Peppermint Ice Cream

I love seasonal food items.  There's nothing like a frozen lemonade in July or a pumpkin spice latte in October.   As for December, I love me some peppermint infused foods, and peppermint ice cream is no exception.  I'm not quite sure why it's not a year-round commodity since it's quite tasty! I brought a batch to a girls' night in with my co-residents.  This particular recipe calls for a custard base made with egg yolks cooked slowly over the stove.  The custard makes the ice cream super creamy.  Really you could take the same ice cream recipe base and create your own "add-ins."  Next time I'll be adding some chocolate shavings!   

Peppermint Ice Cream
From simplyrecipes.com by way of David Leibowitz
* Requires ice cream maker 

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
2-3 teaspoons peppermint extract
1/2 cup crushed candy canes or hard peppermint candy

Directions:
Pour the cream into a large metal bowl, and place this bowl in a larger bowl of ice.  Set a mesh sieve on top.  Place the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan and heat on medium so the sugar is dissolved.   In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks.  Then scrape the warmed egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan.  Using a wooden or heatproof spatula, stir constantly until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan so that the egg yolk does not cook.  Once thickened, pour the custard through the strainer.  Stir the mixture until cool, and then chill in the refrigerator thoroughly (usually a couple hours, but can be overnight).  

Once the ice cream mixture is thoroughly chilled, add the peppermint extract a 1/2 teaspoon at a time until the desired amount of peppermintiness is achieved.  Then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.  Fold in the peppermint candy once the ice cream is formed and soft.  Scrape into an airtight container and freeze for at least a couple hours.