Maple Valley Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

So my nephew is a big fan of having ice cream with his cake and since his mom is a fan of both local and all natural stuff, sometimes we wind up having something from Maple Valley Creamery with our cake. I've always enjoyed it and I think it's time we do an official review of this local company based in Hadley, Massachusetts. What should I pick? Well, I've got yet another nasty headache today and headache time calls for chocolate time. Let's dig in to....

Maple Valley Creamery Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

A few ice crystals on top but hopefully we'll be ok.

I wasn't sure how much I liked this one at first. It's got a very dense, somewhat dry texture. It's something akin to a sea salt caramel gelato and that's not necessarily my favorite thing. I slowed down and started to take nice thin scoops to try and let the flavor reach it's true potential.

See, I love a nice milk chocolate base reveled with lots of streaks of a rich salty peanut butter. That's the traditional setup for a flavor like this. This pint however is not that kind of flavor. They've gone with infusing the peanut butter directly in to the chocolate base and that makes for a much different experience and helps explain the texture I find before me.

While I may have been undecided at first, after a while I found it hard to stop. You stop thinking about eating ice cream and you start thinking about eating a jar of chocolate peanut butter. It's not just a regular creamy JIF style peanut butter either, it's definitely a more high end variety. That's not usually my preferred style but the great complexity and combination of it all really grew on me.

I'm always a little hesitant to plop down $5.99 for a pint of ice cream, but I'm glad I did. It's got a nice short ingredient list, it's complex, it's different, and I still have a headache. Ahhh, sorry, couldn't resist. If you live in Mass, check these guys out (especially if your local retailer has it for less!).

On Second Scoop: This stuff is crazy dense, it breaks like fudge. I need a few bites to settle in, but once I do, it's a nice treat. It's one of those super premium flavors that you can't inhale, you need to take your time. You know, I think you could have told me Gelato Fiasco made this and I would probably believe you. Nice job Maple Valley. My only suggestion here is to maybe throw a description on the container just so people know what to expect.

Verdict?  dense and rich
Buy Again?  yup