Healthier chocolate peanut butter cup soft-serve ice cream at home? Yes, please! This has quickly become our favorite dessert around here, and there is absolutely no guilt.
For Christmas, my mom got us an ice cream maker. Honestly, I didn’t know what I was going to do with it. I thought, another kitchen gadget that we don’t have the cupboard space for and will probably never get used. I hinted that she should probably return it and get her money back, but she was adamant that we keep it and wanted the kids to have fun with it.
So, just a few weeks ago I decided to finally take it out oft the box and see what it was all about. It came with a recipe booklet that I browsed through. Pretty much all of the recipes called for a cup or two of sugar, along with a large amount of heavy cream. I’m always looking for ways to make things healthier and get around using refined sugar, so decided to whip up a creation of my own. It was a total experiment, but it came out so, so good. My husband’s all-time favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate peanut butter cup, and he said this may have been the best one he’s had. Win! We’ve had it practically nightly for the past couple weeks. The kids love it, I love it, and it is a lot of fun to make. Thanks Mom ☺️
This healthier homemade ice cream recipe uses just a handful of ingredients, all of which are much better for you than a conventional ice cream recipe using white sugar and heavy cream. I call it at-home soft-serve because it really does have that soft-serve texture. The lack of sugar crystals and high fat content (from the heavy cream) is probably what contributes most to this texture. It doesn’t get firm, and for this reason, melts quickly, so have your bowl ready – a cone is probably not the best option!
Healthier Homemade Ice Cream: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup
Note: An ice cream maker is recommended for this recipe, but not required. Using an ice cream maker will give it a better air-whipped texture. This is the one we have.
**Make sure that the bowl to the ice cream maker is fully frozen (it’s recommended to let it sit in the freezer for 24 hours to get it cold enough). Keep the bowl in the freezer until you’re ready to pour mixture in.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 banana (optional, provides more natural sweetness)
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup cacao powder or cocoa powder (like this one on Amazon)
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of sea salt
Directions:
- In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend until well combined with a smoothie-like texture.
- Remove the bowl of the ice-cream maker from the freezer and place on the machine with the churning wheel inside. Add the lid, turn on, and pour the blended mixture into the ice cream maker.
- Let churn in the ice cream maker for approximately 20 minutes, or until you get the desired consistency.
If you do not have an ice cream maker, you can simply pour the batter into a medium size [freezer safe] mixing bowl, and place in the freezer for approximately 2 hours, whipping half-way through to get that airy texture.
I hope you enjoy this ice cream as much as we do!
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