Homemade Candy Cane Ice Cream

Who doesn't love an ice cream cone, even in the middle of winter? All my boys, Adam included, love peppermint ice cream so I thought this was the perfect time of year to give it a try. It was pretty easy and the flavor was bold and delicious. I used the Cuisinart vanilla ice cream recipe as a base and adapted a couple things to make it peppermint. You will need an ice cream maker for this recipe. Here we go!

Candy Cane Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk, well chilled
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream, well chilled
1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
1/2 cup crushed candy canes

Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole milk and sugar. Whisk (or beat with electric mixer) for 1-2 minutes, until sugar is dissolved.

Add the heavy cream.

Now, here is where the real flavor comes in - Peppermint Extract. You can find this at your grocery store in the baking aisle.

Add one teaspoon and give it a taste. If you like a stronger minty flavor, add in a little more.

Pour the mixture into a large measuring cup (to make it easier to pour into the ice cream maker).

Turn the ice cream maker on and pour in the mixture. Let it run for about 18 minutes.

Get your crushed peppermint ready - you can use candy canes (or if you are making this off season you can use peppermint starlight mints). You will need 1/2 cup crushed.

Pour the crushed peppermint into the ice cream maker while it is running, and let it run for an additional 2-4 minutes, or until thickened and pink in color. The red from the candy canes gives a pretty pinkish hue to the ice cream.

Pour into a freezer safe container. Most of the crushed peppermint mixed in so well that you could not see it, so I added one more crushed candy cane for visual appeal. Gently stir in.

Doesn't that look pretty? Now you need to freeze this for a few hours (4-6 hours).

Once it is set up you are ready to make some ice cream cones and share with those you love.

Ethan really enjoyed this! Perfect for the holiday season. There really is nothing better than homemade ice cream. If you don't own an ice cream maker you should buy one. Today. Consider it a Christmas present from yourself that everyone will benefit from.

Other ice cream posts to check out: Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream, Cinnamon Ice Cream

Enjoy!