Bright and minty, Candy Cane Ice Cream is one cool Christmas treat you won’t want to miss!
Candy Cane Ice Cream
In my pre-vegan days I used to look forward to the first day that Candy Cane Ice Cream would hit the shelves each year. I’ve missed it over the last two years, but wasn’t sure if I could remake it. Silly me. Of course it can be remade, and made better! No artificial dyes, no artificial flavors—just 4 ingredients!
This summer I experimented with a few new ice cream flavors, and shared my recipe for Double Chocolate Mint Chip on my friend Kristen’s YouAnew blog. Once I had that recipe down I knew that Candy Cane Ice Cream was close behind. As strange as it seems, the flavor of the coconut milk is completely hidden by the peppermint! This is the real deal—even better than I remembered! It’s so easy to make—just whisk the FOUR ingredients together, pop it in your ice cream maker (yes, bite the bullet, you need one!), churn, chill, and eat!
I’ve made two great finds when it comes to candy canes! The first is Trader Joe’s starlight mints. Their color comes from red cabbage and purple carrot. They’re made with real cane syrup and brown rice syrup, not high fructose corn syrup! I also found a brand of candy canes called Tru Joy. They’re dyed with fruit juices, and are also sweetened with cane syrup and brown rice syrup. I really like the taste of these—they don’t have the same yucky zing as traditional candy canes—nice and sweet but not too strong. Both are gluten free and vegan.
I love this ice cream on it’s own—cool and refreshing! I’m also anxious to try it in my mom and dad’s Christmas punch recipe. They always put out a big punch bowl for their Christmas parties, filled with ginger ale, egg nog and scoops of peppermint ice cream. I’m going to give it a shot with some vegan Silk nog and I’ll report back. I’m curious to try making the ice cream with chunks of Trader Joe’s Candy Cane Joe Joes too—have you had those yet? Candy Cane oreo cookies—delightfully dangerous!
Look how easy it is to make Candy Cane Ice Cream!
Give this recipe a try—it’s delicious and you’ll be wanting to make another batch right away! In fact, I think I’ll make some more this weekend! When you do, be sure to take a pic and tag me so that I can see! {#frieddandelions // @frieddandelions} Have you had Candy Cane Ice Cream before? What is your traditional first food of the Christmas season? Let me know in the comments below!
Candy Cane Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- ½ cup powdered sugar (you could try maple syrup too, but reduce to ¼ cup)
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- ½ cup crushed peppermint candies starlight mints or candy canes (plus extra for garnish)
Instructions
- Blend coconut milk, sugar, and peppermint extract together (in blender or with a whisk).
- Add in ¼ c crushed peppermints and place mix into ice cream maker.
- Churn in ice cream maker, following machine directions.
- When ice cream is nearly done, add remaining crushed peppermints and allow to mix in.
- Remove ice cream from machine and serve right away (soft) or allow to fully harden in the freezer.
- Allow to soften at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
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