Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Banana Chunks

By tulawdog

Ingredients

• 1 ounce cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 3 1/2 cups half and half
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch salt
• 2 ripe bananas, cut into small chunks and frozen or chilled
• 1/2 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts*

Preparation

Step 1

In the bottom of a medium bowl, whisk the cream cheese and peanut butter until smooth. Set aside. Prepare an ice bath in a larger bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of the half and half, making sure the cornstarch is dissolved. Pour the rest of the half and half into a large pot and whisk in the sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and then simmer, stirring frequently, for 4 minutes.
Remove from heat and whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return the pot to medium-high heat, bring back to a boil, and cook for 1 more minute, stirring or whisking constantly, until the mixture is slightly thickened.
Pour the milk mixture into the bowl with the cream cheese and peanut butter and whisk until everything is combined and smooth. Add the salt and vanilla. (While it's still warm, taste and decide if you'd like to add more peanut butter for a stronger flavor.) Set the bowl into the ice bath and cool, stirring every few minutes, until the liquid is thoroughly chilled. This should take about 25 minutes. It's even better if you can refrigerate it for several hours or overnight, but it should freeze fine after the ice bath if it's completely cool.
Freeze in an ice cream maker, adding the banana chunks and peanuts at the very end. Transfer the ice cream to a container and freeze for several hours until firm.
*This is what I had on hand, but I bet salted peanuts would be really good, too.