Chef notes
This ice cream, made in just 15 minutes in the comfort of your home, is inspired by grasshopper pie. Grasshopper pie is characterized by its mint filling and chocolate crust. In this recipe, a standard no-churn ice cream base of sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream is flavored with peppermint extract and tinted green to make it reminiscent of the creamy mint pie filling. It’s accented with snappy streaks of bittersweet chocolate and chunks of Oreos in homage to the pie’s chocolate crust.
While some grasshopper pie and ice cream recipes include crème de cacao and crème de menthe, I chose to forgo the spirits to make this recipe family-friendly. Although the green food coloring makes the ice cream even more fun and festive, you can omit it. Regardless, this is one treat that’ll keep you coming back for another spoonful.
Technique Tip: Oreos crushed in a bag can easily become too broken down (sometimes a little more sandy), which means that they’ll get lost in the ice cream. Chopping the chocolate sandwich cookies results in bigger, more noticeable chunks throughout the ice cream.
In most no-churn recipes, the whipped cream is folded by hand into the sweetened condensed milk; however, I found the whipped cream lost a lot of its volume when folded by hand, making the mixture thinner and more difficult to swirl . Whipping the whipped cream into the condensed milk helped to maintain some volume and heft, keeping it from deflating when the chocolate is layered and swirled.
Swap Option: I like to use bittersweet chocolate (60%) as it cuts through the sweetness of the ice cream and Oreos. However, you can swap it for semi-sweet chocolate if your palate leans sweeter.
1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips can be melted and used in place of a chocolate bar.
Ingredients
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1¾ teaspoons pure peppermint extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4-6 drops green food coloring (optional)
- 2 cups cold heavy cream
- 16 whole (about 6½ ounces) Oreos, roughly chopped into ¼- to ½-inch pieces, plus more for topping as desired
- 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
Preparation
1.Place a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan in the freezer while you prepare the ice cream.
2.In a large bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk, peppermint extract, salt and food coloring (if using).
3.In a separate large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment), use an electric hand mixer to whip the cream on medium-high speed until it just reaches stiff peaks, 2 to 4 minutes.
4.Add half of the whipped cream to the bowl with the condensed milk mixture and whip on medium-low speed until just incorporated, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula, as needed, to incorporate all of the condensed milk mixture. Add the rest of the whipped cream and whip on medium-low until fully combined.
5.Fold the chopped Oreos into the ice cream until evenly distributed.
6.In the chilled loaf pan, add about 1/3 of the ice cream and spread into an even layer. Drizzle about 1/3 of the melted chocolate over the ice cream. Use a small offset spatula, butter knife, toothpick or skewer to lightly swirl the chocolate into the ice cream.
7.Repeat, layering the rest of the ice cream and chocolate in two more batches, ending with the chocolate. Top with more chopped Oreos, as desired.
8.Return the pan to the freezer and freeze until the ice cream is firm, at least 6 hours.
