The Holiday Candy That Transforms A Bland Bowl Of Store-Bought Ice Cream

These days, you can get lost in all the choices in the grocery store ice cream aisle. From house-brand to premium, there's a carton for every budget, but unfortunately, many store-bought ice creams don't deliver much flavor. Artificial flavorings are more affordable than all-natural ingredients like expensive vanilla beans and high-quality cocoa powder, so some varieties end up tasting pretty bland. However, even cheap ice cream has value as long as there are toppings — and around the holidays, all you need to transform that ho-hum vanilla or chocolate is a couple of candy canes.

Peppermint candy canes are surprisingly versatile ingredients that can jazz up all kinds of desserts, and chances are there are plenty of them around during the Christmas season. To enhance the minty fresh flavor in your ice cream, you can either crush the canes into a sprinkle-able topping, or simmer them on the stove to make a syrup.

The easiest way to add candy canes to a bowl of store-bought ice cream is to crush the hard candy and sprinkle the shards on top. You can do this by either popping the candy into a food processor and pulsing until chopped, or by smashing the candy by hand with a hammer. If you're using the second method, put the candy canes in a zipper-style plastic bag first to avoid scattering candy dust all around the kitchen. A meat tenderizing mallet works great for this, but you can also use the bottom of a heavy pot, or even a regular hammer. Once you've achieved small bits, sprinkle them on top of your ice cream and store the rest in an airtight container.

To make candy cane syrup, break up a couple of candy canes or crush them as you would for sprinkling. Add them to a small saucepan, cover with about an inch of water, and let the mixture simmer until all the candy is dissolved. When the syrup has cooled, pour it over your ice cream as desired. As an added bonus, this minty syrup makes an excellent cocktail mixer — since it's the holidays, go ahead and treat yourself to a little peppermint in an espresso martini. It goes down easy with a bowl of ice cream!