Peppermint Oreo Ice Cream

Almost as soon as I had washed the ice cream bowl and put it back in the freezer I was already plotting the next flavour combo.  Sticking with the super easy sweet cream B&J base I decided on the rather moreish sounding Mint Oreo.

Mint  ice cream can be elusive and a bit hit and miss if you do find it.  Sometimes it's subtle and delicious and sometimes it's akin to eating frozen toothpaste with those square, gritty choc chips in it.  Mint flavouring, and the industrial quantities of green food colouring in some brands, can also have a unpleasant aftertaste.  So by making your own you can use a decent quality extract (or even infuse fresh mint leaves) and make it as minty (and choc-chippy!) as you like.

Ben and Jerry's used to make the fabulous mint choc chunk but the only place I have seen this recently was the B&J Festival last year.  My own favourite is made by Beechdean, who are based just up the road from me.  You can often find their mini tubs sold at the interval in theatres.  http://www.beechdean.co.uk/.

I used Sainsbury's American  peppermint extract and double chocolate Oreos to bump up the choc quota.  I also used single cream and skimmed milk in the sweet cream base.  This was not for any health reasons but because it's what I had in the fridge.  Interestingly this was nearly as rich as the Coffee Heath Bar Crunch and seemed to benefit from being less creamy as it gave the peppermint flavour a cleaner, brighter flavour.  With all the eggs, sugar, cream and biscuits this can hardly be described as health food but it did reduce the fat content without affecting the taste and texture of the finished ice cream.

Peppermint Oreo Ice Cream

Makes 1 Quart (can easily be halved)

2 Eggs

1 1/2 Cups Sugar

2 Cups Single Cream

1 Cup Milk (I used Skimmed)

2 tsps Peppermint Extract

12 Oreo Cookies

Chop cookies into small pieces and put in the freezer.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until light and frothy, approx 1-2 minutes.

Slowly add sugar to the egg mixture and whisk thoroughly for another 2-3 minutes.

Add milk, cream and peppermint extract and give a final whisk to combine.

Place mixture in fridge to chill.

Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions.

Just before the mixture reaches the desired consistency stir in the frozen cookie pieces.

Serve immediately or transfer to a container and place in the freezer to firm up further.

 

This was another big success.  A subtle, sweet mint smell and just the right amount of tongue tingling flavour.  The cookies gave it a crunchy chocolate hit, alternatively you could use plain choc chips.  It also makes a great milkshake, just blend two or three scoops of ice cream with a cup and a half of milk per person. A shot of white rum works well too!