Ice cream flavours for the holiday season

[richardclark]

I want to make some ice cream for the winter / holiday season and I'm looking for interesting suggestions.

Some ideas are: chai, egg nog & rum, cinnimon & apple, chocolate & chili, maple walnut and cranberry & vanilla.

[Georgia Sommers]

I make an ice cream pie for the holidays that will knock your socks off. Very simple, quite delicious. Using a chilled bowl and utensils, mix jarred mincemeat into vanilla ice cream. Be careful not to let it get melty. Spoon into a homemade baked graham cracker crust and freeze. It is excellent. By the way, I like the crust to be slightly coarse so don't get the crackers crushed to a powder. The texture contrast is nice.

[mamachef]

I made a Bourbon and Vanilla Bean with pecan candy crunch frozen into it a few years ago, and it was the kind of thing that made people's eyes roll up in their heads. I also love a good, not-too-sweet, white mint ice cream with either chopped candy canes or chopped Junior Mints. And Mr.'s been toying around with a candied cranberry in an orange ice cream, which sounds really interesting.

[tim irvine]

In Texas Blue Bell seems to have two seasonal standards: peppermint and pistachio/almond. When I think of Christmas ice cream when I was growing up in the northeast I think spumoni and of course remember going to Schrafft's for peppermint stick ice cream with hot fudge.

[Chowrin]

peppermint! peppermint! wintergreen!

[tldmatrix]

smoked maple chestnut
http://teenchefteddy.blogspot.com/

[goodhealthgourmet]

how about mixing bits of gingerbread *into* pumpkin pie ice cream? or swirling pumpkin pie ice cream with maple walnut? pumpkin cheesecake with graham cracker crumbs?

[HillJ]

Goat Cheese with Cognac Fig Sauce
Mackenzie Creamery, super fresh goat cheese with pockets of saucy cognac soaked figs and almonds. A lighter, more ethereal cheesecake with Courvoisier and figs.

This ones incredibly good.

[goodhealthgourmet]

oh my word. J, you know me too well. it's a darn good thing i never bought the ice cream maker i wanted! ;)

ever had Laloo's Black Mission Fig Goat Milk Ice Cream? you're making me want to go buy some and drizzle cognac over it!

[HillJ]

No I haven't, and I believe I would have to order it online to give it a try. Yes?

[goodhealthgourmet]

nope - available in stores :)

http://www.laloos.com/locator/

while you're at it, the Vanilla Snowflake is pretty wonderful too, and i vaguely recall enjoying a sample of the Rumplemint i tried several years ago. of course now that i've been back to their website for the firs time in ages, i see that they have a seasonal Pumpkin Spice flavor - a propos to this thread, and now i think i have to go buy some!

[gilintx]

The pumpkin pie ice cream ice cream sounds lovely. Epicurious has an egg nog ice cream recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[Emme]

heartily support ginger molasses, and would tweak cranberry to cranberry pistachio.

something maple roasted chestnut, or perhaps maple pumpkin roasted chestnut.

marzipan too...

...and toasted almond ... with kahlua and amaretto ;)

[HillJ]

http://jenisicecreams.com/flavors-sea...
you'll find some seasonal inspiration by viewing the flavors @ Jeni's Ice Cream.
I love her use of wine and spices.

For instance:

Sweet Potato with Torched Marshmallows
Baked sweet potatoes scented with Saigon cinnamon in Ohio sweet cream, studded with hand-toasted, handmade marshmallows. A holiday classic for your cone.

Cocoa Zin
Robust red zinfandel provides fruit on the finish and accentuates luscious dark chocolate. Complex flavor. Jammy dark berry notes marry with tangy dark chocolate.

[richardclark]

That's useful. Thanks HillJ!

[HillJ]

My pleasure, rc.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i'm all about that cocoa zin...and i think pecans would be fabulous in the sweet potato.

[teemo]

I like pumpkin ice cream (sort of like a creamy, frozen pie) this time of year!

[LauraGrace]

+1

Pumpkin pie ice cream is so delicious.

You could also do sweet potato ice cream with cinnamon and pecans.

[eight_inch_pestle]

Oh my, yes.

[ipsedixit]

These are what I made for the holidays, esp. Christmas:

1. Peppermint rum
2. Peppermint with chocolate bark bits
3. Ginger with gingerbread bits
4. Ginger, cinnamon and allspice (should taste like gingerbread cookies without the cookie bits)

Hope this helps and enjoy!

[maplesugar]

I think you hit them all except candy cane, pumpkin pie, and maybe gingerbread, but the chai would be rather similar to the later.

[richardclark]

I think I'll do the pumpkin pie! It sounds delicious.