We don't really understand why most mint chip ice cream comes in this odd shade of green that doesn't look like any plant, never mind mint. Our mint chip ice cream is a creamy white speckled with chocolate chips and is one of our best sellers. It's incredibly easy to make and is most certainly a crowd-pleaser. We recommend showing some restraint with the mint extract—after all, you can always add more—lest your ice cream wind up tasting like toothpaste.
Ingredients
Makes about 1 quart
Step 1
1. Pour the cream and milk into a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water). Whisk in 1/2 cup (100 grams) of the sugar and the salt and stir until they have dissolved. Warm the mixture until you see steam rising from the top.
Step 2
2. Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath in a large bowl and set another bowl over it. Set aside.
Step 3
3. In a medium bowl, with a kitchen towel underneath it to prevent slipping, whisk together the egg yolks with the remaining 2 tablespoons (25 grams) sugar until uniform. While whisking, add a splash of the hot dairy mixture to the yolks. Continue to add the dairy mixture, whisking it in bit by bit, until you've added about half. Add the yolk mixture to the remaining dairy mixture in the double boiler. Set the heat under the double boiler to medium and cook the custard, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon and reducing the heat to medium-low as necessary, until steam begins to rise from the surface and the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Hold the spoon horizontally and run your fingers through the custard. If the trail left by your finger stays separated, the custard is ready to be cooled.
Step 4
4. Strain the custard into the bowl sitting over the prepared ice bath and stir for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the custard has cooled. Transfer the custard to a quart-sized container, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or, preferably, overnight.
Step 5
5. Add the mint extract to the chilled custard. Pour the custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Place the container in which you refrigerated the custard in the freezer so you can use it to store the finished ice cream. Churn the ice cream until the texture resembles "soft serve." In the last minute of churning, fold in the chocolate chips and churn until incorporated. Transfer the ice cream to the chilled storage container and freeze until hardened to your desired consistency. Alternatively, you can serve it immediately—it will be the consistency of gelato. The ice cream will keep, frozen, for up to 7 days.
You can also make fresh mint ice cream by blending fresh mint leaves into your cooled custard. You will wind up with a different taste from the ice cream here, but it's also quite wonderful.
Leave a Review
Reviews (6)
Back to TopAbsolutely delicious! I made some changes...first, it needed more mint, flavor so I used a whole 2 teaspoons of the extract. Second, I didn't have whole milk, so just used the 1% milk I had on hand. Third, I hate to have all those extra egg whites hanging around. So I used 4 whole eggs (white and yolk) and then just 2 yolks. All of these changes seemed to work out fine, because it was creamy, rich-tasting, smooth as silk, and so yummy! My whole family, and our dinner guest all loved it and wanted 2nds. In the future, I might make 1.5 recipe at a time, so there's enough for everyone!
Reva
New York
9/27/2021
The reason mint ice cream is green is because the recipe uses fresh mint leaves, which when cooked with the milk, color it. I did not make this recipe but am commenting on the opening - I'm surprised epicurious would make such a comment.
jehcooks
Austin
6/6/2020
Major success! Only my 2nd time making ice cream and it turned out great. We added a few crushed candy canes at the end but that really wasn’t necessary. Next time I will jut offer as a garnish. Loved it!
catherine31
NY
3/30/2020
This was my second time making ice cream, and the results from this recipe were way better than the first time. I will definitely be making this again. As others have said, the base is great and would be perfect for playing with different mix-ins.
Anonymous
Olathe, KS
8/19/2019
Time consuming but so worth it. I could not find enough fresh mints to make some of the other recipes so I used this one as it doesn't require them. As the mint extract has alcohol I didn't need to add vodka for ease of scooping. I added a grated chocolate bar and used about 2 tablespoons of mini chocolate chips. So creamy and delicious. Ice cream from the store doesn't have this richness. I churned at 7 am because I had to chill the custard overnight, but I've already washed and put my ice cream maker bowl back in the freezer for another batch. Next time I will crush up some mint candies in the food processor to add as well.
momnado
coronado, ca
7/26/2019
We're fairly new to making ice cream, but not to eating it. We know what it should taste like. We read many mint chip recipes before settling on this one and we're delighted with how it turned out. Great mouth feel, smooth and rich without leaving your lips coated with fat. As we didn't want to push the mint too hard we opted for 1 tsp, then tasted the custard. (Many recipes use less mint with more custard.) It seemed like enough at the time, but after freezing the mint flavor mellowed a bit. Lightly minty and very good but 1.5 tsp is probably correct. We also used 53% cacao chips crushed. Whatever you prefer would work just fine. As we're discovering, get the base right and the rest will fall into place. This is a great base and we want to try it with other mix-ins.
Anonymous
Nashville, TN
11/9/2015
See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips
-
49 Absolutely Dreamy Ice Cream Recipes
Even if you don't have an ice cream maker, you can make many of these summery scoops. -
68 Brilliant Ice Cream Sandwich Ideas to Rule Your Summer
These combinations are good enough to put the ice cream man out of business. -
12 Fresh Ways to Pair Chocolate and Mint
From peppermint bark to grasshopper ice cream cake, there's never been a better time to take your chocolate with a hit of mint. -
12 Peppermint Treats
All the sweet ways to use those candy canes.
