Peanut butter lovers will go crazy for this ice cream. It’s got a smooth peanut butter base with some sweet and salty add-ins for a fun, crunchy twist. This recipe from Ample Hills is a hit at my house!
One thing that I finally have time for during this social isolation time is sifting through recipe books. I rediscovered my copy of the Ample Hills Creamery cookbook and began daydreaming about which flavors to attempt next. The one recipe that my husband immediately got drawn to was this peanut butter munchies ice cream. Since he’s a peanut butter fanatic, this one really called his name.
I altered the base recipe slightly. It originally asked me to soak the pretzels in the milk before cooking it on the stove. That way, the ice cream would have a salty undertone. We opted against it since we wanted to keep the base a pure peanut butter flavor. I also created two versions of the munchies add-ins. I separated my munchies into two halves: one with chopped up Reese’s cups, and another half without (for me).
The munchies recipe is seriously addicting. There’s just something about that salty/sweet combo that is irresistible. You might want to make a batch just for snacking on. Totally not kidding. All in all, my husband and Addie adored this ice cream. They had such a great time sneaking some of the munchies (I know what you’re doing over there!), and an even better time licking the ice cream bowl.
Now that Addie is older, she is becoming more opinionated. She and my husband have come up with a new rating scale for my food. Here it is:
1: Nope – not trying this again
2: I’m willing to share this with others
3: We should make this again, but with some alterations
4: I could eat the whole thing all by myself
5: I’ll fight you if you try to take this away from me
Addie’s rating: 3 (she said the peanut butter flavor was too prominent and would have preferred a vanilla base)
Husband’s rating: 5 (he would really fight you for this)
My rating: N/A since I don’t eat peanut butter
Hope you are staying safe and healthy!
Peanut butter munchies ice cream
Ingredients
Munchies add-in
- 1 cup Ritz crackers broken into fourths
- 1 cup miniature pretzels broken into smaller pieces
- 1 cup salted potato chips broken into fourths
- ½ cup skim milk powder
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup M&Ms candies chopped
- 1 cup Reese's pieces or Reese's peanut butter cups chopped
Peanut butter ice cream base
- 3 cups whole milk
- ¾ cup organic cane sugar
- ½ cup skim milk powder
- 1 and ⅔ cups heavy cream
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ cup all-natural peanut butter NOT homemade (Jif all-natural is preferred)
Instructions
Make the munchies
- Preheat your oven to 275°F. Grease or line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together the crackers, pretzels and potato chips. It's OK to smash everything together but don't crush everything so fine that it all turns to dust. Add the skim milk powder and sugar and continue mixing together. Pour the melted butter over the mixture and continue to mix with your hands.
- Transfer the mixture to your prepared baking pan and spread evenly. Bake in your preheated oven for 20 minutes. Allow everything to cool completely. Then toss in the M&Ms and Reese's candies and set aside. At this point, the munchies can be covered and stored in an airtight container and will last for several days.
Make the peanut butter ice cream
- Get a large bowl and fill it with ice. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, mix together the sugar, milk powder, and milk. Whisk until the milk powder dissolves. Then add the cream and mix well.
- Place the egg yolks in a small bowl and set aside.
- Put a fine mesh sieve on top of the bowl and set aside.
- Turn the stove to medium and clip a candy thermometer to the side. Stir the mixture until it reaches 110 degrees F (45 degrees C).
- Take the saucepan off the stove (but do not turn it off). Pour about 1/2 cup of the milk mixture into the small bowl with the egg yolks. Keep whisking so the eggs don't scramble. Then pour the egg yolks back into the sauce pan and keep stirring.
- Keep heating the mixture until it reaches 165 degrees F (75 degrees C). This will take about 5-10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the peanut butter until it is smooth.
- Pour the mixture into the fine mesh sieve. Allow the ice cream mixture to cool in the ice bath before transferring to the refrigerator to cool completely, at least another 1-2 hours.
- Once the ice cream mixture has completely cooled, churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's directions. Add some of the munchies and fold it into the ice cream.
- Transfer a few scoops of the ice cream into a freezer-safe container, add more munchies mix and repeat. Freeze for 8-12 hours before serving.
Well, this one is going to contribute to the Quarantine weight that I’m trying not to gain, but failing miserably. I can’t wait to make this. It has all the components that I love most!
Author
I hope you enjoy it, Millie! Hopefully you don’t gain the quarantine weight – I’m trying hard not to do the same. 🙂