Mint Ice Milk Food

SHAMROCK SHAKES

Steps:

• Blend ice cream, milk, mint extract, and food coloring together in a blender until smooth.
• Drizzle chocolate syrup around inside walls of 2 tall glasses; pour shake into glass. Top with whipped cream and green decorator sugar.

FRESH MINT ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Put the milk, salt, sugar and 1 cup of the heavy cream in a pot and heat over medium-low heat, stirring often, until everything combines. Add the mint leaves and stir to get them all wilted in the hot milk. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and let the milk return to room temperature. When it hits room temperature, chill overnight in the fridge.
• The next day, strain the mixture through a fine-meshed sieve. It's OK if a few tiny mint leaf specks get in there. Reheat the mixture over medium-low heat. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl. In another bowl, pour in the other cup of heavy cream and set the fine-meshed strainer over it.
• When the mint-cream mixture is hot, about 150°F, you are ready to temper your eggs. With one hand whisking the eggs, slowly pour in a ladle of the hot cream. Do this three times total, whisking and pouring the whole way. Then pour the egg-cream mixture into the pot and stir to combine.
• Cook the mixture slowly, stirring often, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 160°F. Pour it through the strainer into the bowl with the other cup of heavy cream; doing it this way cools the mixture quickly. Chill everything down and churn according to your ice cream maker's directions.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY MINT SHAKES

Steps:

• Blend the ice cream, milk, peppermint extract, vanilla and food coloring in a blender until smooth. Pour into one or two serving glasses and garnish with whipped cream and sanding sugar.

MINT CHIP ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, heat the milk to 175°; stir in the sugar and salt until dissolved. Whisk in a small amount of the hot mixture to the eggs. Return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture coats the back of a metal spoon and reaches at least 160°, 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat. , Cool quickly by placing pan in a bowl of ice water; stir for 2 minutes. Stir in whipping cream, extracts and food coloring if desired. Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight., Stir in the chocolate chips. Fill ice cream freezer cylinder two-thirds full; freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Refrigerate remaining mixture until ready to freeze. Transfer ice cream to a freezer container; freeze for 2-4 hours before serving.

MINT ICE MILK

Steps:

• Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add mint; return water to a boil. Using a slotted spoon, immediately plunge mint into an ice-water bath. Lift out mint; drain well. Reserve ice-water bath.
• Bring milk to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add mint. Remove from heat. Let cool slightly.
• Working in batches (so that blender is never more than halfway full), blend milk mixture until mint is pureed, at least 1 minute per batch. Pass through a fine sieve into a stainless-steel bowl set in reserved ice-water bath.
• Stir simple syrup and corn syrup into milk-mint mixture. Let stand until cold, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate until very cold, at least 2 hours (or overnight).
• Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to an airtight container. Freeze at least 1 hour. Before serving, let stand at room temperature to soften slightly.

MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE-MILK SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Sandwich 2 1/2 tablespoons ice milk between 2 snaps, pressing snaps together gently, and put sandwich on a tray in a freezer. Form 11 more sandwiches in same manner and freeze on tray, covered, until hard. Ice-milk sandwiches may be made 1 week ahead and kept frozen, individually wrapped in plastic wrap.
• In a saucepan whisk together sugar and cornstarch and whisk in milk. Bring mixture to a boil over moderate heat, stirring frequently, and boil, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Remove pan from heat.
• In a small bowl stir about one fourth milk mixture into yolks and pour into remaining milk mixture, whisking constantly. Cook mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and a thermometer registers 160°F. (Do not boil mixture or it will curdle.) Stir in crème de menthe and transfer mixture to a bowl. Chill mixture about 1 hour, or until cool.
• In a small heavy saucepan melt chocolate over low heat, stirring occasionally and cool slightly. Put chocolate in a small sealable plastic bag and seal bag, pressing out excess air. Squeeze chocolate to one corner of bag and snip off 1/8 inch from corner to form a makeshift pastry bag. Freeze milk mixture in an ice-cream maker and with motor running add chocolate in a thin stream during last few minutes of freezing time. Makes 3 1/2 cups ice milk.
• In a bowl whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt and with fingers blend in butter until incorporated. Stir in egg until mixture is combined well. Cover dough in bowl and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. and lightly grease a large baking sheet.
• Spoon level tablespoons of dough onto a sheet of wax paper and cut each in half. With floured hands roll each piece of dough into a ball and arrange, evenly spaced, on baking sheet. Flatten each ball with floured metal spatula into a disk about 2 inches in diameter and bake in middle of oven 7 to 8 minutes, or until cookies are set but not hard. Cool cookies on racks. (Cookies will continue to crisp as they cool.) Makes about 26 cocoa snaps.