With the weather heating up I am going to hold off from posting more kumquat recipes to take a quick ice cream break. As much as I love to bake sometimes it is just too hot to want to heat up the whole oven. When that happens this ice cream pie is the perfect dessert. It can be whipped up in just fifteen minutes (plus chilling time) but still feels festive enough to serve to company. This ice cream pie has an intense peanut butter flavor, and with chocolate caramel fudge sauce it tastes like the best version of that favorite peanut butter chocolate candy. If for some reason you do not want to make a peanut butter ice cream pie feel free to use any flavor of ice cream that goes well with chocolate (peppermint is wonderfully refreshing), and substitute extra chocolate sandwich cookies in place of the peanut butter ones for the topping.

I wanted to make this ice cream pie quick and simple, but homemade ice cream certainly would take it up another notch. If you feel like breaking out the ice cream maker this easy peanut butter ice cream is the perfect filling. Simply make the crust and the fudge topping and use the peanut butter ice cream instead of the vanilla ice cream and mix-ins listed in the recipe.

Quick and Easy Peanut Butter Fudge Ice Cream Pie

Serves 8

This intensely peanut buttery ice cream pie with a caramel fudge topping is sure to be a hit with anyone who loves the classic combination of chocolate and peanut butter.

For Crust
25 chocolate cream filled sandwich cookies*
6 tablespoons margarine, melted

For Filling
1 pint parve vanilla ice cream
¾ cup peanut butter

¼ cup peanut butter
¼ cup powdered sugar

For Topping
7.5 oz finely chopped chocolate
3 oz sugar
1 oz water
6 oz thai style coconut milk

6 peanut butter sandwich cookies, coarsely chopped*
6 chocolate cream filled sandwich cookies, coarsely chopped*

*To make this pie gluten free use gluten-free chocolate sandwich cookies in place of both the chocolate and peanut butter cookies and make sure the store bought ice cream is gluten-free.

To Make the Crust:
Place 25 chocolate cream filled sandwich cookies in a food processor and process until finely ground. Combine the melted margarine and cookie crumbs in a large bowl and mix well. Press the cookie mixture into a 9-inch pie pan, making an even layer on the bottom and up the sides. Freeze the crust while preparing the rest of the pie.

To Make the Topping:
Place the chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside. Pour the coconut milk into a microwave safe glass or bowl and set aside.

Place the water and the sugar in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Stir well to make sure the water and sugar are well mixed. Cook the sugar over medium high heat, without stirring, until the sugar caramelizes and turns a medium-dark amber color. While the sugar is cooking heat the coconut milk in the microwave until boiling. When the sugar is a medium-dark amber color remove the pan from the heat and carefully stir in the coconut milk (if will steam quite a bit, so use caution). Put the pan back over medium heat and stir until the caramel is fully dissolved. Pour the hot caramel over the chocolate and let it stand for 5 minutes. Stir the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture thickens and looks glossy. At this point it should not be too hot, but if it more than slightly warm to the touch let it cool a bit before proceeding with the recipe.

To make the Filling
Combine ¼ cup peanut butter and ¼ cup powdered sugar in a bowl. At first it may look like the powdered sugar will never all mix in but keep stirring and it will. (It may be easiest to knead the last bit of sugar in by hand.) Line a small plate with waxed or parchment paper. Press the peanut butter “dough” onto the paper so that it is approximately ¼ inch thick and freeze the dough for 10 minutes. Remove the “dough” from the freezer and cut it into small chunks. Return the chunks to the freezer until ready to use.

Soften the parve vanilla ice cream slightly. The easiest way is to place it in the bowl of a stand mixer and use the paddle attachment to mix it for a minute or so. Once the ice cream is slightly soft add the peanut butter and mix until thoroughly combined. Stir in the frozen peanut butter chunks.

Remove the crust from the freezer and pour in the peanut butter ice cream. Pour the chocolate fudge sauce on top in an even layer and top with the chopped cookies. Return the pie to the freezer and freeze until solid, at least two hours. Remove from the freezer a couple of minutes before serving to allow the ice cream to soften slightly.