Layered Mint Chocolates Better Than Andes Mints
DIY is a huge trend that isn’t going away anytime soon. Especially when it comes to food, we can often create dishes at home less expensively as well as produce a better product. Whether we are making something indulgent and want to use the best quality chocolate or something healthy where we can control the type and amount of fat – we can do all of this without extraneous additives or preservatives. Ivy Manning has brought us a new book, Better From Scratch, and these Layered Mint Chocolates are even better than the Andes Mints that they replicate. Make sure to purchase the peppermint oil. It is light years beyond peppermint extract in purity of flavor and strength. I like LorAnn Oils. This ingredient is going to make or break the dish, so don’t substitute. Also check out her take on Granola Bars stuffed with nuts, fruit and sweetened with maple syrup.
Excerpted with permission. Better From Scratch
Just like the store-bought candies in green foil, these chocolate bites melt in your mouth with a bright mint finish. Be sure to use peppermint oil, not peppermint extract, or the melted chocolate will seize. Look or the oil is specialty baking shops or online.
- Unsalted butter, 4 tablespoons (2 oz/60 g), melted
- Peppermint oil, 3⁄4 teaspoon
- Semisweet chocolate (at least 60% cocoa solids), 1 pound (500 g), chopped
- White chocolate, 8 oz (240 g), chopped
- Green food coloring (optional)
- Transfer 2 tablespoons of the melted butter, avoiding the white foam on top and milky whey at the bottom, to a small bowl, add the peppermint oil, and set aside. Discard the remaining butter.
- Line a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) baking pan with parchment paper. Put the semisweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over (but not touching) gently simmering water in a saucepan. Stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is mostly melted and an instant- read thermometer inserted into the chocolate registers 116°F (47°C). Remove the chocolate from the heat and stir until it cools to 105°F (40°C). Add 4 teaspoons of the butter mixture and stir until smooth. Pour half of the chocolate into the prepared baking pan and smooth with an offset spatula. Set aside the remaining melted chocolate. Refrigerate the pan until the chocolate just sets (the surface will take on a matte finish), about 10 minutes.
- While the first layer sets, melt the white chocolate in a clean bowl over the simmering water until it is nearly smooth (a few chunks are okay). Remove the bowl from the heat and stir until the chocolate cools to 105°F (40°C). Add the remaining butter mixture and a few drops of the food coloring, if using, and stir until evenly incorporated. Pour the white chocolate over the set semisweet chocolate layer and smooth with an offset spatula. Refrigerate until the white chocolate is just set, about 10 minutes.
- If the reserved semisweet chocolate is too thick to spread, heat it briefly over simmering water to no more than 105°F (40°C). Pour it over the set white chocolate layer, smooth it with an offset spatula, and return the pan to the refrigerator until just set, about 10 minutes.
- As soon as the third layer has set, cut the chocolate into 35 pieces. Transfer the candies to an airtight container with parchment paper between the layers and store at cool room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
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