Hint of Thin Mint Ice Cream

Top of the mornin' to you. Hope you all have big plans for a great St. Patrick's Day! I am not the least bit Irish, but I wanted to join in the fun with some St. Patrick's themed recipes today. Don't worry. I'll make sure to don some green hued clothing today to make sure that I don't get pinched =)

The idea for this ice cream actually came about from a botched box of Thin Mints. A couple weeks ago my husband and I fell subject to the Girl Scouts sitting outside the grocery store (how can you say no?!?). We actually did okay. Just one box each of Thin Mints and Samoas, but when we opened the thin mints they had melted just enough to stick together like crazy. I suppose that's a casualty of living in Phoenix? Thinking I shouldn't eat a sleeve of Thin Mints at a time, ice cream came up as a recipe that would benefit from the addition of crushed Thin Mints. Perfect. I have had an ice cream freezer attachment for my Kitchen Aid for several months, but it hasn't gotten much use because I hadn't been home.

Now, which ice cream? I debated between vanilla and mint ice creams for a couple of days, but finally decided on mint since it is one of my favorite flavors. I ended using this recipe from My Kitchen Addiction. It's one that I have had saved in my bookmarks since before I owned the ice cream attachment, and I am glad that I can finally make it. I am sure we'll be making it again. The ice cream turned out wonderful. It was creamy, minty, and green, and I think I like the addition of the Thin Mints better than the original chocolate chips. I am thinking we may have to make this a yearly St. Patrick's Day tradition! Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Hint of Thin Mint Ice Cream
Adapted from My Kitchen Addiction

Ingredients:
2 c. heavy cream, divided
1-1/2 c. whole milk
3/4 c. granulated sugar
pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/2 tsp. mint extract
3 drops green food coloring
1 sleeve of Thin Mints, roughly crushed

Warm 1 cup of the heavy cream, whole milk, granulated sugar, and pinch of salt in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves.

Pour the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (if using a candy thermometer, it should reach 170 degrees F). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Add the vanilla and mint extracts and the food coloring, and stir until cool over an ice bath. 

Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator overnight. Churn according to your ice cream maker's directions, adding the crushed Thin Mints in the last 2-3 minutes of churning.

Yield: about 1 quart