Last night I posted a sneak peek photo of this recipe. Holy cow did you guys + gals ever respond with excitement.

Apparently you all like ice cream. Apparently I need to post more ice cream recipes.

I can get down with that.

Ice cream is definitely up there on my list of favorite desserts. As are super chewy cookies.

The husband is a huge fan of anything PB + Chocolate, which I probably mention every single time I make a recipe with peanut butter. Oops.

Anyway.

I wanted to make a peanut butter chocolate ice cream recipe, but I also wanted to bring something new to the table. Instead of peanut butter ice cream, how about vanilla bean ice cream WITH chewy peanut butter chunks??

I'm not sure how much I like the word chunk but there's no better way to describe it.

I made homemade peanut butter, froze it in a slab, cut it into pieces, and threw the pieces in the ice cream.

As you're rapidly spooning bites into your mouth you hit pockets of PEANUT BUTTER chewiness along the way. Possibly better than cookie dough.

Don't think I forgot about the chocolate.

Just before the ice cream was finished spinning I streamed melted--but cooled--chocolate into the mixture. This created ribbons of hardened chocolate throughout the ice cream. So with each and every bite of ice cream you'll have a little chocolate crunch.

But if those two things weren't enough I obviously infused the base ice cream mixture with vanilla beans. And for sweetness I chose coconut sugar [an unrefined sugar] which adds a hint of caramel-like flavor.

Mix it all together and here is the end result!

And I almost forgot! Coconut milk makes this dairy free + vegan and incredibly simple to make.

Look at those peanut butter chunks!!!

A trick for photographing ice cream:Freeze the ice cream after making it to harden up a bit more. Then, make your ice cream scoops and freeze the scoops on parchment on a pan for another 30min or so. This will help keep the scoops a bit more formed.

But eventually they start to melt.

Print this!

adapted from: Oh, Ladycakes

Vanilla Peanut Butter Chunk + Chocolate Crunch Ice Cream

gluten-free, vegan // yields 6 servings

For the ice cream mixture:

2 cans full-fat coconut milk, ~3 1/3 cups - 13.6oz cans
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

For the chocolate crunch:

3/4 cup vegan dark chocolate chips
1 teaspoon unrefined coconut oil

For the peanut butter chunks:

1/3 cup homemade peanut butter
1/4 cup ground dry roasted peanuts
1/2 tablespoon pure maple syrup

*Freeze your ice cream maker bowl for a full 24hrs.

Whisk the coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla beans [~1/4+ teaspoon] in a large pot over medium heat, then add the scraped vanilla bean pod.
Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, whisking frequently as it heats, then pour into a heat-safe bowl.
Refrigerate until fully chilled, or add ice into a larger bowl [about 1/2 full] and place the ice cream mixture bowl into it until fully chilled, whisking every so often to accelerate the chilling. Avoid getting any of the ice/water into the mixture. Add more ice/drain water as needed.
Mix the peanut butter, ground peanuts, and maple syrup together. Freeze for 5-10 minutes to help thicken. Flatten in between two pieces of parchment until it's just under 1/4-inch thick. Slide the parchment onto the pan and freeze for 1 hour. Remove and cut into small pieces about 1/4x1/4-inch. Place back in the freezer. The PB chunks will not fully harden.
Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave for 30 second increments, stirring each time until fully melted and smooth. Or, use a double boiler for this process.
Let cool on the counter. It should still be pourable. *Be sure to make this about 1/2 way through the ice cream mixture chilling so it has ample time to cool on the counter.
Pour the chilled ice cream mixture into your ice cream maker and turn on. When your ice cream starts to freeze and collect on the mixer, but is still moving smoothly [about 20min for mine], stream the melted + cooled chocolate into the ice cream.
Scoop about 1/4 of the ice cream into a glass container, then evenly distribute about 1/4 of the peanut butter chunks. Repeat 4 times, packing down the ice cream as you go.
Serve immediately [it will be like soft serve at this point] or freeze in an airtight container with a piece of plastic wrap touching the top surface of the ice cream [helps prevent freezer burn].

notes/substitutions: If using store bought peanut butter, go for the natural, drippy kind and sub that in for homemade. I'm not sure if the stabilized peanut butter will freeze as well, but it might. Coconut sugar adds caramel notes to the base flavor of the ice cream. Sucanat would be a great substitute, but pure cane sugar will also work. Add 3/4 cup sugar if you like your ice cream on the sweeter side.

For the homemade peanut butter:

2 1/2 cups dry roasted, unsalted peanuts
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 - 1 tablespoons maple syrup, optional

Place peanuts + salt in your food processor [11 cup capacity works well with 2 1/2 cups peanuts] for about 30 seconds until well ground.
Measure out 1/4 cup of the ground peanuts for the PB chunk recipe above.
Continue to process until drippy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. ~10 minutes in total.
Remove 1/3 cup peanut butter for the PB chunks and then add 1/2 tablespoon of pure maple syrup to your processor.
Continue to process until smooth, then taste and adjust salt/maple syrup if needed.
Let cool, then store the peanut butter in a jar at room temp for a few weeks or in the fridge for a few months.