Chocolate Fudge Swirl Peanut Butter Ice Cream
45 comments » 
Is there a support group for chocolate/peanut butter junkies? If there is, I’m pretty sure that I would qualify for an in-house rehab program. This, of course, is not any type of breaking news, but there does seem to be some sort of spiraling effect taking place. I try to keep the freezer stocked with ice cream during the summer, so as soon as one container nears the bottom, I start working on a new flavor. Typically a quart or so lasts two weeks, but my last batch of vanilla bean suffered quite an early demise thanks to the ice cream cookie sandwiches, and what was left I unabashedly polished off through a series of sugar cones. I may or may not have eaten two in one day last weekend. Shhh… So, the search was on for the next ice cream recipe I would be making when it hit me – holy crap, how is it that I have yet to make a peanut butter ice cream? So I went looking and found this uber-fabulous chocolate-peanut butter ice cream with options for a fudge ripple and chunks of peanut butter mixed in. Um, yes and yes please. Done!
This is actually the first ice cream recipe that I have made in a loooong time without using egg yolks in the custard. I was just a bit wary since I love how thick and creamy homemade ice cream is, but I had faith in the ice cream genius, David Lebovitz. And of course this was every bit as fabulous as every one of his other recipes has been. And a bonus for those of you that shy away from homemade ice cream due to the amount of fat in the whole milk, cream and egg yolks – this one uses half-and-half, and I think you can actually buy fat-free half-and-half (not that I did, of course).
The fudge ripple and the peanut butter patties should not be left out of this recipe, under any circumstances. The fudge ripple pumps more of that soda shop flavor into the bowl of ice cream, and in my opinion, the peanut butter patties make this recipe. The chocolate and peanut butter flavors are both pronounced and well-balanced in the ice cream itself, but something about those chunks of peanut butter sitting amongst chocolate are so reminiscent of peanut butter cups, that if you are even the slightest fan of chocolate and peanut butter together, you will absolutely adore this.
Don’t forget! If you’re dying for homemade ice cream and cursing yourself for not having an ice cream maker, head straight to this tutorial on how to make homemade ice cream without an ice cream maker!
Chocolate Fudge Swirl Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Yield: 1 quart
Prep Time: 30 minutes (active), 8 hours (inactive)
Cook Time: 20 minutes (churn time)
Total Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
For the Ice Cream:
2 cups half-and-half
¼ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
½ cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
½ cup smooth peanut butterFor the Fudge Ripple:
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
½ cup water
6 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
½ teaspoon vanilla extractFor the Peanut Butter Patties:
6 tablespoons peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugarDirections:
1. To make the Fudge Ripple: Whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble at the edges. Continue to whisk until it just comes to a low boil. Cook for 1 minute, whisking frequently. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let cool. Chill in the refrigerator before using. (Fudge Ripple can be stored for up to 2 weeks, covered, in the refrigerator.)
2. To make the Peanut Butter Patties: Mix together the peanut butter and confectioners' sugar in a small bowl. Line a dinner plate with plastic wrap. Pinch off small pieces of the peanut butter mixture, about ½ teaspoon each, and drop them onto the dinner plate. Once you've used all of the mixture, freeze the patties. (The patties can be stored in the freezer, well wrapped, for up to 1 month.)
3. To make the Ice Cream: Whisk together the half-and-half, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat. Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it comes to a full, rolling boil (it will start to foam up). Remove from the heat and whisk in the peanut butter, stirring until thoroughly blended.
4. Chill mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Fold in the Peanut Butter Patties when it has finished churning. Just before you remove the ice cream from the machine, spoon some of the Fudge Ripple onto the bottom of the storage container. As you remove the ice cream from the machine, layer generous spoonfuls of the sauce between layers of ice cream. Avoid stirring the Fudge Ripple, as it will make the ice cream muddy.
(Recipe from The Perfect Scoop
by David Lebovitz)
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peanut butter and chocolate, you can’t go wrong! i’ve strayed from my egg-less ice cream roots, but will have to get back into these simpler recipes!
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Oh my god, I’m drooling. That looks fantastic!
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Oh…my…goodness…I need to dig out my ice cream machine! I was wanting to try a chocolate ice cream, but this just puts it over the top. Yum!
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Oh My! Definitely trying this one, maybe today!! I have a 2 qt. Cuisinart machine, and just love it, so much fun!! Chocolate & Peanut Butter…what could be better??!!
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You are killing me! I have an ice cream making obsession this summer that I’m trying to recover from. I guess I will be making at least one more batch before I hang up my ice cream maker for the year!
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Aaahhh… every time I visit your blog I come away soo hungry or craving what you’ve posted… I need to move next door to you! The ice cream looks so decadent and is such perfection!
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My son just had his wisdom teeth out and is asking for ice cream. He may have to fight me for this.
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Fudge ripple cooling in the fridge, peanut butter patties in the freezer!! The recipe might sound like a lot of steps, but these 2 only took minutes. Will make the ice cream later tonight, can’t wait to try it!
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SERIOUSLY???? That looks off the charts amazing!!! I am fairly new to your blog but I love it already. You had me a peanut butter and chocolate…YUM! I will be running some extra miles this weekend to make up for this indulgence!
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Awesome looking ice creams! Love it!
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I made ALMOST this same recipe last week! I opted for a deep, dark chocolate ice cream instead of the chocolate fudge swirl. Those peanut butter patties are soo good! I need to make mine a little smaller next time. I thought I was making them tiny, but they still ended up being pretty large chunks in the ice cream. Beautiful pictures!
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That is a beautiful thing!
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oh my, looks awesome!
have a nice time!
Paula
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This looks absolutely amazing!! I love making ice cream without eggs and find that it’s just as good as with! I’m still dying over those ice cream sandwiches though
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Um wow? This is seriously too much!!!
