Peppermint Stick Ice Cream

I've loved peppermint stick ice cream since college.  The kind they had in my school's main dining hall was dyed pink and had red and green candy pieces in it.  I think unlimited access to ice cream might have been the only redeeming quality of that particular dining hall, except for maybe their cinnamon coffee cake.  Whenever they had peppermint stick flavored ice cream, you can bet that I was hitting up the ice cream freezer when it was time for dessert.  There is something about the peppermint flavor and tiny candy pieces that just drew me in. 

I had nearly forgotten about peppermint stick ice cream until last spring when some friends came to visit and they brought peppermint fudge sauce and vanilla ice cream.  The whole point of the combination was that it was supposed to taste exactly like peppermint stick ice cream with hot fudge sauce, which of course, it did.

Our one friend had fond childhood memories of peppermint stick ice cream sundaes, and she got me started thinking about making ice cream.  So, the night before they came to visit last week, I shoved the ice cream maker in the freezer and mixed up the ice cream base to chill overnight.

The next night after dinner was over, I pulled everything out and churned the ice cream while her husband smashed the candy canes and stirred the homemade fudge sauce.  It was peppermint stick ice cream sundaes at their finest.  Yum.

Notes:
I used oil-based mint extract, but you can use alcohol-based extract instead.  I love mint, but it is definitely easy to add way too much. So, start by adding a small amount of mint extract, and then add more if you think it needs more flavor.  To crush the candies, unwrap them and put them in a plastic baggie.  Place the baggie on a cutting board, and gently tap the candies with a meat tenderizer or a hammer.  You'll want the crushed pieces to be relatively tiny, otherwise they will be hard to chew.  As the ice cream sits in the freezer, the candy pieces will slightly melt/soften as the sugar in the candy absorbs moisture from the ice cream.  Normally, I prefer to use all white peppermints, like I did for the chocolate peppermint shortbread recipe, but for peppermint stick ice cream, I like the contrast of the red candy cane with the white ice cream.   

Adapted from The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided use
¾ cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup whole milk
½-¾ teaspoons mint extract, or to taste
½ cup crushed candy canes or peppermints (~6 candy canes)

Yields about 1 quart

Heat, Mix, Chill, Churn:
Combine one cup of the heavy whipping cream, the sugar, and the salt in a medium-sized pan.  Heat the mixture, stirring regularly, until the sugar is fully dissolved.  The mixture may boil a bit at the edges of the pan, and that is ok.  Pour the mixture into a medium-sized bowl, and add the remaining heavy whipping cream, the whole milk, and the mint extract, and stir to combine.  Cover the mixture and refrigerate for several hours, or overnight.  Churn the chilled mixture using the instructions provided with your ice cream maker.  While the ice cream churns, place the container you will store the ice cream in into the freezer so it will be cold when you are ready to put the ice cream in it.  Once the ice cream is fully churned, stir in all but 1 tablespoon of the crushed candy cane pieces, and transfer the ice cream to the chilled container.  Sprinkle the remaining candy cane pieces over top of the ice cream.  Press a piece of plastic wrap (to prevent ice crystals from forming) onto the surface of the ice cream, and freeze until the ice cream is firm.  Eat the ice cream topped with chocolate sauce, additional candy cane pieces, or both. 

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