Lesson #187: Peppermint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

I was driving by Chick-fil-a last week and I saw an advertisement for their Peppermint Milk Shake. I had two thoughts: that sounds really yummy and I think that I've made a version of that ice cream last year. Of course, I had to get a milk shake for research purposes :)

I came home and found an ice cream recipe that I posted last year and modified it to add bits of milk chocolate throughout. That was a good idea! This is a cooked custard based ice cream with candy canes steeped into the custard. During the last few minutes of churning I added crushed candy canes and chopped milk chocolate. DELISH!

LESSON LEARNED: Don't add any food coloring to this ice cream. As it sits in the freezer, it becomes "pinkish".

Recipe for Peppermint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Lesson #184: Peppermint Crunch Puppy Chow

I've just started to think about holiday baking and this recipe was first on my list. I love the simplicity of this recipe. It requires no baking and takes about 10 minutes from start to finish. The hardest part of the recipe is crushing the candy canes or mints.

The recipe is only 4 ingredients: Chex cereal, white chocolate, candy canes/mints, powdered sugar. It requires a little melting, mixing, and shaking and -viola - you have a wonderful dessert!  

LESSON LEARNED: Package up little bags of this mix to give to your friends.

Recipe for Peppermint Crunch Puppy Chow