Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

Is it strange that 50% of the ice creams I've made since getting our ice cream maker revolve around chocolate and peanut butter?  Or perhaps that's one of the most natural things in the world.  In fact, people with ice cream makers who haven't made multiple versions of chocolate peanut butter ice cream are the ones with problems.  There.  I said it.

This super simple recipe makes the most amazing peanut butter ice cream you've ever had - which is probably easy because peanut butter ice cream is a seriously underused flavor.  Throw in some peanut butter cups and you'll be digging into the most delicious ice cream you can imagine.

Another super simple ice cream recipe - all you need is a pinch of salt, 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 3/4 cups half-and-half, 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter.

Add all of the ingredients to your food processor or blender.

A blender is definitely superior when you're mixing liquids, we had a bit of leakage.  It looked like baby throw-up, if I knew what that looked like.

Blend until the mixture is smooth.  Pour the mixture into a large bowl, cover it, and place it in the fridge for a few hours.  Once cooled, freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker.

Unwrap about twenty mini Reese's peanut butter cups and chop them up.  Once your ice cream is frozen, remove it to a large bowl and mix in the Reese's cups.

Put your delicious and sloppy mixture in the freezer and wait for it to come to proper ice cream texture (it takes a few hours).

It's hard to imagine a better combination than peanut butter cups and peanut butter ice cream, especially on a warm Memorial Day weekend.  The only thing better than peanut butter cup ice cream is peanut butter cup ice cream on your couch on a Monday afternoon.  Hopefully you'll be enjoying this most-amazing-of-life's-pleasures sometime soon.

Peanut Butter (Cup) Ice Cream
From The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Makes about 1 quart ice cream

3/4 cup (180 g) smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (180 g) sugar
2 3/4 cups half-and-half
Pinch of salt
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
(Plus ~20 small Reese's cups, chopped)

Blend 3/4 cup peanut butter, 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 3/4 cups half-and-half, pinch of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract in a blender or food processor (preferably a blender) until smooth.  Put mixture in a large bowl, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours.  Freeze the ice cream in your ice cream maker according to the machine's instructions.  When removing ice cream from the machine, mix in chopped Reese's cups.  Freeze ice cream more thoroughly in the fridge and serve on a Monday afternoon.