Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

I made this batch of ice cream just in time for my mom’s birthday which is this week.  If I remember correctly she is a fan of minty desserts such as grasshoppers so I have a feeling she will love this mint chocolate ice cream.  Good thing she is visiting me on Wednesday so I can share it with her!  It is so minty and refreshing.  Yum!

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Source:  Brown Eyed Baker

Yield: About 1 quart

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Custard Chill Time: 8 hours | Churn Time: 20-30 minutes

2 cups heavy cream, divided
1½ cups whole milk
¾ cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
4 egg yolks (I used 5 yolks)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons mint extract (or to taste)
3 or more drops of green food coloring (optional)
½ cup chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips)

1. Warm 1 cup of the heavy cream, whole milk, granulated sugar and pinch of salt in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves.

2. Pour the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

3. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a  heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (if using a thermometer, it should be right around 170 degrees F). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Add the vanilla and mint extracts and the food coloring (if using), and stir until cool over an ice bath.

4. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator (preferably overnight). Churn according to your ice cream maker’s directions, adding the chocolate chips during the last 5 minutes of churning.  I folded the mini chips into the ice cream as I transferred it to a storage container.

Nutella Ice Cream

Oh boy, it’s getting ridiculous that I say this every time I make a new ice cream flavor, but this one is seriously better than the last in my opinion (Tim probably disagrees).  And all I’ve done so far to taste it is lick the paddle, but it is so good, man!

Sorry, no pictures until my computer is fixed.
Nutella Ice Cream
adapted from Carrie’s Sweet Life

• 1 cup nutella
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the nutella and sugar until smooth. Add the milk. Blend on low-speed until smooth and the sugar is dissolved.  Stir in the heavy cream and the vanilla.  Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.  Place in your ice cream maker and churn as directed.  It took about 45 minutes to achieve the final result for me.  Store in the freezer.

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

I’ve become a little obsessed with ice cream lately!  It has officially been added to the list of foods that I’ll never buy pre-made or store bought again.  🙂  Also on that list:  granola, granola bars, waffles, pizza dough/frozen pizza, and applesauce just to name a few off the top of my head.

This ice cream is wonderfully creamy and almost fluffy.  You don’t even taste the sour cream, just sweet sweet strawberries.

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

Source:  So Tasty, So Yummy

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and rinsed
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon vodka
1 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cut up the strawberries and mix with the vodka and sugar in a medium bowl. Stir well until the sugar dissolves. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature for an hour, stirring occasionally.

Add the sour cream, heavy cream and lemon juice to the strawberry mixture. Mix to combine, macerating the strawberries {this step can be done if a food processor if you like smaller strawberry pieces}.

Refrigerate for one hour, and then freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

 

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

Once again I gave Tim the choice of ice cream flavor for me to make next.  I think I threw out Nutella, coconut, or cookies and cream.  Obviously he picked cookies and cream.  🙂

I know I say this every time I try a new ice cream flavor, but this one is now our favorite.  It is so good!

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

Source:  Telly’s Tasty Tidbits
Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
15-20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped {I put them in a large ziploc and mashed with my hands}

Directions:
Combine the milk and cream in a saucepan over medium heat.  Heat until bubbles form around the edges.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth and well combined.  Slowly add the warm milk mixture to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.   Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 5-8 minutes, until the mixture is thickened and coats the back of a spoon (about 175 degrees F on an instant read thermometer).  Pour the liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl.  Stir in the vanilla extract.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until completely chilled.

Once the mixture is well chilled, pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Once the mixture is softly frozen, transfer half of it to a storage container.  Add half of the chopped Oreo pieces and fold in gently with a rubber spatula.  Add the remaining ice cream and Oreo pieces to the container, and fold once more until the mixture is evenly combined.  Freeze thoroughly.

Pumpkin Ice Cream

In the past at the end of summer, we used to stock up on pumpkin ice cream from a little local ice cream shop.  It would last us through the fall and sometimes during the winter months too.  Tim absolutely loved it, but unfortunately the shop closed a year or two ago.  Once I received  my ice cream maker, I knew I had to try to replicate that ice cream flavor for him.  And this recipe was very, very close.  I think it’s a keeper.

adapted from:  Pennies on a Platter

Yield: 1 quart

5 large egg yolks
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup pumpkin puree

In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks: set aside.

Warm the milk, cream, sugars, spices and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the edges begin to bubble.  Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath by placing a medium-sized metal bowl in a larger bowl filled with some ice and a little water.  Set a mesh strainer on top.

Gradually add half of the milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly.  Turn the heat to low and scrape the yolks back in to the saucepan.  Stir constantly, scraping the bottom with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (between 160˚ – 170˚F).

