Mint chocolate isn’t my favorite flavor in the world, but I know some people who love it. For me, it’s more of a special treat that all have every once in a while. But one thing is for sure; it’s a perfect dessert ice cream that comes after a great meal. Just like having an after dinner chocolate or mint, you get both of them combined in a creamy smooth package. As for making your own mint chocolate ice cream, it’s not something I do on a regular basis because it can be time-consuming. But there are some wonderful ideas that I’ve been able to incorporate into my recipe. So whenever I feel like creating a masterpiece dessert to surprise my guests, this is the one I’ll go with. It’s a bit more complicated than my other recipes, but hopefully, you can follow along. 
Ingredients
- 3 cups Fresh Spearmint Leaves
- 2 cups 2% milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 3 drops green food coloring (optional)
- 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1. In a heavy saucepan, combine 1 cup of your milk, 1 cup of the cream, and all of the mint leaves. Simmer but do not let it boil and let it stand for 30 minutes after you’ve reached a light steaming point. This will be your mint infusion, make sure you do it right because it’s really important.
2. Now pour your remaining cup of cream into a medium-size bowl and turn it into an ice bath. All you have to do is put the smaller bowl into a larger one that contains ice and water. Put a strainer on top of both bowls and put this on the side.
3. Now it’s time to strain your mint infusion into your mixing bowl. Try to press your mint leaves against the sieve to ensure the most liquid possible. With your infusion taken care of, add your sugar and salt and heat until on the verge of steaming again. Make sure you’re stirring all the time to blend in all the sugar. Remove this from heat.
4. Whisk your eggs yolks and slowly pour in the heated cream mixture so that you get a tempering affect by the warm milk. You want to have this as smooth as possible so find the right pace without going too fast.
5. Now it’s time to go to the custard phase where you essentially cook your ingredients over medium heat without letting things boil. This might take up to 10 min. And you’ll know when it’s done when your custard coats the back of your spoon evenly. Put it one more time through the strainer and then chill in your fridge or set in an ice bath.
6. You now have the basic custard for your recipe, and the best ice cream maker should be able to churn in around 30 minutes. By the way, if you just want to remain ice cream then you got it right here. Of course, to turn it into the full mint chocolate chip, all you have to do is add the rest of your chocolate chips during the mixing process.
