As I’ve gotten older, I have developed a nagging sweet tooth.  Not a good thing, but reality.  One of the desserts I really enjoy is ice cream.  A couple of days ago, I was at a local convenience store, called a Super or Super Centro here in Panama, waiting my turn to check out.  On the counter before me was all manner of candies and treats.  As I bided my time, I was staring past these goodies when I became aware of a display of Peanut M&Ms next to one of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.  “Peanut butter and M&Ms” jarred my concentration.  Peanut Butter and M&M Ice Cream!

I bought a couple of bags of the M&Ms and brought them home with me.  That evening, I came up with an experimental concoction and poured it into the ice cream maker.  The outcome was heaven.

You may know that I try to stay away from sugar.  More and more research is proving it to be very harmful to our health.  Yes, peanut butter has a little sugar; 3 grams per 2 tablespoons.  M&Ms are certainly are not sugar-free, either.  Even so, if one keeps portions small (not easy with this recipe) and omits added sugar, a delicious Lite version can be made.  In the following recipe, I’ll provide the “no added sugar” substitutes where applicable.  I promise you would be hard pressed to taste the difference.

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl, pour into your ice cream maker and flip the switch!

Once the ice cream is almost ready, pour in the M&Ms and churn for 3 – 5 minutes more.

Peanut Butter M&M Ice Cream

 

Author: Dennis Killebrew

Cuisine: American

Prep time:  10 mins

Total time:  10 mins

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Ingredients

• 2½ Cups Heavy Cream
• 1½ Cups Whole Milk (substitute Unsweetened Almond Milk)
• 1¼ Cup Granulated Sugar (substitute Maltitol)
• 1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Real Vanilla
• 3½ Ounces (by weight) Peanut M&Ms

Instructions

1. Measure milk and peanut butter into a large bowl and whisk patiently to combine. This takes a while to accomplish. Mash the peanut butter with the end of the whisk and beat it into the milk a little bit of it at a time. It needs to be totally incorporated so "patience" is the key.
2. Add the cream, vanilla and sugar to the bowl. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. At this point, you may pour the mixture into your ice cream maker. In the alternative, if you have time and space, you may put the bowl in your freezer for 30 minutes to allow it to pre-chill which will improve churning; do not exceed 30 minutes as we do not want freezing (minimal freezing around the edges is OK).
3. Once in your ice cream maker, follow the machine's directions and make your ice cream. After the ice cream is set, pour in the M&Ms and continue churning for 3 or 5 minutes to combine well.
4. Remove the dasher, cover and place the fresh ice cream in your freezer for at least 2 hours before serving.
5. TIP: If your ice cream maker came with a cover for the container, use that. If not, do what I do. I tear off 2 pieces of plastic wrap large enough to cover the container, stack them together and use a rubber band to affix them as a cover.

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