for granny!
Joanna
You know I can vaguely remember my Great grandma making a candy that was like you said in this post but she didn’t use a mold she just pressed them down with a fork to make lines in them, I don’t remember the flavor I only remember the round shape and lines, I might just give this a try today Thanks Tipper
Over the weekend I made a double batch of sausage balls following your recipe, Tipper. Some time during this week I will make batches of vanilla and chocolate dipped peanut butter and Ritz crackers, another recipe I got from you. Darling Daughter and SIL are trauma nurses working as contractors. They will be working through Christmas and New Years; so our Christmas celebrations might be on Old Christmas instead of a week from today.
MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR to the Pressleys, Wilsons, and all my friends here where blind pigs do find acorns!!
Tipper, I’m glad you found the molds you needed and were able to make a new batch of Granny’s mints! I think you are right……it was meant to be. You and your family are so special you deserved to be able to re-create this memory! MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and yours!
Love the memories you share. I need to start candy making this week. What were the name of the molds you found on Ebay. I was going to look for some in the antique stores. Thanks for sharing your life and family with all of us. I remember simple times. I am 70 and grew up with no running water in the house and heat from a wood stove. My parents built a house when I was 8 and I thought we were rich, which we were not. Just fortunate. My parents built that house in 1962 for $6,000. It is better built then the homes today. More simple times I wish we could go back to. Merry Christmas!!
I am so happy that you found the molds and on the second attempt, you nailed it! That was meant to be. I know Granny is thrilled also. They are just about too pretty to eat. Love the picture of them. I have to get in the kitchen today and make another batch of sausage balls. Over the weekend they have almost disappeared. 🙂 I did so enjoy watching you, Matt and Katie sitting by the woodstove enjoying a meal together. That’s what it’s all about, family.
I so enjoyed hearing Paul and Pap sing “The First Noel,” and your telling us the history. I had no idea it was that old. When I got to church yesterday, I was surprised as it was the first song we sang and then in Sunday School our teacher brought her harpsichord and we sang it again among others. You can’t make this up:)
I’m sure we all have special foods that bring back wonderful memories of our growing up years at Christmas time. My Mother’s fresh coconut cake, orange cake, and chocolate pie; my Grandmother’s old timey- peppermint stick candy, and as a child I could sit and be mesmerized by those old bubble lights on my grandparent’s cedar Christmas tree. You felt the love and warmth of sitting around the fire place sharing the best parched peanuts that my daddy had just fixed for us and listening to those wonderful stories of their growing up years.
Pizza Hut has changed but I still prefer their pizza – to me it’s be best!
By the way, I don’t know what winter you videoed you and the girls walk up the mountain through a freshly covered snow. It looked so beautiful like a winter wonderland and I remember Matt saw tracks in the snow and thought maybe a painter had crossed the path, maybe circled around and been tracking ya all:) If you remember, tell me how to search for it?
Yay Tipper!!! Congratulations on the success of the second batch of candy making, and of getting to re-live some treasured childhood memories.
It was fun joining you for lunch by the woodstove (Celebrating Appalachia video). I especially enjoyed Katie being there!
The only candy mom made for Christmas was peanut butter fudge which we simply called peanut butter candy. She never used a candy thermometer and neither do I. My daughter made her daddy some peanut butter candy using marshmallow cream. I’m sure it was good but it does taste different than the old-fashioned recipe I use. He told her she needed to learn how to make it like her mommy does. Wow, he said something nice about me. I tried Jim’s fudge recipe and it was delicious. If the weather keeps me home today, I will try your mint recipe without pretty molds like you used.
Reading this entry brought back memories of the things my maternal grandmother (G-Mama) made at Christmas each year. My mom and I both make several of her favorites each year–mom doing most of the sweets and me the savory, with a few exceptions here and there. Haystacks (which I believe you’ve posted here or on YouTube before) were an annual treat. Those are one of the things I make each year and the kids (and grown kids!) look forward to them each year. I also make the sausage balls, sausage squares, and a few other things. The two candies I miss the most that we just don’t make because of their level of difficulty are the “Christmas Cremes” — chocolate-dipped treats made from butter and powdered sugar mixed with a bit of bourbon and painstakingly but lovingly made. The other is “Coconut Delights” which have chopped dates, chopped pecans, rice krispy cereal, butter, sugar and rolled in coconut flakes. We make these more often just because they aren’t as hard to do, but somehow in the mess of holiday rush they sometimes get left behind. I think I’m gonna’ make the coconut delights this year. I need that treat and the memories of Chritsmases past to flood back!
It made me so happy that your wish for Granny’s mints came true. Blessings come to us in such different ways. ❤️
I much prefer candy in the natural flavors. Good for you to make it yourself. It is much harder to find those flavors now compared to my childhood. Of all those flavors mint, whether spearmint or peppermint, seem to be the perennial favorites. I like to have some around all the time. Mints outdoors in cold weather are especially zingey (I know, I made that up and the computer doesn’t like it. yay! But I bet you all know just what I meant.) Your 3D mints are so much better than the mass produced ones. Handmade anything has love in it.
My mom was a baker and made fudge sometimes but not molded candy. In the 80s there was a surge in candy making as well as cake decorating. I went to a class with a friend, mostly because she wanted company as I was not really interested. Turns out it was a lot of fun! I watched your video and the memory of that fun night came back. I never made any candy after that class. The hosting company wanted you to buy their candy molds and mixes and back then I couldn’t spare a dime!
