White Chocolate Cinnamon Cherrylicious Ice Cream adapted from "I'm Dreaming of a Chocolate Christmas"

I have to admit, when I first saw this recipe I thought of it as more of an experiment with flavors rather than something that I would enjoy; but when I took the first bite of this ice cream.... I was in heaven. It has a very velvety texture with a hint of cinnamon and the cherries add a nice sweetness to it. The flavors blend very well surprisingly! The original recipe called for cinnamon liqueur, which I didn't have so I substituted with cinnamon candy flavoring and it turned out great. I also added white chocolate chips for more texture.
8 oz white chocolate
1 1/2 C half and half
2 C heavy cream
3/4 C sugar
3 large eggs
2 cap fulls or 1/2 t of wilton cinnamon candy flavoring
1 C drained maraschino cherries coarsely chopped
1 C white chocolate chips

1. Melt the 8 oz chocolate in 1/2 cup of the half and half in the top of a double boiler or in a medium glass bowl in a microwave oven and stir until smooth.
2. Bring the heavy cream and the remaining  1 cup half and half and 1/4 C of the sugar to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, 5-6 mins. Remove from heat.
3. Place the remaining 1/2 C sugar and the eggs in a medium bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Ladle 1/2 C of the hot cream 2 T at a time, into the eggs and whisk gently to incorporate.
4. Pour the egg and cream mixture back into the saucepan and whisk until thoroughly combined. Add the melted chocolate and whisk until combined. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches 185*, 2 to 3 mins. Use a digital thermometer for an accurate reading.Pour through a fine gauge strainer into a stainless steel bowl. Place the bowl into an ice water bath until it cools to 40ish degrees F. Add the cinnamon flavoring and stir gently to combine. When the mixture has cooled, freeze in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions.
5. Transfer the ice cream to a 2 qt plastic container. Use a rubber spatula to fold in maraschino cherries and white chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Cover the container and place in the freezer for several hours before serving.