How to Make Altoids (or How to Make a Peculiarly Strong Mint)

The other day , I was trying to purge my drawers of junk, so I could get started on packing up my apartment. While sorting through my makeup and jewelry containers, I noticed that I had quite a few Altoids tins holding bobby pins and change. Where did all these tins come from? I didn’t think I consumed that many Altoids in my lifetime. They are pretty addicting, but not by that much. I then started thinking about all the money I put into purchasing the tins. I guess it was well worth the investment because I found a new use for them. I hear people say that something isn’t as good as homemade. Sometimes, it could be done cheaper at home. Can Altoids be made at home?

Yes. Yes, they can.

First of all, you need a portion of gum paste. I'm not going to write in specific amounts because it's all based on taste.

Second, you will need a dram of your preferred flavoring. Wintergreen is my favorite,so that is what I chose.

Now, when you work with gum paste, it's a good idea to have powdered sugar available to dust with, so it is easier to work with. It's like working with a pie dough. You don't want the gum paste to stick to your surface or you will have an interesting time scraping it off the table. If that is your thing, then ignore this step.

Important! The next step is to add the flavoring. When you're working with these highly concentrated flavorings, less is more. I had about 3 ounces of gum paste leftover from a cake I was working on and I decided to go for it and add 1/4 of the dram. Bad idea! If you're looking for a great way to numb your throat and tongue, then add more wintergreen flavoring. Make you sure you add a few drops at a time, then taste. You can add as little or as much flavoring as you would like.

Roll out the gum paste to a little thicker than 1/8 of an inch. I prefer this size, but if you like a bigger mint, go for it.

Next, locate a cutter of preferred size.I don't have special cutters that are that small...yet. I found a large bubble tea straw and used it to punch holes. It turns out that the straw is the exact size as Altoids. Yay, I win!

All the labor that goes into this recipe is pretty much done after you cut out the circles. You'll have to leave the mints out for a few days to dry. They are thick for drying, so it will take awhile. It's a lot of fun when people come over and they notice you have a large pile of round white pills in a bowl. It makes for awkward great table conversation.

Will I get in trouble for using "altoids" in this post?

I was invited to enter Sugar High Friday by Marija of Palachinka. (Check out her blog. It is gorgeous) SHF is a monthly blogging event that was created by Jennifer, The Domestic Goddess and I am so excited that I was invited to enter this post. This month's theme is copycat recipes.