Recipe

Peanut Butter Cup Crunch Ice Cream

by Dan Souza

This ice cream is richer than my other recipes because of the addition of peanut butter. Interestingly, the greater proportion of fat makes this ice cream feel less cold on your tongue than a lower fat ice cream (which contains proportionally more frozen water). I call for freezing the peanut butter cups before adding them to the ice cream so they don’t melt the nice small ice crystals formed during churning. (That’s a good tip for anytime you’re going to include add-ins in your ice cream.) 

Yield
Makes about 1½ quarts (1500 grams)
Ingredients
110 g sugar
80 g nonfat dry milk powder
0.8 g kosher salt
325 g plus 50 g whole milk, divided
355 g heavy cream
85 g corn syrup
80 g chunky natural peanut butter
15 g cornstarch
230 g mini peanut butter cups, halved and frozen
½ cup plus ⅓ cup nonfat dry milk powder
½ cup (3½ ounces) sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1¼ cups plus ¼ cup whole milk, divided
1½ cups heavy cream
¼ cup corn syrup
⅓ cup chunky natural peanut butter
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 cups mini peanut butter cups, halved and frozen
Essential Equipment
Instructions
    • 110 g sugar
    • 80 g nonfat dry milk powder
    • 0.8 g kosher salt
    • 325 g whole milk
    • 355 g heavy cream
    • 85 g corn syrup
    In small bowl, whisk together sugar, milk powder, and salt. Whisk sugar mixture, milk, cream, and corn syrup together in large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until tiny bubbles form around edge of saucepan and mixture registers 190 degrees F/87.8 degrees C, whisking frequently to dissolve sugar and break up any clumps, about 5 to 7 minutes.
    • 80 g chunky natural peanut butter
    • 50 g whole milk
    • 15 g cornstarch
    Meanwhile, place peanut butter in large bowl. Whisk remaining milk and cornstarch together in small bowl.
  1. Reduce heat to medium. Whisk cornstarch mixture to recombine, then whisk into saucepan. Cook, constantly scraping bottom of saucepan with rubber spatula, until mixture thickens, about 30 seconds. Immediately pour ice cream base into large bowl with peanut butter and whisk to thoroughly combine. Let cool until no longer steaming, about 20 minutes. Cover bowl, transfer to refrigerator, and chill to 40 degrees F/ 4.4 degrees C, at least 6 hours or up to 8 hours. (Base can be chilled overnight. Alternatively, base can be chilled in about 90 minutes by placing it over ice bath of 750 grams ice, 113 grams water, and 42 grams salt.)
    • 230 g mini peanut butter cups, halved and frozen
    Churn base in ice cream maker until mixture resembles thick soft-serve ice cream and registers 21 degrees F/-6.1 degrees C. With machine running, add peanut butter cups and continue to churn until incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer to airtight container, cover, transfer to freezer, and freeze until hard, at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.
Instructions
    • ½ cup plus ⅓ cup nonfat dry milk powder
    • ½ cup (3½ ounces) sugar
    • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1¼ cups whole milk
    • 1½ cups heavy cream
    • ¼ cup corn syrup
    In small bowl, whisk together milk powder, sugar, and salt. Whisk sugar mixture, milk, cream, and corn syrup together in large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until tiny bubbles form around edge of saucepan and mixture registers 190 degrees F/87.8 degrees C, whisking frequently to dissolve sugar and break up any clumps, about 5 to 7 minutes.
    • ⅓ cup chunky natural peanut butter
    • ¼ cup whole milk
    • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
    Meanwhile, place peanut butter in large bowl. Whisk remaining milk and cornstarch together in small bowl. 
  1. Reduce heat to medium. Whisk cornstarch mixture to recombine, then whisk into saucepan. Cook, constantly scraping bottom of saucepan with rubber spatula, until mixture thickens, about 30 seconds. Immediately pour ice cream base into large bowl with peanut butter and whisk to thoroughly combine. Let cool until no longer steaming, about 20 minutes. Cover bowl, transfer to refrigerator, and chill to 40 degrees F/ 4.4 degrees C, at least 6 hours or up to 8 hours. (Base can be chilled overnight. Alternatively, base can be chilled in about 90 minutes by placing it over ice bath of 6 cups ice, ½ cup water, and ⅓ cup salt.)
    • 2 cups mini peanut butter cups, halved and frozen
    Churn base in ice cream maker until mixture resembles thick soft-serve ice cream and registers 21 degrees F/-6.1 degrees C. With machine running, add peanut butter cups and continue to churn until incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer to airtight container, cover, transfer to freezer, and freeze until hard, at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours. 

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