York Peppermint Patties and rich chocolate mint ice-cream make Chocolate Peppermint Patty Ice-Cream a great treat any time!

When I was a kid, I used to spend time each summer at my grandparents’ dairy farm in western Pennsylvania. I’d get up early with my Grandpa to milk the cows, clean out the barn and feed the calves. Grandma always had a bountiful dinner on the table around noon (supper was the light evening meal for them). Then Grandpa and I would spend the afternoon doing whatever needed to be done before the evening milking.

One of my favorite memories was when Grandpa would drive me to the nearest store after dinner – a little market inside the only gas station for miles. There he’d catch up on local gossip and we’d buy some York Peppermint Patties. We usually split one on the way home but the rest went into the freezer.

At some point during my visit we’d bale hay. Grandpa had a rectangular baler (I didn’t know hay bales could be round until I moved west). He’d hook the baler up to the tractor and then hook a wagon to the back of the baler. My job was to ride in the wagon and stack the bales as neatly as I could when they came out of the baler. It was hot, dusty work. We always celebrated the end of hay baling with frozen York Peppermint Patties.

I’m telling you, there is nothing like a frozen peppermint patty when you’re really hot and sweaty! My kids have never baled hay but they know about frozen peppermint patties in the summer – and summers are long and hot here in Texas.

When I was thinking about my sister’s birthday this week, I thought how much she’d  enjoy Chocolate Peppermint Patty Ice-Cream. I wanted the ice-cream to be rich and chocolaty so I melted Belgian Dark Chocolate disks into the milk. If you’re not a mint fan, just add the cream and churn – you’ll be in heaven because the chocolate base is that good!

Don’t have dark chocolate disks? No problem, you can use chopped dark chocolate bars or Guittard Dark Chocolate Baking Chips. You can even use semi-sweet chocolate but the ice-cream will be sweeter.

Yield: about 3 pints

Chocolate Peppermint Patty Ice-Cream

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Ingredients

• 2 cups dark chocolate disks
• 1 ½ cups milk (I used low fat)
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon mint extract
• 15 mini peppermint patties cut into fourths (about 1 ½ cups)

Instructions

1. Put chocolate disks and milk in a microwave proof bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is uniform. Cool to room temperature and add whipping cream and mint extract. Refrigerate overnight for best results or at least until cool.
2. Assemble your ice-cream maker and pour chocolate mixture in. Churn for about 30 minutes or until the soft ice-cream stage.
3. Add the peppermint patties and churn for a few minutes more. Transfer to a container for freezing until hard. Or serve immediately as soft ice-cream.

Notes

You can substitute Guittard Extra Dark Baking chips, chopped extra dark chocolate bars or semi-sweet chips if you prefer.