cookies: Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream (you need it)

OK...I'm going to get all first-born-child-bossy on you now. If you like chocolate, and you like peanut butter, and you like chocolate WITH peanut butter, you MUST make this ice cream. (Yes, even if it means biting the bullet and buying that ice cream maker. I promise.)

This dark chocolate peanut butter ice cream is rich; it's creamy; it's dreamy. It will change your life. It will make you a happier person.

{Notice I said "happier," not "skinnier."}

The recipe is adapted from the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream & Dessert Book.
You'll need this stuff:

Oh, and vanilla...

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate ( I like Ghiradelli)
1/3 cup dutch-process cocoa powder (such as Hershey's Special Dark)
1 & 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

{This ice cream is made with uncooked eggs, so if you feel uneasy about that or are serving to someone with a compromised immune system, try using pasteurized eggs.}

Place a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering (not boiling) water. Melt the unsweetened chocolate. Gradually add the cocoa; the mixture may clump up in the whisk...that's ok. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking with the chocolate mixture until combined and smooth. Remove from heat and let cool several minutes.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add the sugar, a little at a time, whisking constantly. Once all the sugar has been added, whisk 1 minute more.

Add the cream and vanilla; whisk to combine.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the cream mixture and stir. Cover and refrigerate a few hours or overnight.

Before transferring to an ice cream maker, remove 1 cup of the mixture into a separate bowl and whisk in the peanut butter until smooth.

{Normally, I'm a natural peanut butter girl, but for this, I go with Jif. It's smooth and creamy and luscious...perfect for this ice cream.}

Add this back into the main mixture and stir. Process in an ice cream maker. Once the freezing cycle finishes, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze a few hours to firm up.