Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream for Suz

After reading Suz's blog tonight I had to post this quick and easy recipe I have for Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream that C and I made the other night. I use Lactaid Whole Milk in this recipe because I am lactose-intolerant.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 cup good quality chocolate chips

Stir first three ingredients in a bowl until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peppermint extract. If you have a new-fangled ice cream maker, put it together and start it up, then pour bowl ingredients into the cold bowl. If you're using the older ice and salt version, pour into the ice cream bowl, then put it all together and let it crank.

While the ice cream is churning, put the chocolate chips in a small Ziploc bag (the freezer kind is good but a sandwich bag still works) and pound them with the flat side of a meat mallet (or a hammer) until they are crumbs. You'll need to shake the bag a few times. Add the crumbs to the ice cream when it's starting to firm up (so all the chips don't sink to the bottom). When the ice cream has reached soft-serve consistency (or even firmer) it's done. Spoon the ice cream into a PRE-CHILLED bowl (with a lid) and put in the freezer. Overnight freezing will firm it up, but you can always eat it before that.

I have a Cuisinart electric ice cream maker that I bought from Williams Sonoma a couple of years ago. It has a removable bowl that you keep in the freezer until you are ready to make ice cream. It will make soft-serve ice cream in 25 minutes!