Who says that peppermint ice cream should only be enjoyed in the winter months? Celebrate the holidays over the summer with this cool and refreshing frozen treat!
We are definitely a family of ice cream lovers. I eat it every chance I get and like to plan my trips around the ice creameries that I am going to visit. Totally not kidding.
Addie is starting to become an ice cream aficionado as well. We’ll constantly ask her what her favorite ice cream store is, and it seems to change depending upon her mood. One thing that hasn’t wavered, however, is her favorite flavor. She prefers peppermint stick ice cream.
One morning, Addie was not feeling well after she returned from gymnastics. She claimed that she felt queasy so I told her to lie down. As she was resting, I sat next to her and started flipping through a cookbook that I had borrowed from the library.
When I came upon this peppermint stick ice cream, she magically got better. She sat up, bright-eyed, and asked if we could make the ice cream at that very moment. I told her to go look for some candy canes, and lo and behold, she found 5 that we could use.
It was fun making this together, and even more miraculous that seeing a photo of this ice cream in the cookbook improved her health so suddenly. The resulting ice cream was smooth, creamy, and gloriously pepperminty. It was a great way to cheer up my little girl and bring a little bit of the holidays into an otherwise hot and sticky summer day.
Peppermint stick ice cream
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 3/4 cup whole milk I used 1% and it turned out fine
- 1 cup granulated sugar divided
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 5 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- red or green food coloring optional
- 3/4 cup crushed candy canes or peppermint candies
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, mix together the heavy cream, milk and 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar. Turn the stove to medium-high heat and stir until the mixture comes to a simmer (do not let it boil).
- While the heavy cream mixture is coming to a simmer, whisk the egg yolks and remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in a medium sized bowl until the mixture is pale.
- Slowly pour about 1 cup of the warm heavy cream mixture into the bowl with the egg yolks to temper them. Whisk vigorously.
- Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan and continue to mix until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Turn the stove off and whisk in the peppermint and vanilla extracts.
- Pour this mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. Once cool, cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight.
- Transfer the ice cream custard into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's directions. Finally, stir in the crushed candy canes or peppermint candies and transfer to a freezer-safe container to firm up (at least 3-4 hours). Serve and enjoy!
Notes