Moose Tracks Ice Cream

Tags

candy, chocolate, frozen, fudge, gluten-free, ice cream, Moose Tracks, peanut butter, recipes, summer, vanilla

It’s been a dream of my dad’s to renovate* an old Airstream and drive across the US to see the national parks.  (*This would be one sweet ride…he is a master craftsman!)  Since this hasn’t happened yet, my parents flew up to Wyoming a few years ago to explore Yellowstone for a couple weeks.

I like to tease my dad about that hat.  (photo by my mom, I’m assuming!)

While there, he found a beer that he really liked: Moose Drool Brown Ale by Big Sky Brewing Co. in Montana.  My sister and I were a bit shocked I think because he’s always been a Miller Light (eww) drinker.  I’m pretty sure he tried the Drool purely because of its name…

Since then, my sister and I have been on the lookout for Moose Drool, but apparently San Antonio is too far south for distribution.  That is, until NOW!  Just a few weeks before Father’s Day, Jill found some at a local grocery store and bought a few six packs for Dad.  He was stoked.

And speaking of moose, the last time I was at my parents’ house, they had Moose Tracks ice cream: vanilla ice cream with peanut butter cups and fudge ripple.  I decided then that Father’s Day was going to be moose-themed this year and made some of this stuff for my dad.  Perfect since, you know, I kind of stole his ice cream maker a year ago and feel the need to consistently pay it back with homemade ice cream…

Moose Tracks Ice Cream
adapted from the Tin Roof recipe in The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

While I was looking through the above book for an idea of how to make this, I found the recipe for Tin Roof which differs in only one way: it has chocolate-covered peanuts instead of peanut butter cups.  Sweet!  If it’s hot where you’re at, you might want to put the PB cups in the fridge before unwrapping and chopping.  I didn’t and it was…messy.

3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (I used a whole one that had already been scraped)
4 large egg yolks (I used 5…because I had 5 to use up)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup peanut butter cups, chopped (mine were dark chocolate)
Fudge Ripple (recipe follows)

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup of the heavy cream and warm over medium heat.  Scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean out with a paring knife and add them and the bean to the milk mixture.  Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 30 minutes.

Rewarm the vanilla/milk mixture.  Meanwhile, set a large bowl over an ice bath.  Pour the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream into the bowl and set a fine mesh strainer over it.  In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks.  (For this next part, it’s easiest if you pour the hot milk mixture into a large measuring cup:) Very gradually pour the hot milk mixture into the whisked egg yolks, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from cooking.  Once finish, pour the egg/milk mixture (custard) back into the saucepan.  Using a spatula, stir the custard constantly over medium heat until it thickens enough to coat the spatula.  Immediately pour the custard through the strainer (to catch eggy bits)  into the cream.  Stir the ice cream base until cool, stir in the vanilla extract, then re-add the vanilla bean.  Press plastic wrap on the surface and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, preferably overnight.

Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the ice cream according to your ice cream maker’s directions.  Transfer the ice cream to a large bowl and fold in the peanut butter cup chunks.  In the storage container, pour a layer of fudge ripple, then spoon a layer of the ice cream on top taking care not to stir.  Keep repeating, making sure the final layer is ice cream.  Cover and let harden in the freezer for a few hours before serving.

Fudge Ripple
(also from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz)

This is essentially like chocolate syrup, but better since it’s homemade.  Next time I think I’ll halve this for Moose Tracks since I ended up using only about half of it.  Or better yet, you could use the extras for chocolate milk!

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup (I would have used golden syrup, but was out)
1/2 cup water
6 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cocoa in a small saucepan.  Heat over medium heat until boiling, stirring frequently, then let boil for a minute.  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.  Cover and refrigerate.

Really…how can you go wrong with this?

(You can’t.)

(Though I also left a hefty portion of Bourbon Peach Ice Cream with the Moose Tracks for good measure…in a separate container!)