Working quickly, pour mixture through the strainer and into the bowl with the ice bath.  Chill thoroughly in the fridge, preferably overnight.

Once chilled, add the vanilla and pumpkin puree.  Whisk until incorporated, then press through a fine-mesh strainer.  Freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Freeze for at least one hour before serving.

Cinnamon Ice Cream

Upon first bite {lick?}, this cinnamon ice cream quickly became our favorite ice cream flavor yet!  Yum!  I can’t wait to serve it with a slice of homemade apple pie!

I only made one change and that was the addition of some ground cinnamon.  I just wanted to see some specs of cinnamon to reflect the flavor.

I also saved the cinnamon sticks after they were used.  I just placed them in a sealed container in the fridge and reused them when I made this recipe again just 3 days later.  I don’t know if that’s wrong, but I’m cheap and didn’t see any difference in the two batches of ice cream. 🙂

Cinnamon Ice Cream

Source:  The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz as seen on Elly Says Opa!

Makes about 1 quart

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

10 cinnamon sticks, broken up

2 cups heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

dash of ground cinnamon

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon sticks, and 1 cup of the heavy cream. Warm through, and then cover and let steep off the heat for one hour.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Re-warm the cinnamon milk mixture, and remove the cinnamon sticks with a slotted spoon.  Slowly add the milk mixture to the egg yolks, whisking constantly.  Place the entire mixture back into the saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a spatula being sure to scrape the bottom.  Heat until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spatula, but do not boil.  I added the ground cinnamon during this step.

Place the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream in a bowl with a mesh strainer on top, and put that all on top of an ice bath.  Pour the custard through the sieve, and then mix together with the cream until cool.  Refrigerate until completely cold, and then run through your ice cream maker as directed.

Chocolate Fudge Swirl Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Is it weird that I don’t like hot fudge sauce?  Thought so.  I like cold fudge and chocolate sauce, just not hot fudge.  Anyway, I’ve been on a roll making homemade ice cream and this was one flavor I was really looking forward too.  Unfortunately, I think I did something wrong.

For one, I didn’t have nearly as much ice cream base as I expected based on my other ice cream recipes.  Therefore, I had what seemed like way too much fudge sauce and too many peanut butter patties.

And then, the chocolate flavor was way too strong.  I attribute that to my use of Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder.  The flavor was just really intense and for me to say that is odd, because I love rich desserts and dark chocolate!  I used the special dark cocoa because it is the only cocoa powder that I can find {locally} that mentions being dutch processed.

Even though it wasn’t as great as I was expecting, overall, it was decent.  But I probably won’t make it again, since it just didn’t do anything for us.  As a tip for anyone who wants to make it, or in case I do try it again – I would recommend doubling the half and half and adding more sugar to the base recipe, but keeping the cocoa powder amount the same.  That way, you will have more base and a less intense chocolate flavor.

(Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker, originally from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz)

Chocolate Fudge Swirl Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Yield: 1 quart

Prep Time: 30 minutes Chill Time: 8 hours Churn Time: 20 minutes

2 cups half-and-half
¼ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
½ cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
½ cup smooth peanut butter
Fudge Ripple (recipe follows)
Peanut Butter Patties (recipe follows)

Fudge Ripple
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
½ cup water
6 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble at the edges. Continue to whisk until it just comes to a low boil. Cook for 1 minute, whisking frequently. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let cool. Chill in the refrigerator before using. (Fudge Ripple can be stored for up to 2 weeks, covered, in the refrigerator.)

Peanut Butter Patties
6 tablespoons peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Mix together the peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl. Line a dinner plate with plastic wrap. Pinch off small pieces of the peanut butter mixture, about ½ teaspoon each, and drop them onto the dinner plate. Once you’ve used all of the mixture, freeze the patties. (The patties can be stored in the freezer, well wrapped, for up to 1 month.)

To Make the Ice Cream:

1. Whisk together the half-and-half, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat. Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it comes to a full, rolling boil (it will start to foam up). Remove from the heat and whisk in the peanut butter, stirring until thoroughly blended.

2. Chill mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Fold in the Peanut Butter Patties when it has finished churning. Just before you remove the ice cream from the machine, spoon some of the Fudge Ripple onto the bottom of the storage container. As you remove the ice cream from the machine, layer generous spoonfuls of the sauce between layers of ice cream. Avoid stirring the Fudge Ripple, as it will make the ice cream muddy.

*I also followed Michelle’s Note: After making the ice cream mixture, I went ahead and made the Fudge Ripple and Peanut Butter Patties and got them into the refrigerator and freezer, respectively, so all of the “dirty work” was done at once and they would all be sufficiently chilled once I was ready to churn the ice cream. I just made the Fudge Ripple in the same pan as I made the ice cream mixture.

