Chocolate Peanut Butter Chunk Ice Cream combines layers of salted peanut butter chunks in bittersweet chocolate, deep and dark as midnight on a country road.
This homemade ice cream is for serious chocolate peanut butter ice cream fans!
Father’s Day at our house means red meat on the grill and something chocolate for dessert. Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Chunk Ice Cream was the request to conclude Sunday’s man-feast and we were happy to oblige.
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Last summer I picked up a Cuisinart ice cream maker
at Costco for times such as these. Yes, this recipe requires special equipment worth its dust-covered resting place all winter—I still consider it a form of magic the way it turns basic pudding into chilled velvety bliss.
Are you a smooth, single flavor type, or do you prefer your ice cream loaded and swirled to the max?
The only time I want a single flavor is a scoop of vanilla perched on a slice of pie. I’m not picky about the pie; just warm it up a little.
Otherwise, give me ice cream I can chew and doesn’t require a search and rescue mission to find the add-ins.
We’ve all been there, gazing into the carton, vexed by the broken promise of chipped chocolate, crumbled cookies, or cascading caramel. Copious cookie dough? Fah-get-a-bout-it.
Homemade ice cream can be just the way you imagine.
Want more fresh berries in your strawberry? Enough caramel ribbon to tie a bow?
What about peanut butter you can really sink your teeth into? Me too.
That’s the beauty of making it yourself. Well, and you know exactly what’s in it.
Have you glanced at ice cream labels lately?
On a side note (okay, it’s a rant), have you glanced at the ingredient list on a carton of ice cream in the grocery store lately.
I’m not trying to be a buzz kill here, it’s just incredibly disappointing when the simplest of food like ice cream includes a variety of gums and high fructose corn syrup.
I love it when consumers question the manufactures like this blogger at A Daily Scoop did, otherwise they might assume anything goes.
It is sad to see in the manufacturer’s response that the gums are added because of consumer complaints about the texture—shipping and shelf life affect cold products. There are still a few premium brands that keep the ingredient list simple.
Häagen-Dazs is one, but it is hardly economical for a whole family, so you can make it yourself or add ice cream to your “buy local” list if you want to avoid the additives.
There is a slight drawback to homemade ice cream—it’s not a quick fix and requires a small appliance.
Homemade ice cream is not the convenient choice and I can’t make an argument for it being healthy like vegetables, however, I do think it is a healthier choice than store-bought for a couple of reasons.
One, it does have better ingredients when you choose cream and milk from cows not treated with hormones, unrefined sugar, and in the case of this recipe, natural peanut butter without hydrogenated oils.
Second, it is a healthier habit to plan desserts or indulgences rather than eating out of emotion, deprivation, or impulse. I think this is true of food in general. We use the Cuisinart Automatic 1 1/2 Quart Ice Cream Maker which is easy to operate.
Now how about some ice cream?!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Chunk Ice Cream combines layers of salted peanut butter chunks in bittersweet chocolate, deep and dark as midnight on a country road.
Decadent chocolate enhanced by a touch of espresso with an abundance of honey-sweetened, salt-kissed, peanut butter—all you’ll have to look for is a spoon.
TIP: We add instant espresso
to chocolate desserts to enhance the chocolate flavor. Don’t worry, it won’t taste like coffee, just deeper, richer, darker chocolate.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Chunk Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups whole milk
- 1 1/3 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup coconut palm sugar or honey
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Peanut Butter Chunks:
- 1 1/2 cups natural peanut butter
- 1/4 cup honey to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt to taste
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, heat milk and cream over medium heat until steam appears and milk is warm, about 5 minutes.
- Combine the sugar, cocoa, instant espresso, eggs, and egg yolks in the bowl of a mixer and mix on medium speed until thickened, somewhat like cake batter.
- Measure 1 cup of the hot milk/cream mixture and slowly add it to the eggs and sugar while the mixer is running on low speed. Mix until the 1 cup of milk/cream is completely incorporated.
- Stir the chopped chocolate into the remaining hot milk/cream in the saucepan then add the egg mixture into the saucepan; stir to melt chocolate and combine ingredients. Cook over med-low heat, stirring gently and consistently, until the custard begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon, 10-12 minutes. Be careful to not boil or the eggs could curdle.
- When the custard is ready, remove from heat. Set a fine mesh strainer inside a medium bowl or large measuring cup, set in a bowl containing ice and water. (Using a bowl with a pour spout or a large measuring cup - 4 cups or larger - will make it easier to pour the custard once it is cooled). The custard will continue to thicken once cooled.
