One of my husband’s favorite candies is the York Peppermint Patty. This minty-chocolate treat might not be the most popular candy bar on the market, but it’s not that far of a stretch from his favorite ice cream, mint chocolate chip.

But take a look at this ingredient list:

sugar, corn syrup, semi- sweet chocolate (chocolate, sugar, cocoa, milk fat, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, PGPR, emulsifier, vanillian, artificial flavor), invert sugar, egg whites, and oil of peppermint

Gross, huh? I mean, lots of dieters LOVE York peppermint patties because they’re “OMG FAT FREE!” but with sugar in their ingredient list four times, they’re far from “good for you.” So I set out to make a much more nourishing, high-fat, low-sugar version.

And it is delicious.

IMG_1060

The filling is simple. About a cup of coconut butter (I made my own by processing Organic Coconut Chips in my food processor until the oil released and the coconut became slightly doughy), with a few drops of peppermint extract and a touch of honey.

Next time, I’ll leave out the honey because the sugar in the dark chocolate coating was plenty of sweetness for me.

I made the patties about an inch and a half across, squeezing the “dough” tightly to shape it, placing them on a parchment-covered cookie sheet (you can use a silpat if you have one). When they were all shaped, I put the baking sheet in the freezer for just a couple of minutes.

IMG_1071

While the patties were cooling down, I melted some chocolate — maybe a cup of dark chocolate, maybe a little less. You can use a double-boiler, but it works fine to do it in the microwave. Just microwave for 15 seconds, then stir, microwave another 15 seconds and stir. You want it to get to the point where there are still chocolate “lumps” in the melted part, that will melt as you stir… you don’t want them to melt in the microwave.

I hope that made sense. Basically: err on the side of under-“melted” and if you can’t get the pieces to combine by stirring, pop it in for another short period of time (even 5 seconds toward the end).

Then pull the cold patties out from the freezer, and coat each one with chocolate before placing them back on the parchment. Chill for another couple minutes to set the chocolate, and enjoy them cold from the fridge.

IMG_1078

In a cooler climate or a better-air-conditioned house (we are trying to not go overboard with the cooling!) these might survive without becoming too sticky on your counter top… we just kept them in the fridge and enjoyed them cold though, which was very refreshing!

I see mounds/almond joy in my future… (would mix in shredded coconut with the coconut butter for a less creamy texture, leave out the mint, etc).

Homemade York Peppermint Patties Recipe

  • 1 cup coconut butter
  • few drops peppermint oil
  • small amount of honey — optional
  • 2/3 cup — 1 cup dark chocolate

This recipe makes about 16 peppermint patties, if yours are the same size mine were.

  1. Combine the first 3 ingredients thoroughly. Then shape into 1.5” patties with your hands and place on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Refrigerate or freeze.
  2. Meanwhile, melt your chocolate however you like to do it.
  3. Dip the mint patties into the chocolate, covering thoroughly. Then place back onto the baking sheet.
  4. Refrigerate or freeze until set, then remove from parchment.
  5. Eat!

Recommended Posts

Need a quick, easily-customizable paleo dinner? This beef and cabbage paleo bowl recipe is the perfect thing to make for a quick weeknight dinner everyone in the family will love.
Paleo Beef and Cabbage Bowl Recipe – Easy Weeknight Dinner
Jalapeño Corn Bacon Salsa Recipe – Party Appetizer
This easy chicken teriyaki bowl recipe is great for a quick weeknight dinner.
Easy Chicken Teriyaki Bowl Recipe

81 Comments

  2. […] of a Buckeye. The best news is, they’re not difficult to make! 4. Once you make your own Peppermint Patties, you may never buy the store brand again. 5. Try this recipe for some delicious English toffee just […]

  3. Hi there would you mind letting me know which webhost you’re working with? I’ve loaded your
    blog in 3 completely different internet browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot faster
    then most. Can you suggest a good web hosting provider at
    a honest price? Thanks, I appreciate it!

  6. I tried making these from another paleo blogger’s recipe, but I think I may have frozen the filling for too long before coating with chocolate – the melted chocolate kept sliding off the frozen filling. I also used coconut oil for the filling, which was pricey and hard to handle. They tasted delicious, though, so I absolutely can NOT wait to try your recipe! It sounds amazing, and so much easier. Thanks! (PS – I’ve been stalking your blog all morning, and I have the grain-free breakfast cookies in my oven right now!)

  7. Made these today and they turned out really well! I accidentally processed the coconut shreds too long (well actually they just got done faster than I assumed they would) so it was a bit soupy but I popped it in the fridge for a bit and it hardened up enough for me to form.

