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Easy Chocolate Mint Extract Recipe – Just Three Ingredients

ByLaurie Neverman

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Do you like the taste of chocolate and peppermint together? Then you should enjoy this easy chocolate mint extract recipe. It’s made in a similar manner to the vanilla, almond and lemon extracts. (Check out the other homemade extract recipes here.) I use the chocolate mint plant as the basis for my extract, but peppermint will also work in combination with cacao nibs.

Homemade Mint Extract - This easy chocolate mint recipe is a great way to use your home grown mint for cooking, baking, hot chocolate, gift giving and more.

Homemade extracts are great for holiday gift giving. The flavor gets stronger the longer you allow the extract to steep, so make sure to plan for at least 6 weeks of infusion. I haven’t purchased commercial mint extract in years.

You can use your homemade chocolate mint extract for all sorts of things. Add a little to your brownies, hot chocolate or hot chocolate eggnog, ice cream, homemade peppermint patties – use your imagination!

Homemade Mint Extract - This easy chocolate mint recipe is a great way to use your home grown mint for cooking, baking, hot chocolate, gift giving and more.

Easy Chocolate Mint Extract Recipe

Ingredients

80 Proof (40% alcohol by weight) vodka

Fresh chocolate mint leaves -OR- Fresh peppermint leaves

1 tablespoon of cacao nibs

Directions

Harvest mint in the morning after the dew has cleared. Remove any spoiled leaves and debris, rinse with cold water if needed and pat dry. Keep in mind that any excess water will dilute the extract and may lead to spoilage. Get your leaves nice and dry before chopping them for extract. We’ve have a LOT of rain here recently, so I didn’t bother with a rinse.

I snip off the tender tops, and then strip the rest of the mint leaves from the stem by running my hand from top to bottom. Chop the mint leaves  coarsely to create more surface area. A little rough handling/smashing as you pack them in the jar also helps release the oils.

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Place chopped mint leaves in a small jar, enough so that the jar is filled but there is still some room for the leaves to wiggle and the booze to fit in. (I used a recycled jam jar, but a cup or half cup canning jar would work well, too.)

Add 1 tablespoon of cacao nibs per cup jar for chocolate mint extract, if you are using peppermint leaves, or if you’d like to add a little more chocolate flavor to your chocolate mint.

Fill jar with vodka to cover the mint leaves. Place lid on jar. Store out of direct sunlight, stirring or shaking daily, for 6-8 weeks. Longer is better if you have the time.

Strain out the mint leaves and cacao nibs with a fine mesh strainer, cheesecloth or flour sack towel. Store in a dark bottle out of direct sunlight. Order a set of 4 ounce dark bottles here.

Homemade Mint Extract - This easy chocolate mint recipe is a great way to use your home grown mint for cooking, baking, hot chocolate, gift giving and more.

Experiment with Other Mint Extracts

You can use a similar method with whatever sort of mint you have on hand. (I do think catmint might taste a little funny.)  Spearmint, gingermint and applemint would be lovely, I’m sure. (There are over 600 varieties of mint, so you have a lot of options.)  Don’t have fresh mint? You can also make mint extract with dried mint. Can’t find chocolate mint at your local nursery? Via the wonder of the internet, you can order a chocolate mint plant online.

Once you’ve established an herb garden, or even tucked in a few herb plants here and there (many of mine are free range, like chickens, and wander around the yard), you can enjoy years of harvests. Mints do like to spread, so plant them in a pot, or where they have plenty of room to grow or where you can mow around them to keep them in check. I made up this extract after we had already had our first fall frosts. (These plants are tough.)  On the same day I filled the dehydrator with chocolate mint, catnip and spearmint. (Chocolate mint makes wonderful herbal tea!)

What’s your favorite low maintenance herb, and how do you like to use it? It’s always a pleasure to exchange information and get new ideas from our readers.

You may also find useful:

Printable Version of Chocolate Mint Extract Recipe

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Easy Chocolate Mint Extract Recipe

DIY Mint Extract - This easy chocolate mint recipe is a great way to use your home grown mint for cooking, baking, hot chocolate, gift giving and more.
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Easy chocolate mint extract made with fresh mint leaves and cacao nibs.

Ingredients

Scale

80 Proof (40% alcohol by weight) vodka

Fresh chocolate mint leaves

-OR-

Fresh peppermint leaves and 1 tablespoon of cacao nibs

Instructions

Harvest mint in the morning after the dew has cleared. Remove any spoiled leaves and debris, rinse with cold water if needed and pat dry. Keep in mind that any excess water will dilute the extract and may lead to spoilage. Get your leaves nice and dry before chopping them for extract. We’ve have a LOT of rain here recently, so I didn’t bother with a rinse.

