Stacia’s Peppermint Gelato

At Christmas time my women’s Bible Study group were sitting around chatting about everything and nothing, as women often do.  My friend Stacia (or Stacie) was commenting that she loves peppermint ice cream, but can only ever buy it in the stores around Christmas time.  And who wants to eat ice cream in winter?  (everyone in my family needs to put their hands down now!).

So, when I was contemplating buying an ice cream maker, I knew I had to try to make some peppermint ice cream for Staci in the summer and then find a way to give it to her.  Well, the opportunity has presented itself and it was a hands-down success.  The recipe should make about 12 servings.  Well, after my family had their first serving, and then saved some for Staci, it was all gone the very night I made it.  It is THAT good.

To get the real peppermint flavor, I used a combination of peppermint extract and some crushed up mint candies.  I’m sure if I had thought far enough ahead, I could have saved some candy canes from Christmas.  Right?  Probably wouldn’t have made it all the way through to the summer!  But for those of you in the southern hemisphere, go nuts with the peppermint ice cream at Christmas – you’ve got everything you need!

And who would ever know that it’s dairy-free?

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Peppermint gelato

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups almond milk
• 1 tin coconut cream
• 1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candies

Instructions

1. Mix the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl and set aside.
2. Pour milk, cream and extract in a saucepan and heat until just beginning to boil.
3. Add approximately 1 cup of the milk mixture to the egg and sugar mixture and stir well.
4. Add this mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk mixture and stir well.
5. Heat until the mixture reaches 175-180F.
6. Strain through a sieve, cover and chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
7. Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions for churning. Add the crushed mints into the ice cream maker during the last 1-2 minutes of churning.