Peppermint Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

I’ve never been a big fan of eating candy canes. And those Starlight mints that you spot in a basket for the taking at the door of family restaurants always disappoint. To me, candy canes fill the role of a Christmas decoration. However, the peppermint stripes themselves bring me a wave of nostalgia. When my kids were very young, I decorated our tree with a Candyland theme. I still remember how cute it was that my left-handed daughter hung the candy canes “backwards” (according to my perspective). Today my signature decorating color is aqua. The color red is only welcome once a year — at Christmas — in my home. I love mixing red and white stripes or red and white polka dots with aqua for that vintage feel. This year I searched out red and white candy-cane striped wrapping paper from the Sugar Paper collection at Target to go under my white tree adorned with mostly aqua ornaments. Just a few days before Christmas I asked my kids to pick up a package of those small individually wrapped candy canes with the main intent of them gracing my Papa Noel aqua and white mug on the coffee table. Those candy canes prompted my daughter to keep asking when we were making peppermint ice cream. It started snowing on Christmas Day and the temperature was in the teens. Seemed like a good time to use up the candy canes and make a frosty dessert.