Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream uses fresh ingredients and the perfect amount of mint extract. This ice cream has a creamy, French-style custard base to hold plenty of sweet mini chocolate chips.
Ingredients
- 4 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- ½ tablespoon peppermint extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon green food coloring optional
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Chill the ice cream bowl for at least 24 hours or until solid. You should not hear any water sloshing around when you shake the bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar until smooth and pale yellow in color.
- Add the milk and salt to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring the milk to a simmer and then remove from the heat. Be sure not to boil. Add about 1/2 cup of the hot milk to the egg and sugar mixture and whisk constantly until combined.
- Then, add the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk.
- Heat the saucepan on low. Stirring constantly, heat until the base has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. This should take a few minutes.
- Strain the mixture into a bowl to remove any pieces of egg that may have cooked. Add the heavy cream, peppermint extract, vanilla extract and stir to combine. Add the green food coloring, if using, and stir to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap making sure to have the plastic wrap touching the surface of the ice cream base. This will help keep it from forming a skin while chilling. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
- Churn the ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions (mine took about 20 minutes), until it is thick and the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
- In the last two minutes, add the mini chocolate chips and churn until evenly distributed.
- Spoon the ice cream into a shallow container or a loaf pan. Press plastic wrap or wax paper to the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or until solid. Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Plan ahead by making sure that your ice cream maker bowl is in the freezer at least 24 hours before you're going to make ice cream.
- For Extra Mint Flavor - Just add a bit more peppermint extract! Don't add more than 2 teaspoons of mint to this recipe though, it will be overpowering and artificial-tasting.
- Food Coloring is Optional - If you're using food coloring, you can use either a liquid type or a gel food coloring. You'll need a small amount of gel food coloring compared to the liquid type. I suggest starting with just a drop or two and adding more until you get the desired shade.
- Homemade ice cream can be stored in the freezer for up to one month. Keep it in an airtight container with a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper pressed to the surface of the ice cream to keep ice crystals from developing.
- Homemade ice cream should be easy to scoop if you let it soften at room temperature for 5 minutes after removing it from the freezer.