Last week a friend sent me a Peppermint Pig. To eat it, you shove it into a little velvet satchel and whack it apart with a mallet. This is an old story about how I smashed it up and used it in Peppermint Snowballs, which are Snowballs with crushed peppermint and oats.
Poor Fuzz
Yesterday, I decided to use the Peppermint Pig in some peppermint snowball cookies. Just as I was about to bring down the mallet, Fuzz came around the corner, saw what I was doing and started to cry. I tried to calm her down by reading the happy little pamphlet that came with the pig. It didn’t work. I handed over the pig and she carried it around all morning until she forgot about it and left it lying around somewhere. It’s been licked, so it’s hers, and I am out of mints again.
Treasured Reader Recipe
So here’s what I was going to make, which is a recipe sent to be by a reader named Shane. Thanks for the recipe! I will let you know when I get more peppermints.
Update 12 Years Later (2019) 17 Years Later: You can (still) purchase a Peppermint Pig from the Vermont Country Store. Also, Fuzz is in college has a job and lives far away. I'm not sure if she remembers the Peppermint Pig but she turned out okay despite the trauma.
I also have a new recipe for Snowballs that don't include peppermint -- Maple-Pecan Snowballs.
Peppermint Snowballs
1 cup butter (Shane notes that margarine is okay)
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. peppermint extract
¼ tsp. salt
2 ¼ cups flour
½ cup quick cook oats
¼ cup crushed peppermint candy canes, or stars
red food coloring
confectioners sugar for rolling
red sanding sugar for rolling
Mix butter, and sugar till fluffy. Add vanilla, peppermint extract, salt and red food coloring. (Shane uses about 7 drops).
Add flour, oats and peppermint candy
Roll into small balls and bake 15 minutes at 350*. Remove from oven and immediately roll in confectioners sugar mixed with red sanding sugar (Shane used two teaspoons per ½ cup of confectioners sugar). Let cool and roll again.
NOTE FROM SHANE: These are simple to make, freeze well (just throw ‘em in a bag) and the red sugar and peppermint give them a very festive look. The oats and candy give them a nice little crunch.
Recipe
Peppermint Snowballs
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter Shane notes that margarine is okay
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ½ tsp. peppermint extract
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 2 ¼ cups flour
- ½ cup quick cook oats
- ¼ cup crushed peppermint candy canes or stars
- red food coloring
- confectioners sugar for rolling
- red sanding sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Mix butter, and sugar till fluffy. Add vanilla, peppermint extract, salt and red food coloring. (Shane uses about 7 drops).
- Add flour, oats and peppermint candy
- Roll into small balls and bake 15 minutes at 350*. Remove from oven and immediately roll in confectioners sugar mixed with red sanding sugar (Shane used two teaspoons per ½ cup of confectioners sugar). Let cool and roll again.
- NOTE FROM SHANE: These are simple to make, freeze well (just throw ‘em in a bag) and the red sugar and peppermint give them a very festive look. The oats and candy give them a nice little crunch.
Linda says
I ordered one of the pigs and the stuff to go with him today.
I hope to make him part of our Christmas traditions-IF we can break it, that is! We'll do our dead-level best!
Kelli says
I just made these cookies today and they are wonderful. Kind of like a crunchy Russian teacake with a subtle taste of peppermint. I used the red and green candy canes which made the cookies look so festive with tiny colorful flecks throughout. Thanks for the recipe.
krista says
..........i got a pig! went to a market that carries hard to find items and gourmet & organic.. foods.. yipee!
Kristen says
Oh too cute!
Dana says
Those pigs look so cute! My brother loves pigs, so I was going to order one for Christmas, but it seems they only have the little guy left-not the one with the bag and mallet. Darn it all! Guess I'll have to bookmark it for next year!
Anna says
All of the first links I put in are to Saratoga Sweets. The one link in the comment section is to their supposed merchandising partner. However, the Clever Wares link (their partner) doesn't do anything when you click on the link....it says object not found.
Best bet is to just Google "Peppermint Pig" which is all I'm doing :).
Joe says
Biscotti is good for the cappuccino chips and the fudge we made from them is quite good too! They were tasty in some oatmeal muffins we added them to as well.
winnie says
Hi Anna:
Catching on your posts makes me realize I better get it together if I want to get any baking done for Christmas. Your entries on the meringue cookies reminded me of a cookie I used to make. In an effort at diversity these were kind of pushed to the back burner but I am making them again this year. The recipe is from Christmas Memories Cookbook and it was published by the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, CT. These are very good.
Travis House Cookies
(the blurb reads)
Chewy, butterscotch meringue cookies with pecans made famous by a Williamsburg restaurant in the 1940's.
1 egg white, at room tempertature
1 cup brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1 level tablespoon of flour
3/4 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheet well.
Beat egg white until stiff peaks form; gradually add brown sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in salt and flour.
Stir in chopped pecans. Drop batter by teaspoonsful, 2 inches apart on baking sheet.
Bake aqpproximately 15 minutes. Cool slightly; remove from pan. Makes bout 2 dozen cookies.
The only thing I change I make is to toast (and cool) the pecans before adding.
Katie says
I think a better link for the peppermint pig is ; http://www.saratogasweets.com/
The site you linked to doesn't seem to actualy have the pigs beyond a picture on the first page!
Krista says
will you and fuzz enter the wearEver air bake cookie contest? looks like alot of fun!
Anna says
C, yes. It was Charlotte's web moment, to be sure.
Krista, looks like they teamed up with Cleverwares. Here's the ordering page.
http://www.cleverwares.com/
About Guittard, our grocery store sells their chocolate chips, but not the good, big, meltier ones. World Market sells the cappucciono chips. I'd probably put them in some sort of biscotti if I were you.
Krista says
this would make a cute stocking stuffer.. I followed the link and can't find out how to get one. anyway.. have you ever purchased guittard products? I bought some cappuccino chips.. thought i'd log onto their web site and find something yummy to do with them..no such luck.. any ideas?
c says
this reminded me so much of fran and wilbur. so cute!
Anna says
I don't have the yield yet, but based on the weight of all the ingredients, I'm guessing you could get as many as 36 little cookies.
Jenn says
These look great...how big a batch does it make? There is already an unholy amount of sweets in the house, so I will probably have to give some away if I make them.
Anna says
Hello A, thanks for coming coming out of lurkdom. Peppermint poop would have solved all my problems yesterday.
Amy, she's kind to animals. If I was about to hack up, oh, a Barbie, she wouldn't have cared...would probably have helped, actually. But a pig....NO! Her little tears were so genuine and sad.
TheAngelForever says
Time to come out from lurking 😉
Thank you for sharing all of the wonderful recipes. I really love getting the feed from your blog.
I never could buy one of the Peppermint Pigs for the same reason. I could not break the cute pig. Instead, I purchased "Peppermint Pig Poop" - basically scraps from when they made the pigs. Worked for me.