Classic Peanut Butter Ice Cream

There are certain desserts that I wholeheartedly believe are year-long delights to bake and enjoy. Their simplistic essence that only needs a handful of ingredients to naturally and wildly transform according to the season, the ingredients available at hand or whatever imagination is setting the mood. And yet these desserts are sought out and devoured more popularly during a short month{s} that most have deemed “their season”…and then the rest of the year they become an afterthought. 

And those desserts for me, are Pie and Ice Cream. These classic delightfully versatile pleasures don’t get nearly as much love every moment of the year as they deserve.

Pies have their ultimate glory in November all thanks to Thanksgiving, and then get their second wind in the summer when fresh fruit and produce are beautifully bountiful. And once the sun shines brighter and warmer in Spring and all through the comforting heat of Summer, there is nothing better than Ice Cream. But why must we cast them aside the rest of our days. Do we not think that a cozy warm flaky pie is beyond comforting and exactly what we need in the dead of winter? Will a scoop of homemade ice cream flavored with whatever happens to be tantalizing our tastebuds not bring back lovely memories of warmer days and travels, when we desperately need that boost of light amongst endless dark days?? 

I say Ice Cream for all — no matter what day, what month or season we may happen to be in!! 

Now that we’re embracing Ice Cream during late Autumn months and frigid Winter days, and I’ve hopefully got you craving some good homemade ice cream, let’s talk flavors…’tis the season to experiment with endless flavors that delight anytime of the year. Think chocolates and caramels, nuts and spices — the ideas and flavor combinations are endless!! If Pinterest hasn’t already enticed you, then maybe any one of these non-seasonal flavored ice cream recipes I’ve made over the years will.

It’s true the Pandemic this year had many of us spending time in the kitchen like never before; baking breads, making more complex dishes, pickling veggies from our gardens and experimenting with ingredients. Even for those of us who call the kitchen are second home, we too delighted in the newfound love and comfort the kitchen brought us. It felt so good to have the time to create dishes I’ve been wanting to make more regularly, yes bread, but also homemade Neapolitan style pizzas, Asian noodles, galettes and pies galore and Ice Cream!

There was Salted Caramel, which I had originally shared a few years ago, and French Vanilla Coffee. But as I gathered the ingredients for another batch I quickly, and quiet dumbfounded, stared at the jar of peanut butter on the counter. Perplexed I thought, “why in the world have I never just made a classic Peanut Butter ice cream?!!” Why so surprised? Because I consider Peanut Butter a food group in my diet, sure call it my favorite food, but I need to eat it everyday. Yes, NEED. A day without peanut butter simply doesn’t feel complete. If I didn’t have the willpower to restrain myself from such gluttony, I could easily finish a jar a day, at least I make it last a week…sometimes…

Over the year I’ve made a vegan peanut butter cookie dough version, a no-churn peanut butter chocolate swirl version with bananas foster, and a peanut cherry ice cream, but never a good old fashioned, cream based churned. Well that was until now!

I didn’t skimp on the peanut butter, in fact I added an extra heaping spoonful, or two, maybe even three but who’s counting. I guess if you don’t need your ice cream to taste like a creamier version of a spoonful of peanut butter you can certainly cut back. And use your favorite peanut butter too, that jar of peanut butter you devour that said spoonful of pb when  you need that fix. That’s the peanut butter you should be using to make your ice cream. I’m an au natural gal, just give me the peanuts, don’t you dare add in salt and where do you think you’re going with that awful palm oil!! Just give me a jar of plain peanuts chopped, pulverized and creamed into yumminess. 

The same goes for the rest of this ice cream’s ingredients. Like all ice cream you only need good milk, cream, organic cane sugar because that’s what I like, and “that’s my business” {right Tabitha 😉 }, fresh egg yolks, a scraping of Tahitian vanilla bean and a sprinkling of course sea salt. I did throw in a few dark chocolate chips for good measure, but we’re not talking about chocolate so no need to focus on that. We’re celebrating and giving all the love to Peanut Butter!

