The Gift of Gab

One of the traditions my kids count on for Christmas is peppermint ice cream that we make ourselves. It is extremely easy (can you see a pattern here) and everyone always wants to know what "brand" it is. Simply take some candy canes or peppermints. I use these, but you could get some good ones at a natural food store.

Put them in a double sealed bag and let the kids pound away at them. Maybe this part is why they love the tradition so much. You want the chunks to be pretty small. If the peppermints are really hard....and some of the good ones are.....just put them in the blender. Then add the peppermints to some vanilla ice cream. I put the ice cream in a big bowl to melt while the peppermints are being crushed so they are easy to mix together. After you have stirred them together, scoop the ice cream back into its original container and put it back into the freezer. We like to serve it in chocolate bowls like the one in the photo (just ignore the mousse). I have seen the bowls at specialty food stores or they are easy to make yourself with some chocolate and balloons. Find the instructions here. Sprinkle some extra peppermints on the top and around the plate for presentation. A delicious tradition if you ask me! What are some of your holiday traditions?