Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Recipe

I like Minty Ice Creams too, but sometimes, the mint flavor is just way too overpowering. It makes me feel like I’m eating toothpaste…or drinking mouth wash…and that’s just not cool. So whenever I can, I make my own – this way, I can control the amount of mint that goes into our ice cream.

As luck would have it, a few weeks ago my sister and I were asked to create some original recipes for Bigelow Tea for a Father’s Day Menu. In our home, we always barbecue that weekend, so I wanted to focus on some summery treats. For our family, that meant I was making some homemade ice cream.

While shopping for ingredients, I came across Bigelow’s Mint Medley Herbal Tea and I knew it would be perfect. With a “cool blend of garden spearmint and peppermint” this blend would make sure that the minty flavor was well balanced and not medicinal tasting at all.

The cool thing about Bigelow’s Herbal Teas are that they are caffeine free, which means that I don’t have to worry about the kids drinking and eating them. Plus, Bigelow is an American, family-owned company that is 3-generations strong — and we love supporting family businesses!

This Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Recipe was a huge hit with my family. Sadly, we ate the entire batch in just two days and now I have to make some more!

HOMEMADE MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM RECIPE

Makes about 1 quart of ice cream.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
6 Bigelow Mint Medley Herbal Tea tea bags
3/4 cups sugar
6 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/3 cups of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Step 1: In a mixer, (I heart my KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer), beat the sugar into the eggs until thickened and pale yellow. Beat in flour and salt. Set aside.

Step 2: Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in the tea bags, cover, and set aside to steep for 15 minutes.

Step 3: Gently press down on the tea bags to make sure all of the mint flavor gets into the milk, and then remove the tea bags. (Side note: I actually ripped open one of the tea bags – and loved how the tea looked swirling around in the milk. If this happens to you, you can strain your milk through a fine mesh sieve, or just leave it be. It didn’t bother any of us and looked pretty cool!)

Step 4: Add the half-and-half and return to a simmer over low heat. Slowly beat the hot milk and half-and-half into the egg yolks and sugar. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly. Be careful not to let the mixture boil or the eggs will scramble. Remove from the heat and pour the hot tea custard through a strainer into a large, clean bowl.

Step 5: Cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight. (I let mine sit overnight to enhance the tea flavor, but if you want to speed up the cooling process, set it into an ice bath. Just make sure your mixture is completely chilled before adding to the ice cream machine.)

Step 5: Stir the chilled custard, and then freeze in 1 or 2 batches in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Step 6: When the ice cream is semi-frozen, slowly add 1 1/3 cups of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and let the ice cream machine mix it in.

Step 7: When finished, the ice cream will be soft but ready to eat. For firmer ice cream, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze at least 2 hours.

*This recipe is adapted from The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein.

Thanks for reading,

Denine