- Strain the custard into the bowl set in the ice bath. (Be careful that the bowl is set firmly in the ice bath and not floating so that water cannot slosh into the custard.) Stir the vanilla into the custard then allow to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally (about 30 minutes). (It is important to cool the custard to room temperature so it doesn't sweat once it goes into the refrigerator.)
- Cover the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours or until completely cold (40 degrees or lower). At the same time, place the bowl or container you will use to mix and store the ice cream into the freezer to chill.
- While the custard is cooling, mix the peanut butter, honey, and salt with a mixer on medium speed until smooth and somewhat fluffed. Refrigerate until ready to churn the ice cream.
- Once cooled, pour the custard into an ice cream machine and churn, according to the manufacturer's instructions. While ice cream is churning, remove the peanut butter from the refrigerator and cut into chunks.
- Transfer the ice cream to the chilled storage container, layering the peanut butter chunks in the ice cream, or gently fold them in—work quickly to prevent the ice cream from melting. Cover and place in the freezer until firm, at least two hours.
- Serve once the ice cream has hardened to the desired consistency.
Notes
Nutrition
More Chocolate Recipes You’ll Love:
-
Double Chocolate Truffles
-
Ghirardelli Grand Fudge Cake
-
Triple Chocolate Cookies
-
Salted Mocha Almond Smoothie
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Amber says
Hi! I’m wondering what I did incorrectly here. My ice cream was all peanut butter. We couldn’t even eat it. I think I’ll make another batch of the chocolate custard and mix it together with the ice cream that’s already made. Do you think that could work? I noticed in the ONLY person who had this problem so I’m sure it was user error. Lol
Judy Purcell says
Hi Amber, I’m not sure what happened … can you give me a little more info? Do you mean there was too much peanut butter mixed into the ice cream so that’s all you could taste? If that is the case, then yes, you could make another batch of the custard and mix the two together.
Amber says
Hi Judy,
Yes! That is exactly what happened. Too much peanut butter. I measured everything out exactly. Perhaps I did not mix it in properly? I cut the peanut butter into chunks, however, when I stirred it in the ice cream it spread out all over the place. The peanut butter mixture was in the refrigerator over night while the custard was cooling. So when I make a second batch of the custard, I should just soften the other ice cream to a consistency where I can stir it? I am sure that is the way. Just wondering if you had any other advice. Thank you so much for such a quick response! 😀
Judy Purcell says
Hey Amber, So the easiest way to enjoy the new batch of custard is to freeze it by itself and then serve equal parts of the two different ice creams in the same bowl. That way, you can catch a little of both on your spoon as you eat it and swirl it together as it melts. 😀 It will save you from having to mix them together in the same container and will also allow for the perfect amount for each person (in case someone wants more chocolate than peanut butter).
David Barry says
This recipe is my favorite and I will only occasionally make anything else. But I always make a double batch because of the required effort. Even though I love the peanut butter honey I cut it in half as it is too muck for my taste.
Judy Purcell says
Hi David, I’m with you on making the double batch. 🙂 Thank you for letting me know how much you enjoy the recipe.
veranoenvermont says
PS- I don’t see any comments or guidance re. smooth vs. chunky peanut butter. Do you recommend keeping the peanut butter chunks very smooth,or is it a matter of preference? Thanks!
Judy Purcell says
It’s totally a matter of preference. 🙂
veranoenvermont says
Hi Judy,
This looks great, always glad to find non-cane-sweetened desserts. I’m thinking of serving this ice cream for an outdoor Covid February birthday party in 9F temps this Saturday in Northern Vermont for a choc/PB-loving friend!
Question:
In general I have a strong preference for maple-sweetened vs. honey-sweetened chocolate, and, we make our own maple syrup. In terms of both flavor and consistency for your carefully researched recipe, what do you think of using pure maple syrup instead of honey or coconut sugar in the custard? What about in the peanut butter mixture? Hope to hear back from you!
Other comments:
Thank you!
Judy Purcell says
Let’s talk maple syrup first — It would be fine to substitute it in the custard because the eggs thicken the mixture when cooked and evaporation takes place as well. It may take an extra minute or two to thicken due to the exchange of a wet vs. dry ingredient. On a side note, I have used granulated maple syrup in recipes where liquid does not work, like butter icing for cinnamon rolls. It can take some work to get the granules to dissolve, but the flavor is delicious. 🙂 **For the peanut butter mixture, using maple syrup may create a slightly softer consistency as honey is more viscous and may freeze differently, but I think it will work.
Instant coffee vs. ground bean coffee — I am not a fan of grit, especially in ice cream, and I wouldn’t be confident that the strainer would catch it. This is one of those times I’d just omit it from the recipe rather than use the substitute.
Do let me know how it turns out for you! Hope your friend has a fabulous birthday!
