The kind folks over at McCormick sent me some goodies. All of the these are things I would have bought on my own, but it’s always nice to get something in the mail! I’ve used McCormick food coloring, extract, and spices for as long as I’ve been baking. Their products are top notch at an affordable price (and they’re easily accessible, which is a huge plus!).
Immediately, I chose the green food coloring and pure peppermint extract to make something festive for the upcoming holiday– St. Patrick’s Day!
There are a ton more recipes and ideas over on their site that include green ombre cake, green velvet cupcakes, and Irish cream swirl brownies, if ice cream doesn’t tickle your fancy.
But let’s be real here. When does ice cream not tickle your fancy? Especially one with chocolate chips?
The peppermint extract is strong. A little goes a long way! This isn’t the time to eyeball something… you don’t want to accidentally put in two teaspoons instead of one. If you’re sensitive to the taste, you can even cut back the one teaspoon to a half teaspoon instead. You can also sub the peppermint extract for mint extract to really make it match the color.
The green food coloring turned out even more beautiful than I imagined. I just kept adding drops until I got a color that I liked. That’s the beauty of it. It’s art!
Since this mixture is made of half and half rather than the normal whipping cream, it’s not as heavy as normal ice cream. That also affects the texture when frozen. It takes a little longer to firm up and a little longer to soften. I had to leave the tupperware at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before I could actually scoop it.
I used a Cuisinart ice cream maker for this.
Ingredients
- 2 cups half and half
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 11 drops green food dye
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Directions
- Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl, except for the chocolate chips.
- Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and let it run for 20-30 minutes.
- Fold in the chocolate chips. Serve immediately or freeze in a tupperware until desired consistency.
unfortunately, I don’t own an ice cream maker. 🙁 I’ve seen the quick version of shaking ice and salt together to make ice cream. one day maybe. looks delish!
how do you get companies to send you their products? I’m jelly!
they somehow get in contact with me! so pretty much.. having a blog. it’s awesome!
i can imagine! i’ve sometimes had companies contact me to send me their products for reviews, but never any big brand names like MCCORMICK!