I have a weird relationship with peanut butter. I don’t go nutso over peanut butter things the way that some people do. In fact, when people would ask me, I used to say that I don’t like peanut butter all that much. But, lately, I have been gaining a greater appreciation for it. I don’t think that I necessarily dislike peanut butter, but maybe that some applications of it are just a bit too much for me. Peanut butter cups, for instance, aren’t my first choice of candy. Peanut butter ice cream, on the other hand, has won me over.
I normally make a custard base when making ice cream, but there are times when I just don’t feel like being bothered with all of that. For those times, I have an alternate method of making peanut butter ice cream. It is slightly less creamy than the custard-based kind, but it’s also slightly less work. Plus, it still tastes fantastic with a warm brownie or as an ice cream sandwich.
The first thing you want to do is melt your peanut butter with the milk and sugar. Once it’s all melted, but before the mixture can actually come to a boil, remove it from the heat and pour it into a bowl filled with your heavy cream. Refrigerate this until it’s nice and cold (you can put it in an ice bath to speed up the process), and then freeze in your ice cream maker. After that, store it in an airtight container in the freezer for at least a couple of hours to let it set into ice cream.
Whether you like it plain, drizzled with hot fudge, or smothered in toppings, this peanut butter ice cream is sure to please any peanut butter lover in your life. You can mix in chocolate chips or chopped peanut butter chips into the ice cream if you like it chunky, too.
Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
Pour heavy cream into a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the peanut butter, milk, and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the peanut butter has melted.
Remove from heat and pour into the bowl with the heavy cream. Stir in the vanilla extract. Cover and refrigerate until cold, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions. Pour into freezer-safe container and freeze for 4 hours or until firm.
Makes about 1 1/2 quarts.