Marilynn Cressman says
I made this today, and it is excellent! It’s just the right mix of dark chocolate, peanut butter, salt, and not too sweet.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
Alicia says
This looks delicious! I’m going to have to try it soon! I have the same Cuisinart ice cream maker. Does it work to add the peanut butter chunks to the end of the churning time or would that make it overflow?
Judy Purcell says
I don’t think there is enough room to do that with the full amount. Depending on your machine, there may be enough room for maybe some of it in the machine, then add the rest.
Rick says
The flavor of this recipe is top notch. Very creamy and smooth. I used dark chocolate and used the honey instead of any sugar. It turned out very thick like a I’ve cream fudge. Kids love it!
Judy Purcell says
Thanks Rick for letting me know how much you enjoyed it!
crissy says
Made this!! was skeptical about the chunking of the peanutbutter but… it works!!! every scoop is a delicious swirl of peanut butter and chocolate. yes but I made some modifications (Sorry!!): I used 2 egg yolks and 1 whole egg (it’s what I had) and I mixed heavy whipping cream with almond milk, also used only 1 cup of the peanutbutter mixture, but you do you! I didn’t measure any of this but just eyed it, the instructions as written work great. CANT SKIP: letting the custard come to room temperature and cooling overnight, really makes a difference in the texture, from experience.
better than store bought, duh.
Judy Purcell says
Hi Crissy! thanks so much for stopping back by and letting me know how the recipe went for you! And thank you for the feedback regarding working with what you had — that is so helpful for others considering the recipe. 🙂 I’m so pleased you enjoyed it!
Lori says
Can you use regular sugar instead of coconut palm sugar?
Judy Purcell says
Absolutely. Because regular sugar tastes sweeter than coconut palm sugar, reduce the amount by 1-2 tablespoons to keep the dark chocolate taste, unless you prefer sweeter. Taste the custard before you strain it to see. Regular sugar dissolves quickly so you can still adjust it at that point without a problem.
Martha says
I was wondering how many quarts this recipe made. My ice cream maker is a 6 quart. So I believe I would need to increase the ingredients but not sure by how much. Any help would be appreciated. I do love chocolate peanut butter ice cream and would love to try this.
Judy Purcell says
Hi Martha! Thanks for asking that, I didn’t realize that information wasn’t on the recipe. It makes 1.5 quarts. Do let me know how it turns out and if you liked it! 🙂
Kathy says
This is a very Dark Chocolate. If you don’t like dark chocolate, you might want to find another recipe. It’s like fudge ice cream. The problem I had was how long to cook the custard. I put a thermometer in it and it only got up to 148 degrees and I ended up cooking it for 20 minutes. It thickened, but way too much. I think you want it to slightly thicken. So, after the custard cooled, we ended up with a thick fudge-like frosting that is too thick for ice cream. Maybe clarify this a bit more in the instructions. When I first put the custard on the stove, the mixture did coat the back of the spoon thinly, so it was difficult to know how thick and stovetop heat varies a lot.
Judy Purcell says
Hi Kathy, thanks for stopping back by to let me know how it went. You are right, it is deep dark chocolate. Even if the custard is very thick it should still process in the ice cream maker, and being thicker may even take less time to process. The air the machine stirs into the custard is what creates the creamy texture. If you feel like it really should be thinner, you can stir a small amount of warm milk into it.
I am sorry about any confusion over how long to cook the custard. I hadn’t realized my process shots somehow got uncoupled from the post! I need to re-add the process shots and better instruction for how it should coat the spoon and how that test with the spoon and time (10-12 minutes) is the better indicator over temperature. Cooking it for 20 minutes, more evaporation takes place and it would be quite thick. Your feedback is very helpful in improving our recipes and providing as much information as possible for first-time successful outcomes.
KATHY SUE TRAN says
Just curious what instant expresso powder is and can I make it myself. Is it one of those via packets at Starbucks?
Can I just ground my coffee beans super fine? Thanks.
Judy Purcell says
Hi Kathy, glad you asked! Instant coffee is dehydrated or freeze-dried brewed coffee, not finely ground coffee beans, which is why is dissolves so easily. Making it at home would be impossible without special equipment to evaporate all the liquid from the brewed coffee and not worth the effort since it’s an ingredient used so infrequent.
Starbucks Via is instant coffee and could easily be used for this recipe. I prefer instant espresso because it has a stronger coffee flavor than most instant coffee varieties. If you do choose a Starbucks Via, I would use something bold like French or Italian roast.
Even if you don’t drink instant coffee, it’s a handy product to keep around the kitchen and the jar of instant espresso is so small it’s easy to store. Because it’s so concentrated, instant coffee is often much more effective at infusing a recipe with coffee-flavor than fresh liquid coffee — even when a recipe calls for fresh coffee I’ll add a teaspoon of instant along with it because I like the flavor of coffee to come through. Using fresh coffee (liquid) can also throw off the ratio of liquids.
