Fresh mint–chocolate chip ice cream

12
Points®
Total Time
28 min
Prep
20 min
Cook
8 min
Serves
10
Difficulty
Moderate
Homemade ice cream doesn't have to be a thing of summertimes past. With minimal effort, a bumper crop of fresh mint, and about 3 hours to freeze it, you'll have a fresh, made-from-scratch mint chocolate chip ice cream to rival any shop's "homemade" scoop! You’ll need 1 large or 2 small bunches of fresh mint to get 2 cups of packed mint leaves. Briefly rinse the mint sprigs under cold running water; shake off the excess water and gently pat the leaves dry with paper towels before cooking them. Serve the frozen custard-style cream as soon as it's set, topped with fresh mint sprigs and a sprinkle of chocolate chips or beads.

Ingredients

Fat free half and half creamer

4 cup(s)

Peppermint leaves

2 cup(s), packed fresh variety

Sugar

½ cup(s)

Liquid egg substitute

1 cup(s)

Table salt

tsp

Semisweet chocolate

8 oz, chips variety (1 cup)

Instructions

  1. Combine the half-and-half, mint, and sugar in a large saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Bring just to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the saucepan from the heat; cover and let stand about 10 minutes. Pour the mint mixture through a sieve set over a large bowl, pressing hard on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard the solids.
  2. Whisk together the egg substitute and salt in a medium bowl. Slowly add 1⁄2 cup of the hot half-and-half mixture, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Cook, whisking slowly and constantly, until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes (do not let boil).
  3. Immediately pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve set over a large bowl. Let cool to room temperature, whisking occasionally. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 3 hours.
  4. Pour the custard mixture into an ice-cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions, adding the chocolate chips about 10 minutes before the ice cream is done. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer container and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 6 hours. This ice cream is best served the day it’s made. Yields 1/2 cup per serving.