Here's everything worth knowing about chocolate mints and how to pick them, what they are, how to store them, and what to use instead, plus 9 recipes to cook tonight.

What are chocolate mints?

Chocolate mints are the small, flat candies that pair a layer of cool mint with chocolate, the after-dinner sweet you find on a restaurant pillow or unwrap with the check. In baking they double as a shortcut for adding both flavors at once.

A few familiar forms exist. Andes Cremes are thin three-layer rectangles of chocolate and green mint. Thin chocolate mint wafers, like the foil-wrapped After Eight style, are crisp chocolate around a soft mint fondant.

Both melt smoothly and carry the same chocolate-and-peppermint pairing. The appeal in the kitchen is that the candy already balances the two flavors for you, so you do not have to dial in mint extract by the drop.

How to Use Them

The most useful trick is melting. Lay whole chocolate mints on a hot cake or warm brownies straight from the oven, wait a minute, then spread the softened candy into an instant frosting. That is the classic finish for Easy Chocolate Mint Brownies and Fudge Mint Brownies.

Chopped, they fold into batters and doughs as flavored chips. They stud Surprise Packages, the cookies baked around a hidden mint center, and stir into ice cream bases for a from-scratch Choco-Mint Ice Cream or Chocolate Mint Ice Cream With Chocolate Mint Sauce.

They also work whole as a layer. Set a single mint between two cookie halves, or press one into a warm thumbprint, and it melts into a thin chocolate-mint core.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Chocolate mint sits naturally with dark chocolate, coffee, cream, and a clean vanilla base. It runs through grasshopper-style pies and creamy bakes like Mint Cheesecake, where the mint cuts the richness.

The most common mistake is heat.

Mint candies seize and turn grainy if you melt them too fast or too hot, so warm them gently, ideally with residual oven heat or a low double boiler, never a ripping-hot burner.

The second is overdoing it. Peppermint is loud, and chocolate mints concentrate it, so a little goes a long way; too much and the dessert tastes like toothpaste. Start with less than you think and taste.

Substitutes

The simplest swap is plain chocolate plus mint extract. Melt semisweet chocolate and stir in peppermint extract a few drops at a time, tasting as you go, until it reads minty but not medicinal.

Mint chocolate chips are the closest drop-in for any recipe that folds chopped mints into batter. They hold their shape better in the oven and bring the same flavor balance.

For a melt-and-spread frosting, a chopped peppermint patty or a handful of Andes baking chips both soften into the same glossy layer. If you only have peppermint candy or starlight mints, crush them for crunch, but they bring no chocolate, so pair them with melted chocolate.

Buying and Storage

You will find after-dinner mints near the boxed candy and Andes-style baking chips in the baking aisle. For melting onto cakes, the thin Andes-type rectangles spread most evenly; for a hidden center, the round patties are easier to tuck in.

Store them sealed in a cool, dry place out of direct sun. Chocolate is happiest around 60 to 70°F (15 to 21°C); in a warm kitchen the mints soften and may develop a pale bloom, which is harmless but looks dull. They keep for many months this way.

Avoid the refrigerator unless your kitchen is hot, because condensation when they warm back up can make the surface tacky and dull. If they do bloom, the candy is still fine to bake with, since melting erases the cosmetic streaks entirely.

Quick facts

In Chinese

巧克力薄荷糖

British (UK) term

Chocolate mints

en français

menthes au chocolat

en español

mentas de chocolate

Recipes using chocolate mints

There are 9 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 9 recipes