It's Time to Party

 

It was "mint" to be.

I could be talking about Brent and Susan, who will be married May 28. 

Engagement photo by Emily Brensing

Also, I was meant to make "mints." Another of my wedding projects has been making cream cheese "mints" - or candies - for the wedding reception. In reality, only one of the cream cheese candies I made is minty. The rest have different flavors and colors.

With a plethora of options, I may have gone a little "nutty" with the array of flavors. (Well, a couple have nut-inspired flavors - almond and vanilla butternut.)

I could have chosen several others, too, but I quit at six. To make it easier for people to get the flavor they wanted, I also used different colors for each of the flavors and then made a key:

Yellow - Lemon

Green - Wintergreen

Pink - Vanilla Butternut

Blue - Cookies & Cream

White - Coconut

Purple - Almond

 

For the record, Brent isn't necessarily a big fan of the candies. His verdict: The wintergreen ones taste like toothpaste. All righty then! 

 

But Susan likes them, and everybody wants to make the bride happy, right?

 

This is the recipe my mom used to make the cream cheese candies for my wedding and my sister's. I used it to make candies for Jill's and Eric's wedding 12+ years ago.

 

The cake table - and candies - at Jill's and Eric's reception

 

Photos of Jill's and Eric's wedding by Gina Dreher Photography, Wichita

 And I've shared the recipe with plenty of other people through the years.  

 

Jill thought my first efforts were a little too vivid for a wedding reception. I thought the heart shapes were a little too labor intensive, since I was shaping them all myself. 

So, for the second go-'round, I lightened up the colors, and I used only the rose silicone mold. However, the first ones will find a place on the dessert table for the rehearsal dinner.  They may be bright, but they're still tasty!

 

 

 Cream Cheese Party Candies

Recipe from Janis Moore

 

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Pinch salt

1 to 2 drops flavoring oil (or to taste)

Gel food coloring

Granulated sugar

Work powdered sugar into softened cream cheese until consistency is like pastry dough. Knead; divide into parts and add different colorings and flavorings, as desired. If you are working in the color by hand, wear plastic gloves to avoid staining your hands. 

 

Roll into small balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Press into silicone molds and then unmold onto waxed paper. Let dry. Store in airtight containers, storing flavors separately to keep the integrity of each flavor. May be stored in the freezer.

 

For the rehearsal dinner and wedding, I ended up making six colors and flavors. I used my Kitchen Aid mixer to mix. I doubled the recipe and I made it three different times. Each time I did the 6 ounces of cream cheese, I then divided it into two parts. For my experimenting, I had used my hands to work in the coloring and flavoring. However, for the "real" deal, I put the divided dough back into the mixer and added the different flavorings and colors, cleaning the mixer and beaters between them.