Peanut Butter Ice Cream

As a fellow peanut butter lover, I knew I had to try Brown Eyed Baker's recipe for peanut butter ice cream. This is a good, creamy ice cream. If I were to make it again, I would like to swirl this ice cream with a good chocolate ice cream to have a delicious chocolate peanut butter ice cream.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups heavy cream, divided
Pinch of salt
6 egg yolks
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Swirl
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, melted and cooled

Warm the milk, sugar, peanut butter, 1 cup of the heavy cream and the salt in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and the peanut butter has melted. Continue cooking until the mixture comes to a slight simmer, bubbling around the edges of the pan.

Meanwhile, pour the remaining 1 cup heavy cream into a large bowl, and place a fine-mesh sieve on top. Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Slowly pour the warmed milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan.

Place the saucepan over medium heat, and stir constantly with a rubber spatula, being sure to scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula, a few minutes. The mixture should register 170 to 175 degrees F on an instant-read digital thermometer.

Pour the custard through the fine-mesh sieve, and stir it into the cream. Stir in the vanilla extract, and place the bowl over an ice bath. Stir occasionally, until the mixture is cool. Cover, and transfer the custard to the refrigerator until completely chilled, at least 8 hours or overnight. (Note: I sped up the process because I had to make this all in one day to use up heavy cream before vacation. I stuck the bowl in the freezer, and stirred it periodically and then tossed it in the refrigerator after it was completely cold.)

Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. As you remove the ice cream to a freezer-safe container, drop dollops of the melted peanut butter over each layer of ice cream. Once all of the ice cream and peanut butter has been placed in the container, use a butter knife to gently swirl the mixture. Store the ice cream in the freezer. Makes about 1 quart.