J is for Junior Mints, Vegan, My Way

My mother loves Junior Mints, but her cardiologist tells her not to eat chocolate, so she’s given up that treat. One year, our #3 daughter gave her a box of pastel ones, coated in pastel candy (white “chocolate”, maybe?), but that seems to have been a one-off, and I couldn’t find any last year or this year.

So I went internettin’ and found this DIY recipe.

I found, as I got started, that I did NOT have any peppermint extract! I do have mint in the back(space)yard, so I picked some and simmered it in a bit of water and used some of that water in the recipe. It wasn’t strong enough, I’ll tell you that right now. The filling turned out yummy, but not very minty.

So the filling was cut into rounds and coldifyin’ in the freezer, and … I didn’t have any white chocolate.

On The Fly Candy Coating

  • powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
  • vegan margarine
  • dash of salt
  • vanilla almond milk

I also added a bit of the mint-water, which you won’t need to do if you make the filling properly instead of jury-rigging it like I did. Mix the coating until it’s smooth and kind of thick. Divide into as many colors as you want, add a drop of coloring to each bowl and stir well. Nuke it in the microwave or heat it over a double boiler until it’s pretty runny. Take out a few mints and dip one at a time into the coating, lifting with a fork and sliding carefully onto waxed paper.

Looks pretty, and tastes pretty good.

I just now found this one from Instructables, which I may use next year, using mint extract and white chocolate. What do you think, Mom?

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character tries to recreate a lost treat for another.

MA

About

I was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but now live in the woods in southern Indiana. Though I only write fiction, I love to read non-fiction. The more I learn about this world, the more fantastic I see it is.

You may also like...

One thought on “J is for Junior Mints, Vegan, My Way

  1. STephen Tremp

    April 11, 2012 at 9:36am

    I have to say Vegans are very resourceful and creative in the way they prepare food. And treats.

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
    • Author

      Marian Allen

      April 11, 2012 at 3:47pm

      It’s amazing how easy it is to cook and eat vegan. I try it sometimes, just to make it easier to cook for pitch-ins where our vegan daughter will be, and it isn’t nearly as difficult as I expected. πŸ™‚

      Permalink  ⋅ Reply
  2. mary montague sikes

    April 11, 2012 at 5:06pm

    Love the mints. They look beautiful.

    Thanks for having me at the bottom. What a surprise!

    Good luck with A to Z.

    Monti

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
    • Author

      Marian Allen

      April 11, 2012 at 9:27pm

      Thanks, Monti! Good luck to you, too. I’ve been enjoying your trip around the world in 26 letters. πŸ™‚

      MA

      Permalink  ⋅ Reply
    • Author

      Marian Allen

      April 11, 2012 at 9:28pm

      They ARE good, Golden, if I do say so myself. πŸ™‚ What’s more important, Mom likes them.

      MA

      Permalink  ⋅ Reply
  3. L. Diane Wolfe

    April 11, 2012 at 7:41pm

    Since I’m a vegan, I’ll have to try that! I don’t eat chocolate either.

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
    • Author

      Marian Allen

      April 11, 2012 at 9:31pm

      We’re sort of almost vegan. Even our vegan daughter eats her own chickens’ eggs, because she KNOWS they’re happy and well-treated.

      MA

      Permalink  ⋅ Reply
  4. Nicholle Olores

    April 13, 2012 at 12:53am

    Vegans are creative and good when it comes to food. I actually love also Junior mints. By the way, glad to be back here! See you more soon. πŸ™‚

    Permalink  ⋅ Reply
    • Author

      Marian Allen

      April 13, 2012 at 7:39am

      Hi, Nicholle! I missed you! About vegans: I got a really good cookbook and showed it to our vegan daughter, and she said, “I’ve gotten to be like Dad. I just like to keep it simple.” Meaning I’m trying to learn about seitan and tempeh and tofu, and she’s just cooking vegetables and eating raw fruit. lol!

      MA

      Permalink  ⋅ Reply

Leave a Reply to L. Diane WolfeCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.