Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Candy Bar Chunks

Last week while we were shopping at Costco we discovered that Costco sells Whipping Cream and Half and Half. We had been wanting to make ice cream for a while and with a quart of Half and Half for only 2 something dollars, we just had to get it. Right? Am I right? Well with so much Half and Half we've made two things of ice cream along with fettuccine Alfredo, and we probably have another cup of the stuff left.

One of the recipes we decided to make with the Half and Half was a Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Candy Bar Chunks. Of course if you wanted plain peanut butter ice cream you could just do that, or you could choose to add other mixins, instead of candy bars. Make this your own! If you like peanut butter, I can guarantee you will love this ice cream too.

3/4 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cup milk *
2 cups cream *
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
16 snack size candy bars (we used reeses and snickers)
** 1/4 cup cocoa powder
**2 TBS malt

*You can use whole milk and heavy cream for extra creamy ice cream, or lighter milk and half and half for a little healthier, but still delicious option. We always use 1 % milk and sometimes use cream, sometimes half and half.

** optional ingredients. We added them. But we've made this recipe before without them.

1. Add peanut butter and sugar to a medium sized mixing bowl.
2. Mix for 2 minutes using a hand mixer on low.
3. Add milk and cream to the peanut butter mixture and mix until combined.
4. Add vanilla extract.
5. Pour mixture into ice cream maker and mix for 35 minutes.
6. Meanwhile chop candy bars into small pieces.
7. After ice cream is frozen stir in candy bar pieces with a spoon.
8. Enjoy, or place in a Tupperware container and freeze for another 2 hours for extra hard ice cream.

We topped our ice cream with peanut butter chips and chocolate syrup (the first time we had it) to make it an extra special treat. Enjoy.

For tips on how to make ice cream with out an ice cream maker see my post here.

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownie Chunk Chocolate Ice Cream

 Whew, so that name is quite the handful to say. But, I don't know what else to call this ice cream, and the name is exactly what it is. So if you're not a fan of chocolate, peanut butter or brownies than this recipe is probably not for you. But if you are, then please step forward and enjoy the ride.

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups whole milk**
3 1/4 cups heavy cream**

1 TBS vanilla extract
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup brownie pieces ***

**Reduced fat milk or half and half can be substituted. But keep in mind that the higher the fat content the creamier and richer the ice cream. (We have made these substitutes a few times without complaints).

*** I used brownie bites that had been previously frozen, but I think fresh would be better, because I thought the frozen ones tasted a little funky. Nate thought they tasted great though. And I cut the bits into about fingernail sized pieces.

1. Spread the peanut butter on waxed paper like you would butter toast.
2. Place PB in the freezer for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until hard.
3. Meanwhile, mix cocoa, sugar and brown sugar in a medium sized bowl.
4. Add the milk and use a hand mixer on low to combine until the sugars have dissolved, about 2 minutes.
5. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla.
6. Turn on ice cream maker and pour mixture into bowl.
7. Let mix until ice cream has thickened, about 30 minutes.
8. Let ice cream continue to mix for 5 minutes while you drop the brownie pieces in.
9. Scoop ice cream into a bowl (that has a lid) and fold in pieces of the frozen peanut butter as you do such.
10. Enjoy.

So my probably favorite ice cream is a chocolate ice cream with peanut butter swirls, mixed with vanilla ice cream with brownie bites by Farr's. And this is the closest I think I could get with homemade ice cream.

If you wanted plain chocolate ice cream you could follow this recipe with out the peanut butter or brownies, or you could choose to add different mix ins according to your wants.

What is your favorite type of ice cream?

Vanilla Ice Cream

One of the things we registered for before getting married was an ice cream maker, and we were lucky enough that some one gave it to us. With it, making ice cream is so easy (all you have to do is remember to leave the bowl in the freezer - no salt required!) However, if you don't have an ice cream maker, there are still many ways that you can make homemade ice cream. I have used these two methods, in a can, in a bag, and both seem to work well.

**1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/8 cup sugar
**3 cups heavy cream
2 TBS vanilla extract


**If you are worried about the calories and the fat levels of this ice cream, you can substitute heavy cream for half-and-half or whole milk for 2% or 1% milk. We have used both of these substitutions without any problems with the taste (we ALWAYS do the milk substitution since we only buy 1% milk)

 1. Place sugar and milk in a medium sized bowl, mix with a hand mixer on a low speed, about 2 minutes (until sugar granules are dissolved)
2. Stir in heavy cream and vanilla.
3. Turn ice cream maker on.
4. Pour the mixture into the freezer bowl.
5. Let it mix for about 25-30 minutes.


This is a simply perfect vanilla ice cream. It comes out of the ice cream maker a little soft, but if you put it in the freezer for a couple hours it will harden up to be nice and firm. This ice cream tastes great with any sort of mix-ins, fruit, candies, etc. You can either put something on top of the ice cream after its done mixing, or if you want to add a mix-in directly, add about 5 minutes before the mixing is finished.