Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream and Chocolate Sugar Cookies

I found this recipe and couldn't stop thinking about it so I had to make it last night. With Trent being a lover of all things peanut butter, and all things ice cream, I knew I couldn't go wrong. It was pretty yummy.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Makes roughly 3-4 cups of ice cream

Ice Cream
2 cups half &half

¼ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

½ cup sugarPinch of salt

½ cup smooth peanut butter

Peanut Butter Patties
6 tablespoons peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Combine the half & half, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a saucepan over medium high heat. Stir the mixture frequently until it comes to a full, rolling boil. Remove from the pan from the heat and stir in the peanut butter until well blended.Chill the mixture covered overnight in the refrigerator.

In the meantime, make the peanut butter patties. Stir together the peanut butter and sugar in a small bowl until thoroughly combined. Cover a dinner plate with plastic wrap. Using a spoon and your finger, scoop up small pieces of the peanut butter mixture, about ½ teaspoon each, and drop them onto the wrap covered dinner plate. It may help to refridgerate the peanut butter for a few minutes, to make it less sticky. Once you’ve used all of the mixture, put the plate in the freezer overnight.

The following day, freeze the ice cream mixture according to your ice cream maker’s directions. After you’ve removed the ice cream from the machine, stir in the peanut butter patties by hand. (I don’t recommend adding them to the machine, it can result in a sticky gooey mess.)

As if the ice cream wasn't sweet enough, I decided to make some chocolate sugar cookies to go along with it. Thought it would make a yummy ice cream sandwich (and it did!).

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Makes roughly 3 dozen 4-inch cookies

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups sugar, plus a few tablespoons for decoration

½ cup plus

2 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter

1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In a food processor or electric mixer, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. Add the butter and then the egg on low speed, or while pulsing. Continue mixing until dough comes together. Measure a couple of table spoons of sugar into a small bowl. Roll about a tablespoon of dough between your hands to form a ball, then roll the dough in the bowl of sugar, coating the outside. Place on a parchment paper or Silpat lined baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart and slightly flatten the dough with your hands. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for 3 to 4 minutes on the baking sheet, then place on a wire rack to cool completely.