This peppermint ice cream is a creamy, and refreshing ice cream that is perfect for the holidays. It’s loaded with peppermint flavor in every bite, with candy cane pieces throughout and is perfect served with hot fudge.
We love ice cream over here, and I’m guessing most of you do too. This peppermint ice cream is such a good one to add to the collection.
This peppermint ice cream is a simple Philadelphia style ice cream, which basically means its a no cook ice cream, and no eggs are required. It’s got a mixture of heavy cream, whole milk, sugar, and flavorings that are added together in a bowl and churned up in an ice cream maker.
It’s a creamy, rich, sweet, and decadent candy cane ice cream that is so good. Your whole family will love it! And while I love eating it during the Christmas season, it’s a delicious option all year long too!
My favorite way to serve this peppermint ice cream is to get a big scoop on top of a warm brownie, and add some hot fudge drizzled over the top. There is just something I love about the combination of chocolate and peppermint.
Ingredients needed: :
This is a quick overview of the ingredients you’ll need for this Peppermint Ice Cream Recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
- heavy cream – you can use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream for this recipe, which makes it super rich and creamy
- whole milk – this gives the ice cream the best creaminess, with the right amount of fat. But you can use a lower fat milk if you don’t mind the loss in creaminess
- granulated sugar – this sweetens the ice cream base
- crushed candy cane pieces – these add that perfect peppermint flavor to the ice cream, and give it a light pink color
- vanilla extract – adds a little flavor to the ice cream base
- peppermint extract – for the perfect peppermint flavor
- salt – to balance out the sweetness of the ice cream
How to make Candy Cane Ice Cream?
Add candy canes to a blender or food processor and blend them up until they are finely crushed. You’ll want about 1/2 cup of the candy cane crumbs.
Add the finely crushed candy canes to a large bowl, then add in the remaining ice cream ingredients and stir them together. Stir it together for a couple of minutes to help the sugar dissolve and help the ice cream turn a nice shade of light pink from the candy canes.
Pour the ice cream base into a prepared ice cream machine (mine is 2QTs) and let it run until it thickens into a soft serve ice cream.
While the ice cream is churning, add the remaining candy canes to a large zip top bag, or back into the food processor and pulse, or use a food mallet to hammer them into coarse pieces, not to big that they’ll be hard to bite into when eaten the ice cream, but not to small that they’ll disappear. Pour the candy cane pieces into the ice cream maker and let it continue churning another 5 minutes or so until they are well mixed into the ice cream.
Scoop the ice cream into a 2QT container, a 9×5 bread pan is usually the perfect size for this, and cover the container. Place it in the freezer to harden for at least 6 hours, but overnight is even better, then when ready scoop it up and enjoy.
Tips for Peppermint Ice Cream:
- Don’t forget to pre-freeze your ice cream machine bowl. Mine takes at least 12 hours to be frozen solid so it will churn my ice cream. Leave it in your freezer to use whenever you’re ready if you have room.
- Add additional mix ins to your ice cream if desired. Add them in the last 5 minutes of churning when adding the candy cane pieces. Some yummy options would be chopped up Oreo pieces, or chopped up white chocolate. Add up to 1/2 cup of additional mix ins.
- If you’re making this ice cream another time of the year (not November or December) it will be hard to find peppermint candy canes at most grocery stores. A good option that you can substitute are Peppermint Starlight Mints, which can be found in the candy aisle year round.
How to store leftover ice cream?
You can store the peppermint ice cream in a 2 Quart air tight container, or tightly wrapped in a layer of plastic wrap and foil for up to 3 weeks. I recommend storing it in the back (usually the coldest) part of your freezer for the best results, to try and avoid any ice crystals from forming on the ice cream.
This peppermint ice cream is such a delicious minty ice cream, bursting with the perfect peppermint and vanilla flavors for the holiday season.
More peppermint recipes
- Peppermint Cookie Dough
- Peppermint Oreos with a cake mix
- Peppermint Bark Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peppermint Kiss Cookies
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Peppermint Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup finely crushed candy cane pieces (about 10-12 candy canes)
- 2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 2 drops red food coloring (optional)
- 1/2 cup coarse candy cane pieces (about 4-6 candy canes)
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Instructions
- Crush your first set of candy canes by adding the pieces to a food processor or blender and pulsing until you have a nice fine crumb.
- Add those to a large bowl. Then add in the heavy cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, and peppermint extracts (Add the food coloring if you want your ice cream more of a pink color) and stir them all together for a couple minutes until the sugar starts to dissolve.
- Pour the mixture into a prepared ice cream machine, and let it churn to run for about 25-30 minutes, according to manufactures instructions, until it is a soft serve consistency.
- Add the remaining candy canes to a ziptop bag or the food processor, and pulse to get chunky pieces.
- Add the candy cane pieces to the ice cream and let it continue churning for a couple more minutes until they are mixed throughout.
- Scoop the ice cream into a 2qt container (a 9×5 bread pan works well) and cover it.
- Place the ice cream container in the freezer to chill for at least 6 hours, overnight is even better.
- Scoop ice cream and enjoy topped with additional candy cane pieces, and hot fudge, if desired.
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