Reese's Pieces Ice Cream

Chocolate and peanut butter are my favorite sweet combination by far. The hubs is obsessed with peanut butter as well, so it's something that we always have to stock up on when we hit the aisles of Costco. I had some extra half and half in the refrigerator that needed to be used and since we're nearing summer's end, I thought it would be best used making some homemade ice cream.

I remembered bookmarking a recipe that Joelen had blogged about that was an adaptation from David Lebovitz's book The Perfect Scoop that included Reese's Pieces, which are my favorite candy. The recipe is easy to make and calls for few ingredients, so it was perfect for making on a leisurely Sunday afternoon. The biggest difference that separates this ice cream from others is that it does not call for eggs, which most do, but I didn't notice it at all. The flavor is rich and creamy and was a perfect treat on a warm September day.

Reese's Pieces Ice Cream

2 1/2 cups half and half

3/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup Reese's Pieces candies

In a large pan, whisk to combine the half and half, cocoa powder, sugar and salt.  Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it comes to a full, rolling boil and begins to foam up.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the peanut butter, whisking to blend thoroughly.

Refrigerate the mixture to chill thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. After churning, fold in the candies into the ice cream and transfer mixture into a freezer safe container.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Cake

There are good things and bad things about celebrating birthdays at work. The good--the abundance of treats and goodies. The bad--the abundance of treats and goodies. Wait, did I just repeat myself? Luckily, I'm not in a huge department so we don't typically celebrate birthdays more than once or twice a month.

Since it's cooling down and the temps are feeling a bit more like fall, I felt like breaking out one of my favorite things--pumpkin! The birthday girl requested chocolate, so what's better than pumpkin and chocolate together?

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Cake

adapted from Duncan Hines

1 package Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Spice Cake Mix

2 large eggs

1 cup water

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tub Whipped Cream Cheese frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour Bundt pan. Combine cake mix, eggs, water and pumpkin in large bowl, beating for two minutes with an electric mixer. Stir in chocolate chips and then add to pan. Bake 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool for at least 30 minutes and invert onto serving plate (I used my cake stand). Cool completely before frosting.

For this cake, I wanted to achieve the above look of the frosting pooling off the cake. I actually heated about 1/4 cup of the frosting in the microwave for 30 seconds and tempered another 1/4 cup into the heated mixture to thin out the frosting. Once it comes to the right consistency, spoon one tablespoon over the top of the cake and let run down the sides. Continue this process with the remainder of the frosting in the container. The first layer or two may be thinner than desired, but with the addition of each layer, it will become thicker and reflect the above consistency.

Before frosting cools completely, top with additional chocolate chips and enjoy!