I snip off the tender tops, and then strip the rest of the mint leaves from the stem by running my hand from top to bottom. Chop the mint leaves  coarsely to create more surface area. A little rough handling/smashing as you pack them in the jar also helps release the oils.

Place chopped mint leaves in a small jar, enough so that the jar is filled but there is still some room for the leaves to wiggle and the booze to fit in. (I used a recycled jam jar, but a cup or half cup canning jar would work well, too.)

Add 1 tablespoon of cacao nibs per cup jar for chocolate mint extract, if you are using peppermint leaves, or if you’d like to add a little more chocolate flavor to your chocolate mint.

Fill jar with vodka to cover the mint leaves. Place lid on jar. Store out of direct sunlight, stirring or shaking daily, for 6-8 weeks. Longer is better if you have the time.

Strain out the mint leaves and cacao nibs with a fine mesh strainer, cheesecloth or flour sack towel. Store in a dark bottle out of direct sunlight.

Notes

Use in your favorite recipes that call for mint extract, or anywhere you’d like a little chocolately-minty flavoring.

Share a photo and tag us — we can’t wait to see what you’ve made!

Homemade Mint Extract - This easy chocolate mint recipe is a great way to use your home grown mint for cooking, baking, hot chocolate, gift giving and more.

Originally posted in 2014, updated in 2017.

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42 Comments

    1. Precise measurements are not required. Just chop the mint leaves and fill the jar, loosely packed. Cover with alcohol.

      Reply

  2. Love your website. I have a quick question and you might have already answered it. How long does the chocolate mint extract last once you’ve stored it in the brown jar? Can I do a bunch now and enjoy it over the winter?
    Thanks,
    Martha

    Reply

    1. Like most extracts, the flavor starts to fade over time, so I aim to make a fresh batch each year. You can absolutely make it when mint is fresh and abundant to use in winter.

      Reply

  3. Do you squeeze the leaves do get the extract out. I did this and was able to get quite bit more out. Although when I did this the liquid became more cloudy. How long should you let it drain?

    Reply

    1. You can squeeze the leaves to get more extract out, but as you’ve noted, the liquid will be more cloudy. You can let it settle for a day or two and carefully try to pour it into another container,leaving the sediment behind, or strain it again through a coffee filter lined strainer.

      Reply

    1. I base the amount of mint used on the size of the jar. The jar is filled nearly to the top with chopped mint, then filled again with vodka to cover the leaves.

      Reply

      1. I’m guessing that you don’t want to make a huge amount, so you could also partially fill a jar instead of completely filling it. The fresh mint contains more of the oils, so I use more of the dried mint to get a similar flavor.

        Reply

  5. I made mine too and had no problems this time with the leaves turning black. I made it in a smaller glass container and made sure all the leaves were covered with vodka and like Christi I forgot mine for months and tasted it and didn’t care for it. I think I’ll just stick with store bought and not use my chocolate mint for that.

    Reply

  6. I did it! Took me all summer and fall, and tastes awesome. Very minty! My leaves did turn brown but it’s bc it sat under my counter for months. It tastes like extract. I had a chocolate mint plant that went nuts so I had a TON. However, I came on here to see how you dispursed it. I was hoping to give it as a gift for people in 1 oz vials. But wasn’t sure if anyone else did this? Just curious if there’s any suggestions for this. Seasons greetings!

    Reply

    1. For home use I typically reuse old extract bottles, but you can purchase pretty new small bottles in a variety of colors and sizes – labels, too, if you like. You may be able to find them locally if you have a “crunchy” store near you that sell products for DIY herbal/health people, otherwise they’re available online.

      For instance, amazon.com stocks:

      1 ounce Amber Bottles with Lids

      1 oz amber bottles with eyedroppers

      1 ounce Blue Cobalt bottles withe eyedroppers

      2 ounce bottles with lids

      2 ounce bottles with droppers

      Reply

    1. To make tea from the fresh leaves, start with around one to two tablespoons of leaves. Rinse them off if needed. Chop or crush to help release the oils. Place the leaves in a mug and cover with boiling water. Cover with a small plate to trap more of the aroma, if desired. Steep for at least 3 minutes, 5-10 is better. Strain out leaves and enjoy.