Looking at this recipe, I’m surprised I didn’t mention how a touch of espresso intensifies the flavor of chocolate! I’ll have to add that because it is a secret ingredient in the best chocolate recipes and it doesn’t take much. I’ve also added a link to the instant espresso powder I use so you can see exactly what it is.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions and how you liked the ice cream!
Kari - Get Inspired Everyday! says
You had me at chocolate, but peanut butter chunks – oh my word that sounds absolutely amazing!
ChihYu says
You had me at Chocolate and peanut butter. This is my husband’s favorite flavor combo!
Kelly says
You had me at chocolate and then you went and put in some yummy peanut butter?! Yeah, I need this!
Jean says
My favorite combo of flavors! This looks so fantastic and decadent. Definitely will have to make this soon.
STACEY CRAWFORD says
OmG, I could dive right into that! So yummy with all the PB and chocolate and a touch of espresso to really enhance that chocolate flavor!
Linda says
I always enjoy homemade ice cream and with this kind of summer weather, ice cream is always a priority. This chocolate peanut butter chunk ice cream will be on my top list.
jennifer says
giiiirrrrrrrrl, I am DROOLING! Putting this on the must-make list for the weekend.
Ivana says
Tried it out today just for fun — the recipe works out perfectly as is. SO freaking good, thank you!
Joni Gomes says
A true gelato-like experience made healthier! Great recipe!
Megan Stevens says
GORGEOUS recipe Judy!!! I LOVE your chunks! 😉 And all the ingredients, so enticing and appealing!
Irena Macri says
This looks and sounds amazing! Can’t wait to make it this summer. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Raia Todd says
Yes. Please. I think I might make this for dinner. Haha!
Becky says
I love homemade ice cream + I love peanut butter so this is pretty much perfect summer eating for me.
Madison says
I made this last night- it’s absolutely AMAZING. Better than I could have ever expected. Thanks for the recipe!
Judy Purcell says
Madison, thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and let me know how much you enjoyed the ice cream. I’m so delighted you found it as amazing as we do!
Rebecca says
Fantastic ice cream, just what I was looking for!
Judy Purcell says
Hi Rebecca! I’m so glad to hear the ice cream was just what you were looking for ~ it sure does satisfy our decadent dessert needs! 🙂
Jed Gray (sportsglutton) says
ummmmmm…yes please! 🙂
Swathi says
Judy, chocolate and peanut butter is classic combo, love this ice cream. Thanks for sharing with hearth and Soul blog hop, pinning. it.
karen (Back Road Journal) says
The ice cream must be delicious…it looks chocolatey and good. I have yet to buy an ice cream maker. 🙁
Raymund says
Wow that’s what I call ice cream, honestly they look amazing I so badly want some now
mjskit says
Yep – homemade ice cream time of the year! I had to make room in the freezer a few weeks ago for the ice cream bucket, but it’s there just waiting for a recipe like this one! You can’t buy this at the market so I’m going to love making it at home. Great ice cream recipe Judy!
Judy Purcell says
Thanks, MJ. Ice cream is one of my favorite things about summer. 🙂
Carol at Wild Goose Tea says
I too just bought a Cuisinart ice cream maker, after I had ice cream over at someone else’s house. I agree with John. When I am making it at home, I want it to go above and beyond the normal. I pinned this.
Judy Purcell says
Hi Carol, isn’t it funny how our friends influence us?! Homemade is definitely beyond the normal, have fun with it!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
My favorite ice cream of all time. I’m going to make this today!
Judy Purcell says
Then you are in for a treat!
John@Kitchen Riffs says
When we go to the trouble to make ice cream at home, we want something you can’t buy in stores — so we always do plenty of add-ins. This is great! Exactly the sort of thing we’d do. Lately we’ve actually been making a lot of ice cream simply because we can get better flavors and it’s more economical (for us: about the only ice cream we’re buying these days is Ben and Jerry’s simply because the quality in so many other brands just isn’t there anymore). Lately we’ve been doing no churn ice cream — I’ve never been all that satisfied with any of the home ice cream makers (the ones where you freeze the bowl), and we don’t have the counter space for one that has a built in compressor. Anyway, good stuff — thanks.
Judy Purcell says
Ah, yes, the ones with the built-in compressors are huge — that’s a big commitment. I’ve been pretty happy with ours so far, but it doesn’t get heavy use. No churn … I’ll have to try that!
Lizzy (Good Things) says
Judy, this is da bomb! Delicious!
Judy Purcell says
Thanks Lizzy, it really is!