When I think of ice cream, I think of the cones my Italian grandma kept in her tall tin cabinet in her Maywood dining room and the way we’d fill them up with orange sherbet from her cold case.
She and my grandpa were the first ones to live on their road, Augusta Street. In the 1940s, when they built it, Maywood was less a Chicago suburb, more a farm town, but then by the time she and I were eating ice cream, some 40 or 50 years later, there we were, surrounded by bungalows with fenced backyards.
When I think of ice cream, I think of a restaurant in Wheaton where I used to order chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce and chocolate sprinkles and how it came in a tall silver dish with a long spoon. I think of hot summer days. I think of late nights and TV.
I think of Tim, my ice cream lover, and how he researched ice cream makers for weeks before we added the one his cousins would buy us to our wedding registry list. I think of the time we visited our family in Ohio for a birthday party and someone pulled out homemade strawberry ice cream that my brother-in-law’s dad had made for the occasion.
But for the rest of my life, when I think of ice cream, I hope I will also think of these first few years of marriage with Tim, living in our white brick house, becoming our own family, keeping the gelato maker in the guest bedroom, making ice cream by the quart, eating it on our brown leather sofa and how this week when we were eating it it was by the tree.
We had coconut milk in the pantry and, for those of you asking for a non-dairy ice cream, here it is—creamy mint ice cream studded with chocolate chunks.
Mint Chocolate Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream
With a coconut milk custard base and the bright, refreshing taste of peppermint, this mint chocolate chip ice cream is our kind of December treat!
Ingredients:
- 2 13.5-ounce cans of full-fat coconut milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 2/3 cup (106g) unrefined cane sugar (Sucanat)
- 4 drops peppermint essential oil
(bonus fact: rubbing this stuff on your temples is excellent for headache relief) - 2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (about 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate)
(bonus fact: rubbing this stuff on your temples is excellent for headache relief)
, chopped (about 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate)Directions:
- Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and coconut milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add peppermint essential oil and continue to stir coconut milk mixture on medium heat for 10 to 20 minutes (do not let it boil) until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Let mixture cool (you can place in refrigerator to speed things along if you like). Once cool, add mixture to your ice cream maker and process.
- Add the chopped dark chocolate during the last 5 minutes of the ice cream maker’s processing. Note that the ice cream is usually much softer coming out of the maker than it is from the freezer. Enjoy!
Looking for more dairy-free ice cream options?
Try this cherry and dark chocolate version also made with coconut milk!
About Shanna Mallon
Shanna Mallon is a freelance writer who holds an MA in writing from DePaul University. Her work has been featured in a variety of media outlets, including The Kitchn, Better Homes & Gardens, Taste of Home, Houzz.com, Foodista, Entrepreneur, and Ragan PR. In 2014, she co-authored The Einkorn Cookbook with her husband, Tim. Today, you can find her digging into food topics and celebrating the everyday grace of eating on her blog, Go Eat Your Bread with Joy. Shanna lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with Tim and their two small kids.
WHOA. Must make this tonight – thank you!!
Yay! Hope you enjoy, Jessie!
I love that first photo, Shanna! I didn’t know that essential oils were suitable for ingesting–good to know. I think I’ll be making this very, very soon 🙂
Thanks, Lindsey! Tim says it looks cold. : ) And oh man we have to post about essential oils sometime soon. Changing our lives.
perfect for Florida Christmas, Its been Oh-so-warm. Hot cocoa hasn’t really been on the treat list….
I’ll be honest, a Florida Christmas sounds pretty dreamy to me… : )
Mmmm, the texture on that ice cream looks fantastic, Shanna! We love our chilled holiday treats around here. 😉 (P.S. I missed that instagram of your tree the first time around, but it is gorgeous!)
Thanks, Jess! And I was just telling Tim a tropical holiday sounds pretty nice to me… maybe this ice cream is a sign for the future? : )
Heaven. I love the idea of coconut and mint together. And chocolate chunks is, of course, a lovely touch.
The chocolate chunks are my fav.
yes to this! we’ve been making coconut milk based ice cream for awhile and this flavor combo is dw’s fave. a trick i learned is adding about 1/2 TBL of potato starch to the mixture to not only thicken it a smidge more, but it helps to keep the concoction from getting too icy, and keeping its creamy consistency. i think i learned it from sprouted kitchen or oh lady cakes.
interesting! this version was super creamy to us, but then we are used to milk-only ice creams, so maybe that’s why. : ) good to know about the potato starch! thanks!
I’m always worried that if we buy an ice cream maker, our diets will be approximately 85% ice cream ; )
haha! I speak from experience: It’s entirely possible… : )
Oh my gosh. This looks delicious but the idea of eating something cold makes me shiver! Haha So I might just feast my eyes for now, but I’m definitely pinning this!
PS: I found your blog through the Sugar Box and I’m obsessed! 🙂 I will definitely be back and would love to get to know you better! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Haha! Normally I feel the same way (we’re a multiple blankets, turn on the heat, get cozy by the tree kind of family) but I make one exception for ice cream. And you came through Kendra! I love her!
Let’s just talk about how fabulous it is that you keep the ice cream maker in the guest room! Then again, it’s a guest that’s always welcome to the table, is it not? I would employ that grand idea with out pressure canner, but we have yet to acquire a guest room. Enjoy the ice cream.
haha, I know, and what’s even better is that it’s next to our water distiller and across from a bed covered in Christmas presents. Our guest room essentially has become a giant closet..
My kids would definitely love this ice cream flavor. Looks so rich and creamy.
Great, Tammie! Hope you enjoy!
I was wondering if egg replacement would work for this….flax or something…..my kids are terribly allergic to eggs.
tia
Aliyanna
Hi Aliyanna,
I am not sure if the egg replacement would work for this as the yolks help to make the custard–but I have not tried it so you can give it a go if you like! If you want to do it egg free I would suggest using maple syrup or sorghum syrup as I have found that to be a better texture.
Wow. I have never had any mint chocolate chip coconut ice cream. This looks delicious! Thank you for the recipe.