I’m not going to lie, of course I licked the pot clean after making the creme anglaise base, sipped a few spoons of the chilled peanut butter cream base before placing it into the fridge, and did my best to practice self-control and patience as to not churn it that same day. As I always suggest you do with any homemade ice cream, it’s best to chill your base overnight before churning, rather than the minimum time span of two hours. The longer the ice cream base chills and sits, the more those flavors infuse and develop, and the happier you’ll be when you do your “I’m eating peanut butter ice cream” happy dance. Oh you don’t do that, just me…

Another benefit of chilling your ice cream base overnight is that the cream becomes thicker which makes for a shorter churn time. Thus a shorter time until you can eat decadent freshly churned creamy, sexy smooth peanut butter ice cream. And this ice cream is silky smooth!! 

Ohh but do you think that I settled for a darling little bowl of this peanut butter ice cream with swirls of even more peanut butter lovingly stirred in?? Ohhh no!! 

If there is one flavor combination that probably makes me the happiest, it’s peanut butter and banana. It’s my go-to paired with my daily apple snack, and whenever you get those moments when nothing seems to please your appetite and tastebuds, this is the only flavor combo that makes everything all better. 

With a banana bread freshly baked, this gal felt like an impatient puppy waiting to make Peanut Butter Banana Bread Ice Cream Sandwiches!!! Oh yes my lovelies, I went there, I did that, devoured it and flopped onto my bed with utter pleasure!!

Ice Cream sandwiches don’t need to settle for cookies. I bet while you were endlessly baking all those banana and zucchini breads the thought of topping those yummy slices with scoops of ice cream never crossed your mind. Until now that is. Try it, you won’t be disappointed, I promise. You’re welcome! 

You have no idea how much I wish I was devouring this silky smooth and creamy, nutty heaven of Classic Peanut Butter Ice Cream right now.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!

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Classic Peanut Butter Ice Cream

{Makes 1 quart}

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Ingredients

3/4 cup – Granulated Sugar

3/4 cup – 2% or Whole Milk

1 3/4 cups – Heavy Cream {entire amount of Cream can be replaced with Milk, if prefer}

1 cup – Organic Unsalted Creamy Peanut Butter {use 2/3 cup of Peanut Butter, if prefer a lighter peanut butter taste}

1 teaspoon – Sea Salt

5 large – Egg Yolks

1/4 Tahitian Vanilla Bean, beans scraped and pod saved

Creamy Peanut Butter, for swirling in once churned — optional 

Dark Chocolate Chips, optional 

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Recipe

To make the base…..

1. In a large saucepan, whisk together the milk, heavy cream, 1/2 cup of sugar, salt, peanut butter and scraped vanilla beans and pod. Stir over medium heat sugar is dissolved and peanut butter has melted, and until mixture begins to simmer but NOT boil. Remove from heat. 
2. Prepare an ice water bath in a large bowl and place the container you’re going to store your ice cream in the freezer. 
3. In the meantime, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar in a separate bowl. Laddle 1/2 cup of the hot milk into the yolks while constantly whisking. Repeating the step, adding in slowly and whisking quickly, until about half of the hot milk mixture remains in the saucepan.  
4. Gently pour the egg mixture back into the pan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until it has thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes. **The mixture should coat the back of the spoon, holding a clear separated path when you run your finger**
5. Strain the base through a fine-mesh strainer into your clean, chilled, container set in your ice bath. **Make sure water DOES NOT pour into your ice cream base**
6. Using a clean spatula, stir the base frequently until its has cooled to room temperature. Remove the container from the ice-water bath and cover the top of the chilled cream directly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.*

Freeze the ice cream…..

1. In your ice cream machine following your manufacturer’s directions, gently pour in your ice cream base as the machine is slowly running. While the ice cream churns, put the container you’ll be keeping your ice cream in the freezer.
2. The ice cream is ready once it reaches the consistency of soft-serve, or the paddle creates a distinctive path as it churns {about 15 to 25 minutes}. This ice cream is on the smoother side because of its high sugar content.
   1. **Be careful NOT to over churn it, there’s no fixing it at that point. The timing of freezing your ice cream will depend on the thickness of you ice cream base, the machine your using and the conditions of your kitchen**
      
3. Place 1/3 of your churned ice cream into your container, drizzle in some peanut butter {and chocolate chips if using} and gently stir. Repeat two more times, finishing with a drizzle of peanut butter atop.
4. Freeze up to 2 hours for a firm soft-serve consistency. Then enjoy until the last spoonful!!!