Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
If I had to pick a favorite ice cream flavor, it's undoubtedly mint chocolate chip. Why? Because, I LOVE mint. And chocolate. To me, this is just an all-American summertime classic.
Now, before you say anything, I know: it's not green. In order to achieve a minty green look, you have to add food coloring. I don't like doing that. I like things in their natural state. But don't worry, this one is plenty minty! And plenty chocolaty! And those Andes mints? Oh, man - so good.
Enjoy!
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Cooling Time: 3 hours
Freezing Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 8-10
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
1-1/2 cups whole milk
4 egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp mint extract
handful of fresh mint leaves
1 cup chopped Andes Mints (one box)
1 cup mini chocolate chips
INSTRUCTIONS:
The night before you want to make the ice cream, put ice cream maker bowl in the freezer.
The next day, start on the ice cream!
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine milk, 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and the mint leaves. Stir to combine. Heat mixture until it's just starting to simmer and then remove from heat. Set the mixture aside and allow it to steep for about 15 minutes.
In a heat proof mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until smooth.
After milk/cream/mint mixture has finished steeping, slowly pour it into the bowl with eggs and sugar and whisk rapidly. You don't want the eggs to cook, so a slow pour and fast whisking will help make sure this doesn't happen.
Once everything is well whisked and combined, pour mixture back into saucepan and return temperature to a medium heat. Stir frequently and when the mixture begins to thicken, remove from heat. It should take about 4-5 minutes.
Once the mixture has been removed from the heat, strain it into a heat proof mixing bowl to remove mint leaves. Whisk in the remaining cup of heavy cream and the mint extract.
Cover and store in fridge until chilled, about 3 to 4 hours.
When ready to make ice cream, remove ice cream maker bowl from freezer, place in ice cream maker and assemble other pieces. Turn on.
Slowly pour cooled mixture into ice cream maker and churn until you reach a thick, creamy texture. It should take anywhere from 30-40 minutes. Begin checking after 25 minutes.
In the final five minutes of churning, slowly add chopped Andes mints and mini chocolate chips to ice cream and allow the machine to do the mixing!
When ice cream is done churning, transfer to a freezer safe container, cover and allow to freeze for at least two hours.