Never mind that it's January. The ice cream maker is still in full force in the Sweets Life kitchen! Of course, it's helped that we've had a few fifty and even sixty-degree weather days this month. The weather here in Missouri certainly keeps us on our toes, that's for sure. Although you won't find me denying ice cream any month of the year, it's been easier to swallow this January with a few warmer days!

The ice cream of choice? Banana Bread! I had a ton of bananas on hand, after I went a little crazy buying a HUGE bag of bruised bananas on clearance at the grocery store. I made banana bread and some banana oatmeal breakfast bars, but still had a pile of bananas hanging out on my countertop. I remembered seeing a recipe for banana bread ice cream awhile back so I headed to google to find it again and immediately go to work making it.

I was skeptical about calling it banana bread ice cream. In my mind, a more appropriate title would've been Roasted Banana Ice Cream with Chocolate and Peanut Butter. But then I served this and my friend Colleen, without any knowledge of what flavor it was, said, "Hey! This tastes like banana bread!"

I stand corrected.
Like pretty much every ice cream I've now made, we had a hard time staying away from this one....with ample chunks of peanut butter and smatterings of chocolate throughout, every bite was to die for!


One Year Ago: Oregano and Prosciutto Pinwheels
Two Years Ago: Butternut Squash Lasagna


Banana Bread Ice Cream with Peanut Butter and Chocolate
from Guilty Kitchen

Ingredients:
-2 lbs ripe bananas (I used about 6)
-1/3 cup butter
-1/2 cup sour cream
-1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
-1/2 tsp salt
-3/4 cup heavy cream
-3/4 cup half & half
-2 tsp vanilla

for peanut butter chunks-
-1/2 cup peanut butter
-1 tbsp confectioners' sugar

for stracciatella
-3 oz. dark chocolate
-1 tbsp + 1 tsp butter

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the 1/3 cup of butter. Continue to cook until the butter begins to foam and bubble. Don't stir. When the foam dissipates you'll be left with brown butter.
2. Slice bananas and place in a large baking dish. Pour browned butter over and stir gently to combine. Bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes. (Remove when bananas are caramelized and golden). Allow bananas to cool before continuing.
3. In a blender or food processor, puree the banana mixture with the sour cream.
4. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat heavy cream and half and half with brown sugar, salt, and vanilla. Bring to a high heat that it begins to steam and sugar is dissolved (don't bring to a boil). Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, blend with pureed bananas.
5. Cover mixture and refrigerate overnight. That same day, mix peanut butter and confectioners' sugar until well blended. Drop teaspoon-sized portions of peanut butter on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Place in freezer overnight.
6. The next day, in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pot of gently boiling water (or in the microwave, carefully!), melt chocolate and butter until smooth.
7. Churn ice cream according to manufacturers instructions for your ice cream maker. When ice cream is almost finished, drip chocolate in a fine stream into the ice cream. It will form stracciatella (little bits of chocolate). Before storing ice cream, stir in peanut butter chunks. Place ice cream in an airtight container and freeze for at least four hours.