Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

I think there is something with males and the mint/chocolate combination. So many guys I know say this is their favorite ice cream & candy combination. My husband is one of them. He loves mint chocolate chip ice cream. We were watching the Food Network the weekend before St. Patrick's Day this year and the Neely's were making some mint chocolate chip ice cream. The husband immediately declared that the ice cream should be my special St. Paddy's recipe, since it is green. Not necessarily Irish, but I thought the husband was being awfully cute, so I obliged. The recipe is straight out of my Cuisinart Ice Cream maker manual (a variation on their basic vanilla ice cream, which is not cooked). This recipe, like most homemade ice cream recipes, is very rich, but since I was making my husband's favorite flavor and not my own, I didn't care how fattening it was (I had a couple very small bowls, but it wasn't calling my name each night!). I was particularly pleased with the dark chocolate mini chunks from Whole Foods. They were a perfect mix-in for ice cream - deep chocolate flavor, but small enough to not hurt your teeth while eating. I'm going to try and use my ice cream maker more this Spring & Summer, so stay tuned!



Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (from Cuisinart)
1 cup whole milk, well chilled
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream, well chilled
1 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
6-8 drops green food coloring (or to your liking)
3/4 to 1 cup mini chocolate chips or mini dark chocolate chunks
In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer or a whisk to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 – 2 minutes on low speed. Stir in the heavy cream, food coloring, and peppermint extract to taste. Turn machine on, pour mixture into freezer bowl through ingredient spout and let mix until thickened, about 25 – 30 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips during last 5 minutes of mixing. Freeze in airtight container at least 2 hours before serving.