Cream together the cream cheese and butter with a hand held mixer or stand up mixer until smooth and creamy.
Then add in 1 cup of the powdered sugar. Mix together until well combined.
Then mix in the peppermint extract.
Then place the mixer on low and gradually add in the remaining powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each cup is added in. Continue until all the powdered sugar has been added. The dough should be thick (play-dough like consistency) and not sticky. If the dough is still sticky and not thick enough add in more powdered sugar.
Then divide the dough into 4 separate bowls. Add food coloring to each bowl and mix well until you reach the desired colors.
Cover and refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.
Then line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or wax paper. Roll the dough in between your palms to form approximately 1 inch balls. Then place the balls on the baking sheets.
Dip the tongs of a fork in the 1/2 cup powdered sugar and then gently press the fork down onto each mint to flatten them out and make a line pattern on the mints. Follow this process until all the mints are formed and keep dipping the fork in the powdered sugar when forming the mints.
Then allow the mints to sit at room temperature until they have fully hardened (4-6 hours). They should be hard on the outside and soft on the inside.
Store in an air tight container in single layers with a sheet of wax paper between each layer in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
*Make sure to use full fat cream cheese for this recipe. Each serving is a serving of 5 mints.