Recipe: Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mocha Sorbet

We all know that two of my favorite things in life is ice cream and chocolate.  Well, unfortunately, real ice cream and I don’t get along, so I’ve taken to exploring other avenues, such as frozen desserts made out of coconut milk, almond milk, or even sorbets.  Even better…I have an ice cream maker and often do a lot of experimenting on my own.  Sometimes it works brilliantly.  Other times…not so much.

But…HELLO PINTEREST!  While browsing through my Pinterest one afternoon, I ran across a recipe from King Arthur Flour for none other than a dark chocolate sorbet.  WOO!  I had every intention of making this sooner rather than later, so I went home that night and started chilling the bowl for the ice cream maker.  I prepped the actual recipe and let it chill overnight in the fridge.

My roomie and I were having her mom over for dinner the following night, so that morning, I went ahead and made the ice cream up to freezer.  It was brilliant…

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mocha Sorbet

Servings: 10
Time: Prep 15 minutes; Chill 8-12 hours

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa
• pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons espresso powder (optional, but it really does enhance the chocolate flavor)
• 1/2 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons Peppermint Mocha Kahlua, regular Kahlua, or vodka, (optional, but it keeps the sorbet from freezing solid)

Directions:

Combine the sugar, cocoa, salt, espresso powder, chocolate chips, and water in a saucepan set over medium heat.

Bring the mixture to a boil and cook, stirring frequently, until the chips and sugar are dissolved.

Remove from the heat, and stir in the vanilla and Kahlua or vodka. Transfer the mixture to a heatproof bowl, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled; overnight is best.

Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. It’ll remain quite soft; freeze for several hours before serving, to firm up.

~*~*~

This was a rich, decadent treat.  The Peppermint Mocha Kahlua was the perfect touch.  Not only did it lend an amazing flavor to the recipe, but it honestly does help prevent the ice cream from becoming hard as a rock.  LOVE.  This was one of my favorite treats I’ve made in my ice cream maker.