    Was not sure how much peppermint extract to put in so I only did 2 drops, wasn’t enough but I was afraid it would be gross if I put in too much. I used a tsp measuring spoon and got about 22.

    Everyone in the fam (including the 11 and 6 yr old) are fighting over how to divide them up. Definitely making these again!

  8. WOW! I love when people cite how “healthy” something is because it’s low in fat, completely ignoring the sugar content. I’m glad you pointed out what a fallacy that is. I was planning on trying to find a way to make peppermint patties without adding any refined sugar–thanks for paving the way!

    • all the different types of sugar they make now & add to everything is part of the reason diabetes is on the rise. fat ain’t that bad for you, just keep track on which fats are better…but sugar in any form can be devastating, health wise. just my 2 cents worth 🙂

  11. Why are the small York Peppermint Patties made in Mexico when we all thought that Hershey, Pa and the surrounding area needs employment? I was most disappointed on Halloween night (after eating about eight of the small ones) to discover even more jobs have left the U.S. Additionally, while Hershey may have excellent quality assurance in the U.S., all locales outside our borders (particularly south of it) are suspect.

  12. […] homemade York Peppermint Patties from Joyful Abode via Craft […]

  15. […] made some delicious recipes, ones that I would like to share: Zucchini Fritters, Homemade Granola, Homemade Peppermint Patties, Black Bean and Corn Casserole (a favorite) and Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits (for four-legged […]

  16. of all the recipes I’m come across today in searching for a york peppermint pattie, yours looks the best and the ingredients are singing to me…although I’m a little worried that I won’t be able to find coconut butter. Can’t wait to try this. I have a little boy who will be very happy if I can pull this off. 🙂

  17. Emily: I hope you read your comments. I am at home with the flu today and went online to research the ingredient PGPR. It is in the ingredient list of a name brand peppermint patty. Your website popped up and I am ever grateful. I have been recently discovered I have an intolerace to gluten, and most grains, and your recipies sound wonderful. Thank you. I can tell you love what you do. I cannot wait to get well and try this recipie. Rebecca in Texas.

  18. yum!!! im definitely going to make these soon. I will probably write a post about it on my blog (and I will link back to your original post of course). Question: What kind of blender or food processor did you use to blend up the coconut chunks? and can you do it with fresh coconut meat? have you ever tried that?

  19. very good information for panic away

  20. As a diabetic, a low sugar higher fat version is (slightly) better for me – but I am going to try and come up with a low sugar AND low fat version based on the recipe idea you kindly shared here.

    Wish me luck 🙂

    • so what, it’s going to be made of protein only? air? haha.

      Why fear fat though? If it’s from a healthy source, and it’s a naturally occurring, stable fat like that of coconut… it’s not going to hurt you. You need fat!

    • I’ll second that… Fat is essential! And coconut fat is incredibly healthy 🙂
      Avoid things like trans fats, and animal fats (but especially trans fats.) Fats from various plant sources like nuts, seeds, avocados, coconuts, olive, and grape seed are much better for you.

  22. Hi Emily! Are you sure you’re not a hippie? You sound like one to me 🙂 You don’t have to be embarrassed about it. Or are hippie and Navy wife mutually exclusive?

    Anyway, thanks for posting this. I just tried making some peanut butter cups for the first time, and they came out pretty well. Then I got a hankering for peppermint patties, so I started looking up recipes, and most of them basically call for pure sugar as the filling! There are some that mix baked potato in with the sugar, but that still doesn’t go very far to balance it out. I love coconut, so this should be a great way to make it more healthy.

    I had never even heard of coconut butter before. I’ve been wanting to try using coconut oil, but it is so expensive! So I’m going to try your food processor method – I sure hope my processor is up to the task! I looked all over the net for some reasonably priced coconut, and I finally wound up buying a couple cases from http://tropicsbest.com/dried-coconut-2.html. The shipping costs more than the coconut does, but the total for one 12-lb. case is about 27 bucks including shipping, and for 24 lb. it’s about 46, so that’s right around $2/lb. Nothing else I found even comes close to that deal. So as soon as my coconut shows up, I will be trying to make some peppermint patties. Then I’m going to work on figuring out what else I can do with dried coconut. I wonder if there’s any way to isolate the oil from it at home. I would also love to make my own coconut milk and coconut iced cream.

    By the way, I see that you are grain-free. If you are doing this to avoid gluten for health reasons, I recommend that you try going without dairy and soy as well – they are all very similar proteins and can all cause leaky gut syndrome. Peace.

