Peppermint Ice Cream

Instructions

1. Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat to dissolve the sugar and salt completely.
2. Pour the cream into a metal bowl set in a larger bowl of ice, and set a medium-mesh sieve on top.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Very slowly pour the warmed milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, to temper the egg yolks. Then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
4. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spoon, about 5-7 minutes. Be careful to constantly stir and to not let the mixture get too hot that it starts to cook/scramble the egg.
5. Pour the custard through the sieve and stir it into the cream. Then stir until cool over the ice bath. Chill mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.
6. Once the mixture is thoroughly chilled, stir in the peppermint extract. Because peppermint extracts can vary in strength, start out with 1 teaspoon and give it a taste test. If you'd like more peppermint flavor, add a 1/4 teaspoon at a time, until you reach the desired level of peppermint flavor. I used McCormick brand peppermint extract and used 2 teaspoons.
7. Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
8. When the ice cream is formed in the ice cream maker, and still fairly soft, fold in the crushed peppermint candy.  Spoon the ice cream into an airtight plastic container and place in the freezer for at least an hour (will still be quite soft), preferably for several hours. If the ice cream is frozen overnight or longer, you may need to let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften it before serving.