Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Mint chocolate chip ice cream has been one of my favorite flavors since I was a child. With my mint plants growing in full force right now, I figured what better than to use fresh mint in my next ice cream recipe. This recipe is on par with the coffee ice cream I made in terms of its time commitment, but it is not difficult. Just follow the directions.

Ingredients:
3 cups fresh mint leaves (no stems), rinsed, drained, and packed
1 cup milk
2 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
6 egg yolks
6oz chocolate chips

Combine mint leaves, milk, and 1 cup of the cream in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Allow to warm until just steaming (do not boil!), remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 30 minutes. Repeat and let steep 15 more minutes.


While mint is infusing, prepare remaining heavy cream over ice bath. Pour 1 cup cream into medium bowl placed over separate bowl with lots of ice in it. Place mesh strainer on top of bowls and set aside.


Once milk/cream mixture has steeped for its total 45 minutes, strain through mesh sieve into a new bowl, pressing on leaves with spatula to get the most liquid from them. Discard mint leaves. Return mixture to sauce pan adding sugar and salt. Heat until just steaming again, allowing sugar to dissolve. Remove from heat.

Whisk the egg yolks in medium bowl. Slowly pour milk/cream mixture into egg yolks, whisking constantly to warm eggs without cooking them. Scrape warm egg mixture back into saucepan.


Return sauce pan to medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of your spoon. This can take 10 minutes.


Finally, pour custard through strainer over the cream ice bath to stop the cooking.

Chill mixture at least 4 hours in refrigerator and then freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Once the ice cream is formed, add the chocolate chips and freeze over night to harden.

I cannot tell you how excited I was about this ice cream. It sounded good and smelled delicious...and then I tasted it. In hindsight I realized that I had actually used spearmint as opposed to peppermint leaves. It definitely creates a different flavor. I wouldn't say that it's bad, just a little strange. I took the ice cream to work and people like it, so I think it is personal opinion.

I know one thing, though. I will be purchasing a peppermint plant and trying this recipe again.

Makes 1 quart
*this ice cream is a white mint chip unless you add a drop or so of food coloring to make it green

Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Muffins

I love raspberries and chocolate (like my mother.) I love making these dessert muffins, and they are perfect for Valentine's Day.

What you'll need:

2 C flour (or whole wheat)
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 C sugar
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter
3/4 C plain yogurt
1/2 C water
2 eggs
3.5 oz dark chocolate, roughly chopped--the first time i made these i substituted regular chocolate chips and they worked fine
5 oz raspberries, fresh or frozen
2 T granulated sugar
powdered sugar for dusting



1. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and make a well in the center.
2. Melt the butter and remove from heat. Stir in yogurt and water, then add eggs one at a time, stirring well.
3. Pour wet ingredients into dry well and combine.
4. Fold chocolate and raspberries into batter and pour into muffin tins. Sprinkle the tops with raw sugar and bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes.





Remove from oven, let cool, and dust with powdered sugar.

Homemade Coffee Ice Cream

The first ice cream recipe I tried with my ice cream maker was a strawberry. It came out so creamy and delicious with tons of fresh strawberry chunks in it. Sadly, I did not take any photos of the entire process or even of the ice cream afterward.
The next recipe I decided to try was a coffee ice cream. It took a little more time and effort, but man was it worth it. Even Cory thought it was fabulous and he doesn't even like coffee.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole milk (I use 2% if that's all I have)
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups whole coffee beans--I chose a nice chocolate-y coffee bean
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground coffee (press grinds through a fine mesh sieve)

1. Heat the milk, sugar, beans, salt, and 1/2 cup of cream in a saucepan until warm and steamy, but not boiling. Once warm, cover, remove from heat, and steep at room temperature for 1 hour.


2. Pour remaining cream into a medium metal bowl, set on ice over larger bowl. Set mesh sieve on top and set aside.
3. Reheat first mixture until hot and steamy. Whisk yolks together in a separate bowl. Slowly pour heated mixture into yolks, whisking constantly. Scrape warmed egg yolks back into saucepan.
4. Stir mixture constantly over medium heat scraping the bottom until mixture thickens and coats the back of your spatula, about 10 minutes.
5. Pour custard through strainer and stir into cream. Press on coffee beans to get all liquid through and discard the beans. This process took me quite some time.

6. Mix in vanilla and ground coffee and stir until cool.
7. Chill thoroughly (at least 4 hours) and then freeze according to ice cream maker instructions.

Makes 1 quart.

[My apologies for lack of photos of this amazing ice cream. This is probably one of the best coffee ice creams I've ever had.]

Red Wine Chocolate Cupcakes

Red Wine Chocolate cupcakes. Yeah, they are as good as they sound. I have made this recipe a few times and each time I marvel at how good they are.
These ones in particular were made for a co-worker's birthday.

For the cupcakes:

1/2 C cocoa powder
5 oz chocolate chips
1/2 C boiling water
2 sticks of butter, room temp
1 1/2 C sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 C flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
3/4 C red wine

Mix the cocoa, chocolate chips, and boiling water in a medium bowl.

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs one at a time.

Combine dry ingredients and mix with the butter/sugar/eggs. Add parts of the chocolate mixture
and wine to the bowl alternating between the two...

Until you get this nice creamy, chocolaty concoction.

Pour into muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

These cupcakes are tricky. The last couple times I have made them they plump up beautifully in the oven, but then sadly deflate in the center when pulled out. I'm sure it has something to do with the chemistry of the ingredients. Maybe the type of red wine you use?
Regardless, the flavor is not affected and you can cover up the concave center with frosting.

For the Frosting:

1/2 C butter
pinch of salt
4 oz cream cheese
2 1/2 - 3 C powdered sugar
1 T vanilla

Beat butter with salt, then add cream cheese. Mix in powdered sugar bits at a time until you get the consistency that you prefer.

Maple Pecan Shortbread Cookies

One thing I learned from my UK adventure last spring was that I love shortbread. I also get such a joy cooking and baking with home-grown ingredients, so when I saw this recipe for a shortbread cookie, and I had a bunch of pecans sitting at home, I knew I had to make them.


(me eating an elephant shaped shortbread cookie in Scotland)

What you'll need:

2 and 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pecans (toasted and finely chopped)
1 cup unsalted butter (@room temp)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 large egg yolk and 1 large egg white (lightly beaten)
1/2 cup pecan halves
1/4 cup raw turbinado sugar

First, mix the flour, salt, and chopped pecans. Cream the butter and sugar in a separate bowl until light and fluffy.
Beat in maple syrup followed by the egg yolk. Mix in flour until a dough forms.
Form dough into 1 and 1/2 inch thick log, wrap in plastic and let chill 2 hours to overnight. (I left mine in the fridge for a couple days.)
Slice log into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place on baking sheet, brush with egg white and top with pecan halves and raw sugar.
Bake at 350 degrees until lightly golden brown on edges: about 10-12 minutes, turning baking sheet around half way through.