You all already know that I’m not a fan of peanut butter (yes, I am weird like that). But, my husband is quite the opposite of me in that department – he is quite possibly the world’s biggest fan of peanut butter. I’m only slightly exaggerating. When he mentioned that our homemade ice cream supply was dwindling, I set out to rectify the situation and started digging through my newly purchased copy of The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz.
It didn’t take me long to decide on this chocolate peanut butter ice cream from the book. I know that my husband is a fan of chocolate and peanut butter, and this ice cream only used 5 ingredients (no egg yolks!), so I had to try it. The ice cream mixture came together really quickly, especially since I didn’t have to crack any eggs and temper the custard. I think the total process took about 10 minutes.
My husband loved this ice cream! He already has a favorite chocolate peanut butter ice cream (from Woodside Farm Creamery in Delaware), but he said that this version was also very good. He noted that the peanut butter flavor was well-pronounced and came through. I think I may have added a bit extra peanut butter to give it that extra flavor boost, but we’ll keep that secret between you and me.
Unless you’re able to make it to Woodside Farm Creamery, I’d recommend trying this recipe from David Lebovitz. While I can’t vouch for how good the ice cream is, I have a peanut butter expert who can!
And a happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there – especially to mine!
Chocolate peanut butter ice cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder I used Hershey's dark
- 1/2 cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
Instructions
- Whisk together half-and-half, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until it comes to a full, rolling boil and starts to foam up.
- Remove from heat and mix in peanut butter. Stir until thoroughly blended.
- Chill mixture completely, then churn in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Peanut butter and chocolate is my favorite ice cream! I mean, come on, it's just the best combination of flavors ever! This looks fantastic! Yum! 😀
I have a question. As I love Haagen Daaz Peanut Butter Chocolate ice cream, I have often tried to mix in regular peanut butter into plain chocolate ice cream when it was wasn't available and refreeze. The consistency has never matched what I like about the commercial brands (Baskin Robbins too).What does it take to do this with a proper ice cream maker? (don't have one now, but have used one and just never tried it because of my experience with the mere freezing of raw peanut butter-which doesn't really work the same as commercial versions, but been thinking about getting another one and this would be, if I can make it work to that consistency , the main reason for getting the thing!)What gets added to the peanut butter to give it that more solid frozen texture? Regular peanut butter just never freezes the same as the commercial brands (I would think mainly because of the oils) and while I still love the taste, it lacks that consistency you get from either of those (even tried freezing swirls of lightly melted PB on wax paper on its own and would never take on that commercial consistency; hoping the wax paper would absorb enough oil to counter that problem – nope).What's the trick? Or do I need an industrial ice cream plant to synthesize this texture (read as access to commercial ingredients and processes) that differs so much from raw peanut butter that just doesn't freeze the same?Would love to hear what others think, as I can't believe I am the only one who finds this to be, as well as if anyone has come up with a homemade solution.Thanks.DB
Hi DB – I'm not an ice cream expert, but I think you're on the right track with all the oils (and preservatives) that are normally added into commercial peanut butter that give it the consistency you are looking for. Many recipes also call for the peanut butter to be mixed directly in with the custard base so it swirls together (i.e., no peanut butter chunks) before you freeze it. I don't think you need an industrial ice cream plant or maker – you just need to find the right kind of peanut butter for your recipe. Good luck!
I have suffered right there with you for years! Lol I have read to add a couple Tablespoons of confectionery sugar to peanut butter… Haven’t tried it yet.