Mint Oreo Ice Cream

I was going to blog about some yummy pancakes I had made the other day but once I sampled this Mint Oreo ice cream, I pushed that thought aside. Also, now that cold weather has taken over many parts of the Northern Hemisphere, I felt it best to share this recipe before it gets even colder.

With that said, I can eat ice cream in any type of weather. In fact, I remember craving a gelato al cocco (coconut) on a cold October day, and my boyfriend was shocked . However, I was comforted by the fact that there were other people in the gelateria eating gelato, and they weren't tourists.

I was inspired to make this ice cream after having tried the Mint Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream from Ben and Jerry. After taking one bite, I thought, "OMG, this is so good! I need to try making this at home!" LOL! Who else does that? Hello? Just me?

It starts with infusing fresh mint leaves with whole milk in a pot. Then you temper the eggs and add the cream. Chill the mixture before pouring it in the ice cream maker. Add in the Oreos. Enjoy as a soft serve fresh from the machine or freeze it for a few more hours like I did.

Now I have made a plethora of ice cream flavors such as vanilla bean (twice), espresso, milk chocolate, Mexican chocolate, gelato al limone, chocolate chip cookie dough, coffee, double chocolate, mint chocolate chip (w/extract), and this Mint Oreo Ice Cream, is by far my favorite!

So, if you're in one of the cold regions of the world, bundle up, and make this ice cream today! If you're in a hotter region, invite me over, and we'll make it together! Hah!

MINT OREO ICE CREAM

mint base recipe adapted from the Vanilla Bean recipe

1 1/4 (300ml) whole milk
2.3 oz of mint leaves
4 large egg yolks, room temperature (save egg yolks in the freezer!)
1/2 cup (100g) granulated or caster sugar
1 1/4 (300ml) heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
30 Oreos, chopped (up to you how many you'd like in your ice cream!)

Put the milk and fresh mint in a medium saucepan, and heat gently to near-boiling point. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and allow the mint to infuse for 15 minutes.

In a separate, heatproof bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar, using a whisk or electric beater, until thick and pale. Gradually beat the milk into the egg mixture.

Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, and continue stirring until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. (book's instructions)
OR
Pour the milk/egg mixture back into the saucepan, and stir the mixture until it coats the back of a wooden spoon. (this is what I did). This took about 5-10 minutes.

Remove the bowl from the heat; stir in the cold heavy cream and vanilla extract. Cover the surface of the mixture directly with plastic wrap or waxed paper to prevent a skin from forming. Allow the ice cream custard to cool completely by refrigerating mixture for 4 hours to overnight.

Once cold, churn mixture in an ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer soft-serve ice cream to a freezer container and stir in chopped Oreos (as many as you'd like! I used 2-2 1/2 rows). Cover the ice cream directly with waxed paper or foil, then the container top, and put in the freezer.