Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie

I like to make ice cream pies in the dead of winter because it makes me think of summer.

I find it one of the most hilarious types of oxymorons.

Is it an oxymoron?  Not really.  What is that word?  

Whatever - I do what I want.  This is my blog.

So this ice cream pie.  Dayummmm girrrrrl - buckle your seatbelt.  It is UH-MAZING.

As with all ice cream things - this is a multiple day process.  It's not a ton of hands-on time, but it's a LOT of waiting.  

First things first, run and put the bowl of your ice cream machine into the freezer.  I ALWAYS forget to do this and then I'm ripping my hair out trying to figure out how to freeze the darn bowl.  Although if you have one of those mega-fancy ice cream machines with a compressor then you might not need to put the bowl in the freezer.

I digress.  First day, you're going to make the custard so that you can make the ice cream.

Not too many ingredients right?!  

In a sauce pan, combine the peanut butter,

the milk,

and the cream.  Start heating it through until it's combined.

Then, in a mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks,

With the sugar,

And whisk it together.  

Then, very VERY slowly, start whisking in some of the heated milk/cream mixture.  SLOWLY.  Don't just dump it in or the eggs will cook and you'll have to start all over again.  As you SLOWLY drizzle/whisk in the milk mixture, the eggs are going to warm up.  This is called tempering and once you figure out how to do it, it'll open up a whole pile of exciting things for you in the kitchen.

Once the eggs have been tempered, stir the egg into the pot on the stove.

Add in the vanilla.

Now you're going to cook the whole works over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is super thick and coats a wooden spoon.

Now you have custard.  And it's totally glorious. (I LOVE making custard!)  Now this beauty is going to cool to room temperature and then set in the fridge overnight.

The next day, you're going to make the crust.  Now - the original recipe calls for Nutter Butter cookies, but we can't get them here in Canada, so I used these Pirate cookies and they were delicious.

Crush up the cookies in a food processor, stir in melted butter, and then press into the bottom and up the sides of a pie plate.

Next, you're going to start churning the custard into ice cream in your machine.  15 - 20 minutes in the machine should do the trick.  While the ice cream is churning, chop up some peanut butter cups into chunks.

In the last few minutes of churning, throw the chopped peanut butter cups into the ice cream machine.

Pour the ice cream into the peanut butter crust.  Then pop the whole works back into the freezer overnight.

I was gonna do all this fancy decorating - but I kind of forgot and then was super busy and just spread mini Reese's pieces all over the top of the pie.  Not a gorgeous piece of work - but fun!

When it's time to serve, pull it out of the freezer, let it sit on the counter for 10 - 15 minutes and then slice it up and feed it to someone you like.

But not your brother who "isn't really a fan of peanut butter desserts".  (this is a direct quote)  No peanut butter ice cream pie for him.

If' you're a peanut butter lover - you're going to FLIP for this ice cream pie. 

If you want to dial back the peanut butter flavour (but, I mean, why in the world would you want to?) you could do a graham cracker crust, or a chocolate cookie crust, or a vanilla cookie crust.  

Truth be told - the ice cream was so amazing and magical and smooth and creamy, that I would be happy just to eat it out of a bowl with a spoon and not even bother with the pie part.

And I wouldn't blame you if you didn't bother either!

Enjoy!

xoxo - Heather

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie

Ice Cream

2 cups whole milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup peanut butter

2/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

5 egg yolks

4 Reese's peanut butter cups, chopped small

Crust

266 grams Peanut Butter sandwich cookies, crushed fine

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Topping (as desired)

Whipped Cream

Mini Reese's pieces

1. Make sure your ice cream machine bowl is in the freezer.
2. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the milk, cream, peanut butter, and 1/3 cup sugar.  Whisk until smooth and cook over medium heat jut until the mixture comes to a boil.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining sugar until smooth and thickened.
4. Slowly drizzle in 1/3 cup of the hot milk mixture while whisking the eggs.  Drizzle in another 1/3 cup of milk mixture into the eggs.
5. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the saucepan while stirring the milk mixture.  Add the vanilla.
6. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a spatula until the mixture has thickened and coats a wooden spoon.  About 15 - 20 minutes.  Once the mixture is thickened, allow to cool completely to room temperature, stirring occasionally.  Then cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge overnight.
7. The next day, combine the peanut butter cookie crumbs and melted butter and press into the bottom and up the sides of a pie plate.
8. Then, prep the ice cream machine and pour the peanut butter mixture into the bowl of the ice cream machine.  Churn the peanut butter mixture for 15 - 20 minutes.  In the last few minutes, add in the peanut butter cup pieces.
9. Pour the ice cream into the prepared crust.  Smooth out the top, gently press plastic wrap on the surface of the ice cream and place in the freezer overnight.
10. The next day, top as desired with whipped cream and mini Reese's pieces (as desired).

Source:  American Heritage Cooking