Okay, so this may not necessarily remind you of Valentine’s Day, but February is more than just Valentine’s season. It is also Girl Scout cookie season! And, of course, the best Girl Scout cookie is undoubtedly the Thin Mint. There’s no use trying to convince me otherwise.
We wanted to experiment a little with this flavor and use mint leaves instead of mint extract. I wasn’t sure if there’d be much of a difference, but actually the flavor is totally different! The mint leaves have a much earthier flavor. Both mint leaves and mint extract have great flavor, they just have their different places I guess. We made this a mint leaf base with Thin Mint chunks and a chocolate cream cheese frosting swirl. The combination of flavors and textures was so great, it really was “mint to be”!
“Mint” To Be
Girl Scout cookies and ice cream, the epitome of a power couple!
Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 bunch mint leaves
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
Thin Mint cookies
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting Swirl
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tbs butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 Tbs sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Splash of milk (only if needed for thinning)
Directions
- Pour the cream and milk into a bowl. Rip up the mint leaves and stir them in. Allow the cream/mint to sit in the fridge overnight.
- Whisk the eggs until they are light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the sugar until the color turns lighter and the consistency is smooth, about 2 minutes more.
- Add the egg/sugar mixture to a sauce pan along with the milk/cream/mint mixture. Heat on medium low heat until it reaches 170, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom with a spatula to avoid cooking the eggs.
- Pour the mixture through a strainer to remove the mint leaves. Add strained base to a plastic gallon bag, and put in a prepared ice bath until cooled (about 15-20 minutes).
- When ready, make in your ice cream maker based on the maker’s instructions.
- While it runs, prepare your frosting swirl (see below). During the last 5-10 minutes (when the ice cream is the consistency of soft serve), add chunks of Thin Mint cookies. Don’t add it all in! Add handfuls at a time until you get your desired chunkiness.
- Add a layer of the ice cream, followed by a layer of frosting. Repeat the layers until you have filled your container of choice.
- Move the ice cream to the freezer until hardened (about 4 hours).
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream together the butter and cream cheese until well mixed.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, and mix on slow at first, and then on medium/high speed. If the frosting seems to thin, add a small splash of milk.