When I watched the video of you making the first batch, I was reminded of some parts of my past. Tipper, when you called Granny to ask her for some details about the molds and recipe it took me back to my young married days when I lived away from my Mama and would call her and get recipe instructions over the phone. This practice went on through the years and I still called Mama in my 50s for tips. She is no longer alive but boy how I wish I could pick up the phone and call her <3 Thanks for the beautiful memory!!!
Ebay to the rescue! I’m glad you found the candy molds like your mothers. Sweet success!
My husband was complaining (teasing) that there wasn’t any Christmas treats in the house, so I might try these. I already made peanut butter balls and Christmas Crack, and candied nuts, but that must not have been enough. I may try these. I wonder how long they last? If not eaten right away.
Loved last night’s video. It really feels like we are sitting right there with ya’ll.
I think your candies are beautiful to behold! They’re shiny, red and just pretty! I bet they taste delicious! I sometimes make hard candy. It’s a production best accomplished with 2 sets of hands. I pour mine in a cookie sheet, let it set up and crack it with my ice hammer. Then I put confectioners sugar on there and place in an airtight container. Now my next question? Is there anything you can’t do or won’t try? I think you’re a real go getter and it’s rubbed off on me. Oh gotta tell y’all this one- my millionaire bachelor friend asked me if I could use 2 jars of used pickle juice. I was flabbergasted and a bit put out over it… I’d rather be dirt poor than embarrass myself with a million bucks pawning off used pickle juice!!!! Seriously y’all laugh cause I laughed after I got mad… have a good one and God bless sweet Granny!
My mother and my aunt used to make mint candies in various mold shapes. My mother even made them for my wedding nearly 44 years ago. I remember bell-shaped ones in pale yellow and greens and also in white, I believe. They started with store bought chips or bits of mint candies if I recall and then melted them to pour into the molds. I enjoyed watching your first attempt at recreating your childhood treat. I also enjoyed watching your Greening of Christmas video. All of our pines are so tall we can’t reach their branches so greening around here would include Nandinas and River Cane- no Christmasy scents.
Those are beautiful candies!!! I bet Granny is plumb tickled about your making them.
God bless each of you.
Good morning Tipper and all. I am happy for you that your mints turned out perfect this time around. They look so pretty. I have been trying hard to decide which candy and snacks to begin making for Christmas. There are so many to choose from—I just have to make up my mind and go buy ingredients quick. We are under a winter storm warning here in the WV mountains from this afternoon until tomorrow morning. We could get possibly 5 to 10 inches of snow and very blustery winds. I will let you know how we fare tomorrow morning—if we still have electric and internet. Lol. You might have to come to my house to make a snowman. . Merry Christmas everyone and God Bless!
My mother or wife never made any type of candy with the exception of mother making peanut brittle. Last night I kept playing yesterday’s song “The First Noel” over and over. I don’t think I have ever heard this sung any prettier/better than Pap and Paul sung it. But I was curious and searched to see if they had sung or recorded my favorite carol “Silent Night”. They had and I played it and enjoyed it just as well.
Congratulations on your candy. Success is sweet . . .
Tipper, I just found you a few months ago and boy am I glad I did! Last night I watched the video of you, Matt and Katie eating grilled cheese near the wood stove. I love that one. I was born and raised in a holler in Southwest Virginia. Growing up was so much fun and I am still close to my siblings. I will continue to watch your videos. Thanks for helping me bring back memories of my childhood ❤️
We used to make similar mints for weddings and bridal parties. I don’t have the recipe where I can compare but I’m sure they are close to the same. We had flexible molds that looked like roses and they turned out light green or yellow. I never thought about making them for Christmas. My mother made a marshmallow crème fudge. I have her recipe but it’s a bit different from the recipes on the jars of crème today. She used butterscotch chips instead of chocolate in the second batch to please Daddy. I might just try your mint recipe.
So many foods hold memories, especially at Christmas!
Would you please post a picture of your molds? I’m curious as to how they might differ from “regular” chocolate candy molds.
For me, the sugary “clear toys” candy common in Pennsylvania are memory candies for me, even though I’m from Haywood Co.,NC!
Nancy-You can see them in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYBX4NKuAtU&t=3s 🙂
Thank you, Tipper!
I’ve never made Christmas mints. It’s like my son, who likes to make things with wood says, if you have the right tools you can make just about anything. I bet they were delicious.
And this is one for the ‘books’. Like the ole saying, what will be will be. What should be will be. And as we have been taught, leave it alone and the Lord will take care of it. That last one is one of the hardest for me to do. I have a thing called impatient and I can get it done. I don’t, however, say that out loud. Great dinner by the woodstove and I love Katie’s determination….a wall of shelves!!!. Prayers always for Grammy and God Bless you guys.
Que Sera, Sera – Doris Day 1956
So glad you found those molds and I bet Granny is thrilled about the molds and the mints. We are in the Smokies and understand a little snow is expected on the mountain tops which changes are plans to visit Cherokee, NC Tuesday morning. Back home in PA snow is in the forecast, still hoping you get your big snow in Wilson hollow. Bless you all.
Can you mail me a few of your mints?
Merry Christmas!!
How about she emails you some, then you wouldn’t have to worry about the calories, the sugar or the fat! They would be Non-GMO and also gluten free. And the shipping’s free! With a little imagination they could be the best candies you ever ate!
They sound delicious! I saved this recipe. I don’t remember seeing it in the cookbook, but maybe it was.
I’ve been thinking a lot about Granny. Pray she is doing well!
God bless all y’all with a wonderful week ahead.
Debbie-it isn’t in the cookbook 🙂 Hope you enjoy them!