Creamy, Cooling, Peppermint Patties; Dairy – Free!!

Posted on by Tara

 

Merry Christmas !!  After a morning filled with christmas music, gifts under the tree, family and the sounds of laughter wringing through the house, hopefully your hearts have been warmed with the unity Christmas brings.  For me…I am spending my Christmas at work, hoping that everyone stays safe and chooses not to spend the holiday in the hospital.

I thought since I can’t spend time with family..I would write about an incredible plant that reminds me of Christmas; Peppermint Leaf.  Candy canes, peppermint lattes and mint chocolate patties….all the fruits of this beautiful plant!!  There are so many amazing uses for peppermint, the list is endless and as for the health benefits, peppermint makes my favourites list!!

After a Christmas dinner, when your tummy isn’t feeling good anymore…sip on a peppermint tea to promote digestion.  Suffer from IBS?  Peppermint is well known treatment to help alleviate symptoms.  As a smooth muscle relaxant, peppermint delivers relief to migraines and headaches.  With it’s anti inflammatory, antispasmodic, antiseptic medicinal properties, along with its cooling sensations when applies to the skin, peppermint is really is a superior plant, offering relief from many everyday ailments.

In the spirit of Christmas I wanted to share this dairy free recipe, which is sure to be a hit at any holiday party.  Taken from Oh She Glows, I am excited to put this to work in my kitchen and enjoy the amazing properties of chocolate dipped peppermint…yummy!!

Creamy Dreamy Peppermint Patties

YIELD
22-25 MINI PATTIES

FREEZE TIME
1 HOUR
PREP TIME
COOK TIME
0 MINUTES

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked 
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 3-4 tablespoons maple syrup, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons almond milk
  • 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil

Directions:

  1. Place cashews in a bowl and cover with water. Let soak overnight, or for at least 2-3 hours. If your blender isn’t great at blending things smooth, I suggest soaking overnight for the best results.
  2. Drain and rinse the cashews after soaking.
  3. Add the cashews, melted coconut oil, agave, milk, and peppermint extract into a high-speed blender. Blend on the highest speed until completely smooth. This can take a couple minutes.
  4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grab mini cupcake/candy liners. Add a half tablespoon of filling into each liner. Place on the baking sheet. Repeat until you don’t have any filling left (you should get about 22-25). Freeze, uncovered, for 20-35 minutes, or until firm to the touch.
  5. After freezing, quickly pop the patties out of the cupcake liners and set each on top of their respective liner. Return to the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up even more.
  6. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and coconut oil 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.
  7. 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 parchment paper. Do this step as quickly as possible so the patties don’t melt. Update: Some of you are having trouble with the chocolate thickening up as you do this step. If this happens, I suggest heating the chocolate again over low heat to thin it back out. The cold peppermint patties are probably causing it to thicken with time. Another option is to just drizzle the chocolate on top of the patties.
  8. 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 enjoy!