    • Hi Matt. The peanut butter cups sound really good. 🙂 I keep meaning to make some! And homemade almond joys, similar to these peppermint patties, though of course without the mint, and with an almond.

      I buy my coconut from tropical traditions – you can find a review of it, with purchasing info in the “reviews” tab. It’s very good and inexpensive, and they often have sales and/or free shipping.

      I think it would be way too much trouble to isolate the oil on your own – it’s so cheap to buy! Click “Joyful Stuff” for a link for the kind I use.

      We are soy free other than the occasional soy sauce! (If you’re avoiding soy though, you may wish to avoid peanuts / peanut butter and all other legumes because of similar issues.)I haven’t worked up the commitment to try a dairy-free month though, but intend to eventually to see if I feel awesome or not. Some people aren’t affected by dairy, while others are – but the only way to really tell is by cutting it out totally for a while, then re-introducing it.

      PS Coconut butter is also called coconut cream concentrate.

  23. mmm….I just love all things coconut! These patties look amazing! I can’t wait to try them!

  24. Emily. I tried this recipe a while ago. Was awesome, but can’t wait to try them with the coconut creme you keep talking about.

    Jen

  25. These sound delicious and easy to make with just a few ingredients–my kind of recipe. Would make a great gift idea too.

  27. I like the previous comment, Halloween candy, what an ingenius idea. Make these and see if I can trade my kids for their junk candy that their going to get 🙂 I’ll have to try making some, if I win the cream concentrate, not that I’m likely too as I never win anything 🙂

  28. Those look AMAZING!!!! I’m thinking Halloween candy!!!!

  30. I just recently learned that the peppermet patties are made in mexico, so from now on I am defintly making my own.

  31. Mmm. Going to try this recipe and the grain free granola bars. Thanks for such a great blog. I’ve bookmarked it!

    • Hi! I found these when searching for a “primal-ish” peppermint pattie!Thank you so much for sharing this! I’m new to this kind of eating, and had a temporary panic at missing my beloved mint patties! Problem solved.
      Also, I don’t know how messy this got for you, but I just used a rubber IKEA ice cube tray and made mint “cups”. They worked like a charm!

  34. […] Gigi, I took you up on your recipe dare.  Organic Peppermint Patties (recipe found by Gigi on Joyful Abode) made out of raw coconut butter and honey and chocolate… sounds so delicious, doesn’t […]

  35. Speaking of food processors-what kind do you guys use? Want something good for processing coconut chips and almonds, etc.

  36. I've made two batches of these so far, I think they are my new favorite food. The next batch will be made with the new food processor 🙂

  37. […] Home Made Candy! Filed under: Recipes, paleo by jalzen — Leave a comment July 8, 2010 So my grandpa has always been the husband’s hero because the one time we went to visit them my grandpa had  a bunch of home made candy. After the movies a few weeks back Michael and I decided to try making some of our own candy. Joyful Abode was my source of inspiration again with her awesome peppermint patties recipe. […]

  38. Can you use Peppermint extract instead of Peppermint oil? These look amazing. Peppermint Patties are my absolute favorite “candy” of all time. Thank you for this amazing recipe!

  40. Oh yum!! I Love peppermint patties!! But can you please tell me what coconut butter is? I read somewhere that it is the same as coconut oil,but where I'm from coconut oil is usually liquid. Do I just put it in the fridge until it becomes a solid? Or is there something else I can use instead?

  41. […] Gigi, I took you up on your recipe dare.  Organic Peppermint Patties (recipe found by Gigi on Joyful Abode) made out of raw coconut butter and honey and chocolate… sounds so delicious, doesn’t […]

  42. oh oh oh oh… be still my beating heart! As I sit here and drool over these… no wait. I am drooling over these and the fact I had a double root canal today on some damaged teeth and am still half frozen… sob… I want these patties NOW! But it may be a few days…. because I'm not makin' 'em until I can eat 'em! LOL

  43. my coconut chips are nothing but dehydrated coconut – nothing added… if your flakes are the same then yeah, just keep processing them. It'll look powdery for a while and you'll go, “What on earth?? This will never stick!” and then all of a sudden the oils will release and it'll become pasty!

  44. What's the difference between coconut chips and coconut flakes. I went out and got the flakes, pulverized them in the processor and they don't seem to make as good of a butter as you got. Maybe I need to process them longer? I'll try that, but these look so tasty, I'm excited to get them done.

  45. The coconut chips are big enough that they're like nice flakes instead of just shreds… so one thing I do with them sometimes is put them in a bowl with some chopped nuts and some raisins or blueberries or other fruit, and pour milk over top… eat it like cereal. It's GOOD.