Country Peach Ice Cream

Shocker! Tim actually requested that I make a peach ice cream.  I about fell over because I thought the only good ice cream in his eyes was vanilla.  So, I happily obliged because I want to try as many different ice cream recipes as possible this summer.  And this one certainly was a winner!

As Annie stated, it has a pretty mild flavor of peach in the background, but the little bits of peaches make it perfect.  We actually ate some of this before it had really set up in freezer and it was a dreamy bowl of peaches and cream.  The final (firm) ice cream was even better, only improved by a drizzle of honey.

I made a few changes based on what I had on hand, but nothing drastic.  I really only want to point out that I thought the call for 4 large peaches was a little vague as people probably have different interpretations of “large” peaches.  I wish it would have given the amount of cups of chopped peach pieces, but it didn’t so I used what I felt were six medium-sized peaches.

Country Peach Ice Cream

Source:  adapted from Annie’s Eats originally from Williams Sonoma Ice Cream

Ingredients:

4 large, ripe peaches, peeled, halved, pitted and chopped into small chunks {I used 6 medium}

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

½ cup sugar, plus 2 tbsp.

1 ½ cups whole milk {I used half and half}

1 ½ cups heavy cream

4 large egg yolks

pinch of salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Put half of the peaches in a bowl and mash slightly with a fork.  Sprinkle with the lemon juice and the 2 tablespoons sugar and toss to combine.  Cover and refrigerate.

In a heavy 2-qt. saucepan, combine the milk, 1 cup of the cream, and the remaining peaches.  Cook over medium heat until slightly thickened, 4-5 minutes.  Do not let boil.  Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on the peaches with the back of a spoon.  Discard the solids.

Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks, ½ cup sugar, salt, and remaining ½ cup cream in a bowl.  Whisk until the mixture is smooth and the sugar begins to dissolve.

Gradually whisk about ½ cup of the warm milk mixture into the egg mixture until smooth.  Pour the egg and milk mixtures into the saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and keeping the custard at a low simmer, until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail when a finger is drawn through it, 4-6 minutes.  Do not let the custard boil.  Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl {I skipped this}.  Add the vanilla and stir to combine.

Place the bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice cubes and water.  Stir occasionally until cool.  Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming.  Refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

Pour the custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  When the ice cream is frozen to the consistency of soft serve, transfer to an air-tight container.  Drain the reserved peaches and fold them in.  Cover and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 3 days before serving.

Definitely enjoy with a drizzle of honey!

Strawberry Ice Cream

I love this time of year when the strawberries are ripe, juicy and on sale at the grocery store! 🙂

This ice cream was a little less creamy than the vanilla ice cream that I made previously, which I attribute to the lack of egg yolks in this recipe.  But, we actually liked this ice cream better.

Strawberry Ice Cream

Source:  Leslie Sarna

What you’ll need:

2 cups whole milk

1 cup half and half {I used heavy cream}

one 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

about 10 average size strawberries, pureed and strained if you choose {about one cup of puree}

What you’ll do:

In a large mixing bowl add milk, half and half, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Whisk together until well combined.  Add in the strawberries and whisk again.  {I think I’ll chill it in the fridge for a few hours at this point next time.} Pour into ice cream maker and in about 30 minutes you’ll have delicious ice cream!  Place in an airtight container and store in the freezer.

Vanilla Ice Cream

I received an ice cream maker for Christmas {thanks Mom and Dad!} and have been waiting for summer to finally make my first batch.  Well, the official start to summer was last week, so I went ahead and made some ice cream on my day off last week!

A few days before that, I asked Tim what flavor he wanted.  I fully expected him to say that he didn’t care and that whatever I wanted would be fine.  His response was quite the opposite and very passionate!  He looked at me like I had 4 heads and almost didn’t dignify my [apparently] stupid question with a response.  After carrying on for a while, acting like I was the crazy one without any common sense, he finally said that it would be crazy to break in the new ice cream maker with anything other than plain VANILLA!

Of course, I had been contemplating all sorts of flavors and mix-ins since receiving the gift, but I was quite happy to appease Tim and make plain vanilla ice cream.  After all, it would be my first time using whole vanilla beans, so that would be fun enough for me!

Vanilla Ice Cream

{Source: adapted from Elly Says Opa!, originally by David Lebovitz}

2 cups heavy cream, divided
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 large egg yolks
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of cream and tiny pinch of salt in a medium saucepan.  Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warmed milk, and then add the bean itself.  Cover the pan, remove from the heat, and let steep for 30 minutes.

Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl, and set a mesh strainer over the top.  In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks.  Very slowly add the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, and then scrape back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium-low heat with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (don’t boil!).  Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream.  Add the vanilla bean to the custard, stir in the vanilla extract, and then stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture in your refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.