Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Is it warm where you live? Are you beginning to see the little flowers peek their heads from the warm earth? Each morning I wake up to a little bird chirping and carrying cottony twigs to a column right outside my bedroom window. And I am refreshed and happy. This new season always inspires me to do more, to set higher goals, and to clean the “cobwebs” out of my life. It also inspires me to make ice cream!

There are so many great ice cream recipes just waiting for our attention, but I want to share my all-time favorite, Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream. This is a very simple recipe that doesn‘t require eggs and a traditional custard base. The peanut butter is added in two different ways. First, half of it is spooned into the ice cream freezer toward the end of freezing time. Then the other half of the peanut butter is swirled through the ice cream just before you place it in the freezer to ripen. Adding the peanut butter at the end like this allows for a ribbon of peanut butter to swirl throughout the ice cream. The ribbon freezes more firmly than the ice cream, providing a nice textural contrast to the velvety chocolate.

This delicious recipe comes from Joy the Baker, and it is fabulous, just like everything Joy makes!

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch of salt
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup smooth salted peanut butter

In a sauce pan over medium heat, stir together 2 cups whole milk, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Heat until the milk start to steam, but before it starts to boil. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1/2 cup of whole milk and the cornstarch. Stir until no lumps remain. Add the cornstarch mixture to the heated milk and chocolate mixture and bring to a low boil. Boil until thickened. The mixture will look the consistency of chocolate pudding. Remove from flame.

In a small sauce pan, heat 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Once boiling, remove from heat and pour over the chocolate chips. Let sit for 1 minute, then stir the cream and chocolate mixture until incorporated. Stir the cream and chocolate mixture into the cooling chocolate ice cream base. Place in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap or a lid, and put in the fridge until cool.

Once cool, follow the manufacturers instructions on the ice cream maker to churn ice cream. Once the mixture has chilled and thickened in the ice cream maker, slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup of peanut butter. Don’t over mix. You want a nice ribbon of peanut butter running through the ice cream. Transfer the ice cream into a freezer safe container and fold in the remaining 1/4 cup of peanut butter. Cover and freeze until solid.