      Reply

    2. My mom’s favorite way to steep (my chocolate mint plant, lol) is to cut off several branches, rinse, pat dry with a towel, (& have me do all this for her by the way, lol). Then using a 16oz mug, I pull off the bigger leaves smaller ones I just break the stem into 3-4inch pieces and pack it all into the mug. Then I pour about 1&1/2 cups very hot water over it all, place a square of foil over top, use a pot holder to press in on so you don’t get burned, then stack a few pot holders on top and I may wrap it with a dish towel too. Let steep for 2-3 hours till cool, then remove pot holders & towel, not foil though, and place in fridge. Continue to steep for a full 24 hours. Remove all mint bits. At this point I personally would add sweetener and drink cold or hot, but mom likes to remove a little at a time and dilute into whatever else she is drinking. Lasts her a few days this way lol.



      Reply

  8. My 10yo got to pick one plant this spring and she chose the chocolate mint. It stayed small in its original pot, it took us a few weeks to plant them in bigger pots. That thing took off in a larger pot lol. It’s over flowing on the third pot it snuck into. I’m glad I saw this post on pintrest, I had no idea what to do with it. Thanks!

    Reply

  9. When making Stevia extract you have to boil the liquid to make an extract. This recipe there is no boil. I was curious because we are considering making both. Thanks.

    Reply

    1. I don’t boil my stevia extract, I only cook it down gently to concentrate it. You could do the same thing with the chocolate mint if you wanted to do so, but the mint leaves have a stronger mint flavor than the sweetness level of the stevia.

      Reply

  10. Laurie,

    I’ve never heard of a Chocolate Mint plant before, but it sounds pretty interesting!

    How “chocolaty” is your Chocolate Mint, naturally? Is it just barely perceptible, or pronounced?

    Thanks!
    Jackson

    Reply

    1. The chocolate aspect is subtle but noticeable. There really is a more “peppermint patty” flavor to it. It is distinctly different from my peppermint and spearmint plants.

      Reply

        1. Did you use just mint leaves or mint and cacao? Were the mint leaves completely dry before chopping? Did it smell “off”? Trying to figure out what might have gone wrong. I added a note to the instructions about making sure the leaves are completely dry before chopping.

          Reply

  12. Laurie, I started making this on my own and then went looking for your recipe. My chocolate mint leaves — after a month of steeping — taste more peppermint than chocolate mint. I’ve just added some chocolate nibs to the jar with the mint leaves. Will the chocolate actually steep in the alcohol? I never thought of that until I read your post.

    Do I need to add sugar to this once I strain it or do I just use the infused alcohol as the flavouring. I wonder if it would make a nice liqueur? Have you tried that?

    Reply

    1. I haven’t added sugar to mine since I’ve just used it for flavoring. The nibs will add a little chocolate flavor, but not as strong as commercial chocolate extract.

      Reply

    1. i don’t believe that would be effective, as the heat required for the home canning process would drive off the volatile oils that provide the flavor.

      Reply

    1. If you you’re not using alcohol, it’s a flavoring, not an extract. Here’s a video for a coffee flavored oil:

      You could try something with ground cacao nibs for a chocolate flavoring.

      Reply

  17. This is probably a silly question, but do you strain the mint and use the liquid when you want to use it? Or how does it work? Wouldn’t it make your brownies or whatever boozy? And what else could you use this for? Thanks! 🙂

    Reply

    1. Once you’re done infusing the mint, strain out the leaves and nibs and store in a dark bottle. You can use it right out of the bottle with the leaves in it, but this can be messy.

      Typically, you’re only using a small amount in recipes (a teaspoon or less), so you wouldn’t be adding a significant amount of alcohol. If the recipe is heated, the alcohol should evaporate during cooking. For adding flavor to something like a cup of hot chocolate, you’d add only 1/8 teaspoon – maybe even less depending on taste and the strength of your extract.

      You can also use vegetable glycerin as a base instead of alcohol, but in my experience, glycerin based flavorings have a much shorter shelf life, whereas alcohol based extracts last a very long time.

      Reply

      1. I love using both Chocolate Mint & Lemon Balm for this purpose!

        I actually like to add sugar or honey syrup after I strain the leaves and use it as a liquor. Not everyone imbibes but this makes a pleasant winter drink in hot chocolate or just to sip occasionally. Or in sparkling water in the summer. Store in half pint canning jars but no need to seal. The longer you let it set in a cool dark place, the better it gets.

        I also use this sometimes for flavoring, but I do save some just for extract before adding sweetener. The alcohol does cook out. Oh yeah, lavender and honey this way is awesome as well

        Reply

    2. Put a half teaspoon of spearmint extract in a 2 quart pitcher of green tea. My whole family loves it, including the 2 toddlers. I always make my tea this way. Don’t forget to add the sugar.

      Reply