Peppermint creams with chocolate coating Ingredients

• 225-250g icing sugar, sifted
• The egg white of 1 large organic egg
• Peppermint oil
• 150g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids, we love Black & Greens)

To make Peppermint creams with chocolate coating

Beat the egg white until frothy but not stiff, sift the icing sugar and gradually add the sifted icing sugar, mixing well with a wooden spoon until the paste becomes thick and smooth.

Shake some icing sugar on to your work surface and put the paste in the middle. Drop 4-5 drops of peppermint oil (depending on how strong you want it) on to the paste and knead it in until it is really smooth.

Divide the mixture into balls the size of hazelnuts and flatten each one with the back of a fork. Put these on to a sheet of greaseproof paper and allow to dry for a few hours.

Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie and dip the peppermint creams halfway into the melted chocolate. Then leave to set again on the greaseproof paper.

Store them in an airtight container until you are ready to portion them out into pretty boxes to give as presents.