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

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.]