No Sugar Added Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

No Sugar Added Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream (slightly adapted from AllRecipes, Servings: 8, Total Time: 3-4 hours)

Ingredients

·         ¼ cup Splenda

·         3 eggs

·         1 cup skim milk

·         ¾ cup peanut butter

·         ¾ cup fat free evaporated milk

·         ½ cup fat free half-and-half

·         2 tsp vanilla extract

·         1 cup chopped peanut butter cups

Directions

1.      In a medium bowl, beat the Splenda and eggs until thick, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

2.      Pour milk into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Gradually drizzle the hot milk into the eggs while whisking vigorously.

3.      Pour the whole mixture into the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not boil.

4.      Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter. Allow to cool slightly, then stir in the evaporated milk, half-and-half, and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

5.      Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Fold in peanut butter cups when mixture is still soft, then transfer to a container and freeze until solid.

I think that this ice cream is pretty tasty.  It does get thoroughly frozen though (so much so that I cannot get it out of the container).  I think next time I will use regular half and half or evaporated milk to help combat this.  The ice cream has a very strong peanut butter taste, but it is nice to get a random bite of the peanut butter cups.  It would also work well with other chocolate candies.  A nice, sweet treat that won’t wreak your diet!