Chocolate Thin Mint Ice Cream

I'm back!!! I know I haven't blogged in almost a month but grad school got the best of me. I started studying for my CPA exams and got a little overwhelmed with attempting to study for that as well as finishing my normal school work. I did manage to bake a few things during all of the craziness but didn't find time to blog about them. The best thing I made had to be this thin mint ice cream. You all know you love Girl Scout cookies. I mean who doesn't? I was on my way to work to teach dance on a Saturday morning and I had to stop by the store for some stickers for class and to my surprise there was a little girl selling Girl Scout cookies. I thought Girl Scout cookie season was over months ago so I was so beyond excited. Maybe even a little too excited. Four boxes later I was on my merry way to work. I chowed down on 3 of the boxes while I studied and did work over the next few weeks. But I saved the thin mints for this ice cream. I was looking for a recipe that wouldn't just be chocolate and chopped up thin mints though, I really wanted the mint flavor to shine. In this recipe, the thin mints are steeped into the custard as well as chopped up and later mixed into the ice cream after it has finished churning. This means lots of thin mint flavor. This was extremely easy to make and much much better than any store bought ice cream. The ice cream is really rich and chocolatey so I've found that a little bit goes a long way!

Ingredients:
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
3 cups half and half
28 thin mints (1 box), divided
5 ounces dark chocolate, chopped fine
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
In a medium sauce pan off heat, whisk together the eggs and sugar until the mixture gets really light in color and slightly thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in the cocoa powder until no clumps remain. Slowly whisk in the half and half. Finely chop 10 Thin Mints (no larger than the size of a pea). Stir the cookies into the dairy mixture. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook the dairy mixture while whisking frequently. Keep cooking until the temperature reads 180 degrees Fahrenheit (the custard should coat the back of a spoon when it's ready). Remove the custard from the heat. Mix in the dark chocolate until it is fully melted into the custard. Transfer custard to an airtight container and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, but it's best if its overnight. Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Chop the remaining Thin Mints (sizes can range from pea-sized to nickel-sized) and in the last minute of the churn add the cookies. Spoon ice cream into an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.

Makes about 1 quart.

Source: Recipe from Serious Eats