Nutty buddy ice cream

I felt like a kid as we were eating this ice cream.  At the very thought of it, Jim and I both got a little giggly, which might not even be a word, but you get the point.  We’re fans of that tasty frozen treat called a Nutty Buddy, and I’ve had it in my head that I wanted to turn that into an ice cream flavor.  I might be relatively new to the ice cream scene, but I’m definitely not new to the flavors in those yummy Nutty Buddies.  Creamy vanilla ice cream topped with nuts and chocolate, all perched on a chocolate-lined sugar cone.  Mmm mmm mmm.  Definitely do-able.

I put 4 sugar cones in the freezer overnight, then squirted some chocolate Magic Shell ice cream topping into each of them, swirled it around to cover the entire inside, then returned the cones to the freezer while I made the ice cream.   For the ice cream, I chose a recipe for Philadelphia-style vanilla ice cream by David Lebovitz, adapting it just a little because I didn’t have a vanilla bean.  When the ice cream was almost churned, I added 1/3 c. salted Spanish peanuts and broken up pieces of the chocolate-lined sugar cones from my freezer.  Then I turned the ice cream out into a freezer container, and layered swirls of the Magic Shell topping into it.

This recipe was really simple, with the hardest part definitely being the waiting time.  (Jim and I were pretty impatient.)  But it was worth the wait, because we both loved it.  And we had fun with these miniature ice cream sundaes too.  You don’t even need a spoon!

Recipe:  Nutty Buddy Ice Cream

(adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz)

3 c. heavy cream or 2 c. heavy cream and 1 c. whole milk  (I opted for the second choice.)

3/4 c. granulated sugar

pinch of salt

1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise  (I didn’t have a vanilla bean, so I substituted with 3 tsp. of pure vanilla extract, which I added with the 3/4 tsp. of vanilla in the recipe.)

3/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/3 c. salted Spanish peanuts

4 sugar cones that have been “lined” with Magic Shell ice cream topping  (see above for explanation)

Magic Shell chocolate ice cream topping

Pour 1 c. of heavy cream into a medium saucepan and add the sugar and salt.  Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the saucepan and add the pod to the pot.  (If you aren’t using a vanilla bean, hold off adding the vanilla extract substitute until mixture is removed from heat.) Warm over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved.

Remove from heat and add remaining 2 c. cream (or the remaining 1 c. cream and 1 c. milk) and the vanilla extract.  (This is where I added all 3 3/4 tsp. of vanilla extract.)

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.  (I placed my mixture in a bowl inside another bowl full of ice water, so it would chill faster.) When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing and reserving it for another use, and then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.

When the ice cream has only about 3 minutes of churning left, pour in the peanuts and the broken up pieces of chocolate-lined sugar cones.  When machine has finished churning, spoon ice cream into a freezer safe bowl in about 3 or 4 “layers.”  After each layer, squirt some squiggly lines of Magic Shell topping, then top with more ice cream.  When you’ve added all the ice cream to your bowl, cover and place in freezer to harden.

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