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I made plain chocolate chunk ice cream the other day and there are 2 scoops left in one quart. This looks awesome and I don’t use that word often. I may try this. I wanted to make vanilla ice cream this week but I priced vanilla beans today and $14 for 2 is just too much to pay to make a quart or so of ice cream. Maybe if I find them cheaper one day (I once got an incredible deal through ebay but that was a long time ago). Thanks for the sweet inspiration.
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I love this! Though I love thick and yummy ice cream, there is something that just scares me about putting the egg yolks in there. So, this is perfect!
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OMG! I need to join your addiction group. You are killing me with these awesome PB recipes! We just finished up another plate of the PB Rice Krispy Treats, now I’m going to have to make this. Hmmm… maybe I will put the two together??!! Then I will have to go to my PB Support Group!
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Yum, somehow I missed this recipe without the egg yolks in my book. I’ll have to give this a try. I’ve been trying to stick to sorbets to avoid all the fat but you’ve convinced me to try this. Thanks!
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Your pictures are fabulous! Made my mouth water!
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wow look great….. would you please do a favor for me send me this bowl.
just kiding reallyy great post along great recipe. will must try.
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I need some ice cream, NOW!! I can’t believe how good it looks.
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What machine do you use? I’m about ready to do a “Special Sacrament” about a machine I was sent that I am not pleased with at all.
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Mouth watering! I can just taste it now..
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I’ve tried this before, it’s one of my favorites from Lebovitz. I also love the froyo tastes a lot like PinkBerry at a fraction of the cost!
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David is definitely the ice cream master, I have been using his no-ice-cream maker techniques to whip up ice cream like crazy! I am not a huge fan of peanut butter, but all his recipes are amazing.
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oh my god. my thighs MY THIGHS! (it would totally be worth it, though – adding to my recipe box for sure!)
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This looks SO amazingly good! My mouth is watering. I’m going to check out your “how to make ice cream without an ice cream maker” post right now.
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Oh Gawd! look at that fudgy dense ice cream…absolute heaven!
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That looks so fantastically decadent and delicious! I’m also a chocolate and PB freak.
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This is killing me! I really shouldn’t be reading your blog BEFORE dinner. Now I’m totally craving chocolate and peanut butter. Looks wonderful!
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I made this ice cream tonight and it was was SOOOOOO yummy!! I’ve been wanting to try making a chocolate ice cream and what better way to start than with a peanut butter chocolate mixture. Thanks for the recipe!
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I just made this ice cream today, and oh my gosh it was SOOOO good. The peanut butter patties are the best part. It was a lot like the Haagen Daas chocolate peanut butter flavor ice cream, but maybe even better. I didn’t have half and half so to avoid making a trip to the store, I just used a combination of heavy cream, whole milk, and a little low fat milk (I had a little left of each and they all measured out to 2 cups! perfect) and it was so good and creamy. Definitely going to make again, and I will double the recipe next time! My family devoured the whole quart in less than 10 minutes.
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I made the fudge ripple and pb patties tonight. Pretty excited to make the ice cream! But I’m a bit concerned about the fudge ripple, mine is a really thin consistency, should it be thicker? I may try again tomorrow and see if it is any different.
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Michelle on August 25th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
Hi Kristen, The fudge ripple won’t be terribly thick when you make it, but it does thicken a bit in the refrigerator. I hope you enjoyed the ice cream!
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I just purchased David Lebovitz’s ice cream book and I’m all excited. I just made the chocolate ice cream/custard and it is divine! And I am a total sucker for chocolate and peanut butter together also, so I’ll have to try this!
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Oh Good God how can you do this to me? I’ll be making this next weekend. Looks amazing. And I love DL and totally want his perfect scoop book.
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im making this right now! however, without the fudge ripple because i dont have corn syrup on hand and cant make myself go to the store for some. im sure it will be great even without it. thanks for such a great recipe!
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I just made this and it is to die for. I used the No Icecream Maker Method A, and am on the last freeze after adding the extra bits. I’m SO excited to eat this. I am lactose intolerant, so I always have to miss out when my friends and family go to the icecream shop. I used lactose-free dairy products, and now I get to enjoy a delicious icecream treat!
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first, i wanted to say i’ve browsed your site before but never actually posted. tonight, after discussing w a fellow baker on king arthur’s site a mocha ice cream w a fudge ripple, i got to looking to see if anyone had developed anything resembling moose tracks. most recipes i saw used lebowitz’s same fudge ripple recipe, which really isn’t like the ripple in moose tracks which actually sets rather than remaining sauce-like. then i found your lovely pictures–what a great idea for the peanut butter bits. i wasn’t going to bother going out to buy mini peanut butter cups to use but THIS would be so much better! if i’m ambitious i might coat the peanut butter patties w chocolate before using them, but i’m excited to convert the chocolate ice cream i made to a chocolate peanut butter mecca! thanks for the inspiration!
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Michelle i have never tried eggless chocolate ice cream…would you say making the chocolate custard icecream from your site would be more creamier or would it be too rich?
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Michelle on September 25th, 2012 at 8:10 pm
Hi Deepa, I also much prefer the egg-based custards for ice cream. I think you could definitely use the chocolate for this recipe – enjoy!
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Yum! Whipped up a batch and it’s chilling now and I even went one better and dipped the frozen patties in melted chocolate! Want be doing the swirl because I don’t have corn syrup and in m opinion it should be peanut buttery enough (if that exists!)
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Can I make this using a jar of fudge sauce instead of the fudge ripple?
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Michelle on February 21st, 2013 at 2:52 pm
Hi Courtney, I think that should work, although it will likely be thicker than the ripple.
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