Tuesday Treat! Cream Cheese Mints & Cookie Stamps

Sugar is the "other" food group and when you combine cream cheese and sugar, I am in love! When I found a Cream Cheese Mint recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to try it with the SU! cookie stamps. It gets better: Over at Create with Connie & Mary, the creative challenge was to make a treat holder, AND Valentine's Day is just 48 hours away, so let's start with the finished product, then I'll walk you through it :)

Adorable, huh? My mint cracked after I got it all finished, but that's okay because I have more pictures of the mints along with the recipe, so just hang on...

First, the treat holder recipe (all supplies from Stampin' Up!):

1. Card stock: Real Red, Pool Party, Very Vanilla
2. Designer Series Paper: More Amore (129309)
3. Ink: Real Red (126949)
4. Stamps: Itty Bitty Banners (Catalog pg. 134)
5. Ribbon: Pool Party 1/2" Seam Binding (125582)
6. Pearl Basic Jewels (119247)
7. Labels Collection Framelits (125598), Hearts Collection Framelits (125599) and Big Shot Machine (113439)
8. Simply Scored Tool (122334)

And here's a simple tutorial:

1. Score a 3 1/2" x 10 1/4" piece of Real Red card stock at 1 1/4", 5 1/4", 5 3/4" and 6 1/4"

2. Use a framelit from the Labels Collection and place it at the end of your scored card stock with the upper plate just to the 1 1/4" score mark and run it through the big shot. 

 

3. Adhere a 3 1/4" x 3 3/4" piece of More Amore DSP to the front (the 4" flap without a score mark) and fold along the other score marks, with the center bottom score folding up inside the treat holder. Fold the shaped flap over the top and place your heart framelit under the flap.  

4. Using a post-it note to hold the heart in place, unfold your treat holder and run through the big shot so the heart only cuts through the front:

5. Put your mint or cookie into a small cellophane bag inside the treat holder, fold top flap over and punch through treat bag and add ribbon (you can also cheat and staple the treat bag inside the holder like I did before adding the ribbon). Embellish as desired!

 

Now let's move to the Cream Cheese Mint Recipe!

1. 8 oz. Cream Cheese
2. 1/4 c. Butter (softened)
3. 2 lbs. Powdered Sugar (plus extra for rolling and stamping)
4. Food Coloring (gel food coloring works best)
5. Extract flavorings of your choice.

Preparation: In heavy pan, combine cream cheese and butter. Stir over low heat until mixture is soft and blended well. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar. Blend well.

Divide dough into smaller bowls (depending on how many colors/flavors you desire). Add coloring and flavoring to taste. I used Orange extract/orange color, Vanilla/purple and Almond/pink, but you could use lemon, mint, root beer, etc. Mix each bowl with separate utensil so you don't transfer flavors or colors. I found it easiest to mix with my hands, washing in between each kneading. Cover bowls with damp towel when you aren't mixing them.

Line a cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper. Working with one bowl at a time, roll the dough into small balls (about 1 1/2" if using the SU! cookie stamps). If the dough is sticky, mix in a little more powdered sugar. Dust cookie stamp with sugar (to prevent sticking) and press into each ball. Work quickly, as dough can dry & crack...ask a friend or child to help!

Let dry on cookie sheets for 24-48 hours, turning once to let the other side dry, too.
FYI: Original recipe found here.

  

The cookie press stamps come in three different sets and each set includes 3 silicone stamps and a wooden handle for just $16.95. Visit my store to purchase any of the Stampin' Up! supplies listed in today's post and open your pantry to find the rest of the ingredients!

CAUTION: Make sure you have someone to share these with or you WILL eat them all!!!