Peppermint Ice Cream

There are a few other peppermint ice cream recipes on the Zaar, but this is my preferred version. It includes the crucial ingredient of peppermint extract and it's a custard-style ice cream, meaning it has more body and less tendency to get icy in the freezer. This is a David Leibowitz recipe via the website Simply Recipes.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 8
• Yields: 1 1/2 quarts

Ingredients

• 2 1⁄2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1⁄2 cups  whole milk
• 8  large  egg yolks
• 3⁄4 cup sugar
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 2  teaspoons  peppermint extract
• 1⁄2 cup  peppermint candy, crushed

Directions

1. Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Make sure the sugar and salt completely dissolve.
2. Pour the cream into a metal bowl set in a larger bowl of ice and set a medium-mesh sieve on top.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
4. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a wooden or heatproof rubber spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula, about 5-7 minutes.
5. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Then stir until cool over the ice bath. Chill mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.
6. One the mixture is thoroughly chilled, add peppermint extract, a 1/4 teaspoon at a time, tasting the mixture after each addition, until you reach the desired level of peppermintiness. (Different peppermint extracts vary in strength. This recipe uses 2 teaspoons of McCormick peppermint extract.).
7. Once chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
8. Once the ice cream has been formed in the ice cream maker, it will be fairly soft. Fold in the crushed peppermint candy. Put in an airtight plastic container and place in the freezer for at least an hour, preferably several hours. If it has been frozen for more than a day, you may need to let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften it before serving.