  46. I made the filling part last night w/ organic coconut butter. Don't know if it was that brand of butter, or that I was using peppermint extract, but I did need maybe half a teaspoon or so to cover the coconut flavor. I left them to cool overnight and will do the chocolate tonight, so possibly the flavor has permeated stronger with time too.
    I did appreciate your link to the $10 gallon of coconut chips as that 1 cup of butter cost about $6! But what else can you do with coconut chips?

  47. my coconut chips are nothing but dehydrated coconut – nothing added… if your flakes are the same then yeah, just keep processing them. It'll look powdery for a while and you'll go, “What on earth?? This will never stick!” and then all of a sudden the oils will release and it'll become pasty!

  48. The coconut chips are big enough that they're like nice flakes instead of just shreds… so one thing I do with them sometimes is put them in a bowl with some chopped nuts and some raisins or blueberries or other fruit, and pour milk over top… eat it like cereal. It's GOOD.

  51. I used a bag of chips this time. 🙂 But usually I prefer to use a bar because it's darker than the chips – I prefer about 86% dark chocolate.
    A cup is… if you make a deep well with one of your hands and fill it up to the top w/chocolate, that's about a cup… so a LARGE hand-scoop-ful.

  52. yes, you can use peppermint oil! Just a couple drops will do.
    Also, you can order coconut butter from the link I posted… I have never seen it in a local grocery store here though… that's why I made my own as I described in the post.

    Good luck! I hope they turn out well!

  53. thank you, thank you. oh these are so up my alley. i can't wait to try them. but please tell me, where do i find coconut butter in my grocery store?? and is peppermint oil the same thing as peppermint extract?? ooh, details please. merci.

  54. I used a bag of chips this time. 🙂 But usually I prefer to use a bar because it's darker than the chips – I prefer about 86% dark chocolate.
    A cup is… if you make a deep well with one of your hands and fill it up to the top w/chocolate, that's about a cup… so a LARGE hand-scoop-ful.

  55. Brilliant! York peppermint patties are a HUGE weakness of mine, but this sounds so easy and better for you!

  56. Definitely something I want to try!!

    What kind of chocolate did you use? Bag of chips? Block, etc? And about how much is a cup?

    They look so good! I want to make some for DD!

  57. It really depends on how you like to enjoy chocolate – some people love unsweetened chocolate. For me, the 85% sounds much better. 🙂

  58. I have some unsweetened bakers chocolate in my cupboard, will this work or should I use a chocolate with a bit of sugar? Thinking 85% Dark chocolate bar……

    I am so excited to make these! Thank you for being so creative!

  59. Thanks for sharing – these look scrumptious!

  60. I loved the poster. It may actually become a wedding gift for some friends…

  61. […] Abode posted a homemade York Peppermint Patty recipe.  This looks and sounds seriously […]

  62. This is my kind of recipe! I love the high-fat, low-sugar part and the 3 ingredients with an optional fourth part. I'm totally making these.

    P.S. You should totally check out this sweet poster I spied at a handmade market I went to a couple of weeks ago. It says, “Fat Gives Things Flavor.” You might like it:

    http://www.etsy.com/listing/48728958/8×10-bolog…

  63. These look yummy! We don't have York Peppermint Patties in Australia, but it looks very similar to something else we have. Very nice! Thanks :o)

  64. My husband couldn't tell that they were made of coconut at all… they taste like minty chocolatey goodness.

    He also said, “Can you really say they're nourishing? I mean, they're incredibly sugary-sweet, right?” and when I told him the only sugar was in the dark chocolate, and a tiny bit of honey that I would leave out next time, he was really surprised.

  65. Do these taste like coconut?

  66. oh my! I just found this via craft magazine. I'm trying this on Sunday as my project of the week.

  67. Looks delicious. I am going to add this to my recipe folder.

  68. Those look delicious beyond all reason. My mouth may be watering right now.

  70. Oh those sound wonderful. I'll have to try them very soon!
    If you're worried about the chocolate getting a bit melty, just go ahead and completely temper it before dipping. If you heated 2/3 of your dark chocolate to 115 degrees, let it cool to 100 degrees and then stirred the rest of your chips in, it'll set up for tempering. You could dip your patties when it reaches 85-90 degrees. They should set up just fine for counter storage up to 80 degrees if they aren't in direct sun.

  71. I doff my hat to your ingenuity.

  72. Wow! Those look delicious! We will totally be trying these. 🙂

  74. This I have to try! Wow! What a sweet handmade gift these would make! Thank you for sharing! 🙂

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *