Peppermint Icicles Recipes

PEPPERMINT ICICLES

Steps:

• Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Bring sugar, corn syrup, and water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until sugar dissolves. Cook, undisturbed, until mixture registers 305 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and stir in lemon juice and peppermint extract. Working quickly, pour hot sugar mixture onto prepared sheet. (Be careful not to touch hot mixture.) Let cool until bubbles subside, about 30 seconds.
• Coat a metal spatula with cooking spray, then fold 2 edges of mixture inward, toward center. Continuously fold candy in half on itself with spatula until it is cool enough to handle, about 1 minute (it will still be very hot).
• Wearing rubber gloves and working quickly, pull candy to a length of 1 foot, then fold in half on itself. Repeat, twisting and pulling until candy starts to turn white. Remove a golf-ball-sized piece, and add food colorings to the smaller piece. Continue to stretch and fold both pieces separately. When candy is almost cool, and the uncolored piece is white, pull each piece into a 12-inch-long rope.
• Place ropes side by side, and fold in half together to layer colors. Twist pieces together. Starting at 1 end, pull and twist until rope is 1/2 inch thick. Working quickly, twist and pull end to taper slightly, and cut off a 6-inch length with scissors. Continue twisting, pulling, and cutting icicles until candy becomes too hard and can no longer be pulled. (There will be some left over. Reserve for another use, such as crushing over ice cream or cookies; see Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies recipe) Transfer icicles to a baking sheet to harden.

PEPPERMINT ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Combine the half-and-half, vanilla bean, vanilla seeds and salt in a nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, then immediately remove the saucepan from the heat.
• In a large bowl add the sugar and egg yolks and whisk to combine. Add the half-and-half mixture, about 1/4 cup at a time, to the beaten eggs and sugar, whisking after each addition. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and add the mint leaves. Cook over medium-low heat until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Transfer the bowl to an ice bath and stir frequently until custard is completely cool. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
• Pour the custard into an ice cream machine and follow the manufacturer's instructions for churning time. As the ice cream begins to set, sprinkle in the crushed peppermint candies. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze until firm, about 8 hours.

PEPPERMINT NO-CHURN ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Put a 9-by-5-by-3-inch metal loaf pan in the freezer to chill. Put the chocolate-peppermint candies and 3/4 cup of the heavy cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the candies are melted, about 5 minutes. Cool completely.
• Meanwhile, whip the remaining 2 cups heavy cream in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium high until firm peaks form, about 2 minutes. Pour the condensed milk into a medium bowl and fold in 1 cup of the whipped cream with a rubber spatula until combined, then fold the lightened mixture back into the whipped cream until well blended. Gently fold in the marshmallows.
• Remove 2 tablespoons of the chocolate-peppermint candy sauce and set aside. Pour a third of the ice cream mixture into the chilled pan, then top with half of the remaining chocolate-peppermint candy sauce, add a third more of the ice cream mixture, then the remaining chocolate-peppermint candy sauce. Cover with the remaining ice cream mixture and sprinkle the crushed peppermint puffs on top. Drizzle the top with the reserved chocolate-peppermint candy sauce. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and freeze until solid and scoopable, about 3 hours and up to overnight. Serve in a cup with a candy cane if using.

PEPPERMINT BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• Beat butter in a bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth and creamy; gradually add confectioners' sugar and milk and beat until smooth. Add peppermint extract and food coloring and beat on high speed until fluffy.