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This homemade dark chocolate honey mint recipe was inspired by Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Honey Mints, which are quite possibly the best little chocolatey treats on the planet—especially when put in the freezer.
So first, I must say thank you Joe. Your contribution to dark chocolate lovers like myself is well appreciated.
As you know, I love to see what kinds of things can be coated in homemade magic shell, which is not always easy since most things need to be frozen for the magic shell to harden.
It didn’t take long for me to realize that honey is one of the perfect options because it’s slightly moldable when frozen, and can easily be whipped with other ingredients like peppermint oil for flavoring.
As is, these homemade dark chocolate honey mints are rich, slightly sweet, totally refreshing, and sticking true to my super simple style, they’re made from only four ingredients. You can, however, swap out the flavoring in the center for other oils or extracts like vanilla extract, or orange or lemon oil. If you chose to try out some other flavorings, please note that you will need to use much less oil than you would extract.
And lastly, while you can use just straight honey and peppermint oil for the center, I found it to be a little too sweet and dense. This is why the recipe calls for whipping the honey with a bit of coconut oil, which makes the center more creamy.
Homemade Dark Chocolate Honey Mints
These Trader Joe’s inspired homemade dark chocolate honey mints have only four ingredients, making them the most perfect little chocolate treat.
Prep: 10 minsTotal: 10 mins
Servings: 12 1x
Ingredients
Honey Mint Filling:
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 4 tsp raw honey
- 1/2 tsp peppermint oil
Homemade Magic Shell:
- 1/3 cup cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
Instructions
- For homemade magic shell, heat the coconut oil on the stove or in a glass bowl in the microwave. Once the coconut oil is liquid, add the cacao powder and gently “fold” the cacao powder into the coconut oil until well combined.
- To make mints, get a 12-cup mini muffin pan, and carefully spoon out 1/2 tsp homemade magic shell into each cup. Chocolate should lightly coat the bottom. Once chocolate is in each cup, lightly “swirl” the chocolate around so that it comes up the side of each cup. Put pan in the freezer.
- In a small bowl, whip the ingredients for the honey mint filling together with a spoon.
- Remove tray from freezer, and spoon out 1/2 tsp honey filling into each cup. Try to lightly “press” the honey down with the back of the teaspoon so that it lays somewhat flat in the cup. Return tray to freezer.
- After about 5-10 minutes, remove tray from freezer and spoon remaining homemade magic shell in each cup so that honey is completely covered. Cups will be between 1/2 and 2/3 full. Put tray back in freezer until chocolate sets (about 10 minutes.) Store in freezer.
Lizzy says
These look awesome I was thinking of trying something like this myself! I loooove the chocolate honey mints from TJ’s, but sometimes they are a tad too sweet for me, so its good to have a recipe! We also don’t live near a TJ’s so this could be for EMERGENCY purposes! 😉
Noelle says
Great!! I absolutely love them. I think you will too.
Melissa Silva says
I made this in the past and they’re delicious but as I was making them today I noticed I don’t have peppermint extract so I used vanilla instead let’s see how they turn out
Annelies says
Can’t wait to try this!! Thanks for working so hard on this recipe 🙂
Annelies says
I made these already and omg these were so good!! I know my hubby is gonna love them too! I didn’t have peppermint oil (or any kind of oil) so I put a little bit of vanilla extract in the honey mixture. I didn’t have quite enough honey mixture for 1/2tsp per mint, but I probably just need to whip it more. They were amazing!!
Noelle says
Awesome!! So glad you liked them! 🙂
Thiên thảo says
these things is soooooo goood!! i made them last night, don’t think that i put enough honey but it still came out amazing.
thank you for your recipe noelle.
Noelle says
Awesome!! And you are so welcome!
Sharokin says
This was fun! Easy and a quick recipe to make while a friend visits for coffee.
Noelle says
Awesome! So glad you liked them!
Lillie says
Can peppermint extract be substituted for the peppermint oil? I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Noelle says
Hi Lillie! The reason I use peppermint oil is because it is food grade and is safe to consume. Hope that helps! 🙂
Melissa Silva says
When making the honey filling do I need to melt the honey and or coconut oil? Or mix it when the coconut oil is “hard” and do I need to put it in the freezer before putting it in the magic shell cup?
Noelle says
No need to melt—just mix it together. Coconut oil is pretty pliable when mixed, and honey is plenty viscous. Follow the instructions as is (return tray to freezer for 5-10 minutes after putting in cups).
Angie Ebba says
Do these pop out of the pan pretty easy? Or would a silicone pan/mold be easier? I love the store-bought mints and can’t wait to try this!
Noelle says
I would recommend using a silicone pan. They do pop out, but you need to use a dull knife to get them to do that. 🙂
Lisa P LaGrou says
Can you make the outer chocolate shell part with melted down baking chocolate (sugar free) mixed with some coconut oil and honey? I need the health benefits from the dark chocolate:).
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
Yep! To be clear, the benefits of the dark chocolate are actually that of the cacao bean. So, using cacao powder is going straight to the source!
Megan says
Am I missing the instructions for the honey part? I see you talking about whipping it but only see instructions for the magic shell part. ?
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
Step #3!
Bella says
I have the same questions. I see in step 3 that it just says to put in 1/2 tsp of the “honey filling” but doesn’t say how to make the filling. Is the honey and coconut oil mixed with an electric mixer or just combined with a spoon? Do we need to use to coconut oil or can we whip the honey by itself?
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
Just mix the ingredients for the honey mint filling together with a spoon.
Lala Cooper says
Hello!
Trader Joe’s has discontinued these mints! I am allergic to everything-how can I make these without coconut oil?
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
Such a bummer! I haven’t tried any adjustments to the recipe at this time.
Jennifer Tuttle says
I just made these – they’re in the freezer right now. I used equal amounts sifted cacao powder and melted butter to make the chocolate. And I just left the coconut out of the filling as well. After tasting my first attempt at filling with 1tsp of peppermint extract, I can say it was WAY too much peppermint. I wouldn’t use more than 1/4tsp extract. I made some more with 1/4 tsp vanilla extract instead of peppermint. 1/4 tsp vanilla was still strong and I had to add more honey to tame it. So maybe add 1/8 tsp extract to the honey and taste it – adding more if you find it necessary.
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
Hi Jennifer! The recipe actually calls for PEPPERMINT OIL, not peppermint extract. They are different products. Also, you only need 1/2 teaspoon peppermint oil, and you used 1 teaspoon peppermint extract. Make sure to follow the recipe next time—it’s the perfect amount of peppermint!
Wendy says
Can you use peppermint essential oil?
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
I haven’t personally tried it! I do know it’s a lot stronger, so maybe just a drop or two!
Ellen says
I noticed that someone used butter instead of the coconut oil. I’d bet that ghee could be used as well. I will end up trying both ways. This looks like such a wonderful recipe.