This Christmas, we were driving home from Arizona and discussing ideas for things that I wanted to make. I was in the mood for something sweet. The conversation turned to ice cream. My chocolate ice cream is one of my boyfriend’s favorites. I love strawberry. Then, I found out that my boyfriend and I share a favorite ice cream: Mint Chocolate Chip. So naturally, when we got home, I had to make a batch. I used the vanilla bean ice cream as the base and then added in the peppermint flavor and chocolate chips to craft this delicious treat. We have been enjoying it all week. I mean, it is Southern California and there is always a reason to eat ice cream. This ice cream has a nice mint flavor that compliments the ice cream, rather than overpowering it. If you want to add in some color for that classic hue, I buy the all natural ones from Whole Foods.

1 13.5 oz can full fat coconut milk
3/4 cup coconut milk (regular)
1 vanilla bean
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp peppermint extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Green Food Coloring (optional)

1. Place a medium saucepan over low heat.
2. Add coconut milks, syrup, and egg yolks.
3. Cut vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the inside. Add to coconut milk mixture, along with the pod. Whisk to combine everything.
4. Stir constantly on low heat so that they mixture does not boil. Stir for about 15 minutes. Add in peppermint extract.
5. After 15 minutes, put the ice cream base in a bowl in the refrigerator. Leave the pod in the sauce and allow to sit about 30 minutes.
6. After 30 minutes, remove from refrigerator and remove the pod. Make sure to squeeze the pod between your fingers into the bowl to get all the leftover extract out. Discard the pod, leaving behind the vanilla bean seeds.
7. Turn on your ice cream maker and pour in the ice cream base. Use a spatula to make sure all the ice cream base and vanilla bean seeds are out of the bowl. Allow to churn for at least an hour.
8. About 5 minutes from being finished, add in chocolate chips while the ice cream maker is churning. This will mix them in to the ice cream.
9. Optional: Add in a few drops of a natural food dye to color the ice cream a nice green color. This is not necessary, as it has no effect on the taste of the ice cream, but is purely for decoration.
10. Once it has reached the consistency of “ice cream”, turn off the ice cream maker and serve immediately. Or, place into a freezer safe dish to store.