Ingredients
- PEANUT BUTTER SAUCE:
- 16 oz heavy cream 2 cups
- 8 oz milk 1 cup
- 9.5 oz creamy peanut butter 1 cup
- 3.75 oz brown sugar 1/2 cup, lightly packed
- 3.5 oz granulated sugar 1/2 cup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 oz miniature peanut butter cups 1 cup
- 1/3 cup fudge sauce (optional)
- 1/3 cup peanut butter sauce (optional)
- 6 fl. oz. heavy cream
- 1/2 cup peanut butter chips (3.5 oz)
- 1/3 cup peanut butter, not “natural” variety (3.25 oz)
- 3 tbsp light corn syrup (1.5 oz)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- FUDGE SWIRL:
- 3 oz chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips (1/2 cup)
- 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Preparation
Step 1
Combine the cream, milk, peanut butter and both sugars in a medium saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat and warm the mixture, whisking frequently, until the sugars dissolve and the peanut butter melts into the cream. It doesn't need to come to a boil—as soon as the mixture is smooth and homogenous, you can remove it from the heat. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
Pour it into a bowl or plastic container, and place it in the refrigerator until chilled. If you want to speed this process up, place the bowl over an ice bath and whisk it as it cools down.
Once the peanut butter mixture is chilled, pour it into your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's directions, until it is the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. Stir in the miniature peanut butter cups by hand.
If you want to add a fudge and/or peanut butter swirl, spread about a third of the peanut butter ice cream in the bottom of a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Drizzle the peanut butter sauce over the ice cream, then top it with half the remaining ice cream. Drizzle the fudge sauce over this, and finish by covering it with the rest of the ice cream. (If you're omitting the swirls, simply spread all of the ice cream into the loaf pan.) Press a layer of cling wrap on top, and freeze the pan until the ice cream is firm, about 2 hours.
Peanut Butter Sauce:
Combine all ingredients together in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Heat, whisking frequently, until the peanut butter chips melt and all of the ingredients come together in a smooth sauce. It will be very thin at first.
As the sauce cools to room temperature, it will thicken up. If it gets too thick, simply return it to the heat and whisk until it loosens up. To store, pour it into a bowl or airtight container and press a layer of plastic wrap on top. Keep the peanut butter sauce in the refrigerator.
To reheat after chilling, gently microwave it in 20-second increments until warm and flowing. If it has separated, continue to whisk until it comes back together.
Make the Fudge Swirl by combining all ingredients in a bowl and microwaving in 30 second intervals, and stirring until melted and smooth.