Make the peppermint stick ice cream mixture.

• In a food processor, combine the peppermint sticks (or candy canes) and pulse until they are crushed. You can reserve a few tablespoons (before it is overly crushed) as you run the food processor.

  ¾ cup crushed peppermint sticks
• In a small saucepan, add the whole milk and heavy cream, and heat over medium heat. Heat until it reaches 165 degrees on a digital thermometer, whisking often. Do not boil. In a small mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar - and whisk.

  When the milk reaches 165 degrees, drizzle about one cup of it into the egg mixture, whisking vigorously as you pour it in. Do not stop whisking. Then pour the contents of the bowl into the saucepan with the remaining 3/4 cup sugar.

  1 ¾ cups whole milk, 2 ¼ cups heavy cream, 4 large egg yolks, 1 cup granulated sugar
• Add the crushed peppermint sticks, continue whisking, and heat mixture back up to 165 degrees.
• Remove from heat and let cool. Add vanilla extract, peppermint extract, and a pinch of salt. You can also strain the custard here if you’d like.

  1 Tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon peppermint extract, pinch of salt
• Add ice cream ingredients to a large bowl. Mix well, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least four hours before churning. The mixture should be VERY COLD!

Churn ice cream.

• If using a KitchenAid attachment, start the mixer with the attachment so that it’s turning BEFORE you pour the liquid in. Then pour in whisked ingredients and let it churn until finished. You’ll know it’s done when the mixer starts slowing down and it rises to the top of the bowl, approximately 25-30 minutes.
• Use a rubber scraper to pour the ice cream out of the bowl into a pan or container. 
• Freeze the ice cream until ready to serve. The ice cream will be a bit soft so it needs a couple of hours to firm up.

Serve ice cream with reserved crushed candy.