Moose Tracks Ice Cream is hands-down the easiest, most decadent creamy vanilla ice cream you’ll ever spoon into a bowl — vanilla ice cream rippled with hot fudge, crackly magic shell ribbons, and studded with mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. No machine, no fuss, three base ingredients. This has officially become my family’s favorite ice cream, and I am not even a little bit sorry about it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Eileen raved, “Absolutely delicious!!! Thank you. I even made my own hot fudge – and next time will have a homemade version of the magic shell as well. I shared with my neighbor and here was her response: OMGosh! THIS IS OUTRAGEOUSLY DELICIOUS! YEP, all caps! 🙂”
Originally published in 2022. Updated in 2026 with helpful tips and reader-friendly improvements — the recipe itself is unchanged.
Why We Can’t Stop Making Moose Tracks Ice Cream All Summer Long
- Ice cream shop flavor. Decadent, chocolatey, peanut buttery — built for the dessert lover in all of us.
- Crowd-friendly. It’s rich, so a single scoop usually does the trick. Recipe makes 14 servings (whether you eat one scoop or three is between us).
- Truly easy. Three base ingredients, mix-ins, freezer. That’s it.
- No Ice Cream Maker – No problem! A homemade ice cream without the fuss!
Inspired by my chocolate ice cream and old-fashioned vanilla bean ice cream, this one earned its own permanent freezer real estate. (Once you make it, peek at the rest of my ice cream recipes — there are a lot.)
Why is it called Moose Tracks?
Slice a mini peanut butter cup in half and you’ve got little peanut-buttery “hooves” peeking out of the vanilla. They look like — okay, kind of like — moose tracks in fresh snow. We’re going with it!
A Quick Note on Where Moose Tracks Came From
Original Moose Tracks took off in the mid-90s as a combo of Famous Moose Tracks Fudge and peanut butter cups in vanilla ice cream. It’s still privately owned by a husband-and-wife team (Denali Flavors) creators in Michigan, and they’ve since branched out with mint, brownie, extreme fudge, chocolate, and more.
This copycat version is what I make when the grocery store is out — or when I just want it now. Add as little or as much of the mix-ins as your heart wants. (Mine wants a lot.) Bonus, no weird ingredients, like carrageenan or diglycerides!
If you remember the “you got your chocolate in my peanut butter” Reese’s commercials — raise your hand — you already know exactly what’s about to happen here.
Simple Ingredients
- Heavy whipping cream — fresh, full-fat, no shortcuts. It’s what gives this ice cream its body. And no, whole milk will not work here.
- Sweetened condensed milk — not evaporated milk. Trust me. You need that syrupy sweetness.
- Vanilla — regular vanilla extract works beautifully, but vanilla bean paste is dreamy. I love Rodelle brand.
- Hot fudge topping — grab your favorite jarred chocolate fudge, or whip up my homemade hot fudge sauce.
- Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups — minis are perfect for slicing in half. The Trader Joe’s super-minis are also a dream. Allergic to peanut butter? Almond butter cups, in.
- Magic Shell — Hershey’s or Smucker’s both work, or try my homemade magic shell.
Get the full recipe in the recipe card below.
These are the classic mix-ins. Want to branch out from no-churn vanilla? My circus animal cookie ice cream is up next. For something a little fancier, the rose pistachio ice cream is a stunner. And the red, white, and blue ice cream makes any 4th of July look like you tried way harder than you did.
How to Make Moose Tracks Ice Cream
Total time from bowl to freezer: about 10 minutes. Then it’s just a waiting game.
Step 1 | Whip the base
In a stand mixer (or large bowl with a hand mixer), whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form — same as you would for homemade whipped cream. Add the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, and whip another 30–60 seconds until silky and combined.
Step 2 | First layer
Line a loaf pan with parchment or plastic wrap (this makes scooping — or slicing the whole thing like an ice cream cake — way easier later). Spoon in half the cream mixture, drizzle on hot fudge, scatter mini peanut butter cups, and add a swirl of magic shell if you want that crackly chocolate ribbon.
Step 3 | Second layer + swirl
Top with the rest of the ice cream base, then layer on the remaining fudge, magic shell, and peanut butter cups. Grab a butter knife and gently swirl in a figure-8 motion — shallow, not deep — for that marbled top into the layers. Add a few extra peanut butter cups on top, because we deserve nice things.
Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly to the surface (this prevents ice crystals), add a lid or foil, and into the freezer it goes. Once frozen, your only decision is one or two scoops!
Freeze Times
- Soft-serve: 1–2 hours
- Soft middle, firm edges: 3–4 hours
- Old-fashioned scoopable: 6+ hours
Variations
- Rocky road moose tracks — fold in mini marshmallows.
- Caramel moose tracks — swap the fudge for thick caramel sauce.
- Chocolate moose tracks — whisk 3 tablespoons quality cocoa powder and a pinch of salt into the base.
- Brownie moose tracks — fold in chunks of leftover brownies.
- Cookie dough moose tracks — use my edible cookie dough.
Expert Tips From Years of Making This
Organic dairy whips up creamier — worth it for ice cream. And if you’re making a second batch, wash the bowl really well between rounds; leftover oils will keep your cream from whipping up like it should.
Common Questions
No — and I really mean no. Sweetened condensed milk is slow-cooked with sugar into a thick syrup. Evaporated milk will give you a sad ice puck. Don’t do it to yourself.
Generally yes — Hershey’s Shell Topping, Smucker’s Magic Shell, and Reese’s cups are all gluten-free. Always double-check labels just in case formulations have changed.
No machine, no eggs, no waiting for a custard base to chill. You can be in the freezer in 10 minutes flat.
The correct term is moose tracks, two words, versus one combined word.
Top Tip: Press a sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper directly onto the ice cream’s surface before sealing the container. It keeps ice crystals from forming on top — total game changer for week-old leftovers (if it lasts that long).
More favorite ice cream recipes
- Best Mud Pie Recipe (Ice Cream Cake)
- Ferrero Rocher Ice Cream (stop it!)
- Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream (Drool worthy)
- Air Fryer Fried Ice Cream Recipe (healthier than real deep fried ice cream)
- Healthier Fried Ice Cream Cake (a super easy ice cream cake)
More of our favorite ice cream recipes
Like this recipe?
Don’t forget to give it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating and leave a comment below the recipe!
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream I used organic
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk I like organic
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- ½ jar hot fudge sauce try and use one without corn syrup
- ½ bottle Magic Shell Fudge
- ½ – 1 package Mini Peanut Butter Cups Cut into halves or quarters
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer with the whisk attachment whip the whipping cream until stiff peaks form, then slowly add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Whip until combined, about 45-60 seconds.
- Stir in desired amount of peanut butter cups into ice cream batter.
- Pour on the desired amount of hot fudge mixture and add drizzle of Magic shell if desired.
- Add the rest of ice cream batter and add more Reese’s, hot fudge and magic shell, using a butter knife, gently swirl to combine. Freeze until firm, about 6 hours or overnight.
Notes
- Soft Serve consistency, within 1-2 hours
- Firm at the edges, soft in the middle 3-4 hours
- Firm and scoopable all the way through 6+ hours
- Adding marshmallows or other flavors would make it an entirely different “track” a rocky road moose track.
- Add a swirl of rich, thick caramel sauce for Caramel moose tracks.
- Make Chocolate Moose Tracks by adding 3 tablespoons quality cocoa powder when blending batter with a pinch of salt.
- Add brownie bits for brownie moose tracks.
- Try using my edible cookie dough for Cookie Dough Moose tracks!
Nutrition
Eileen
Absolutely delicious!!! Thank you. I even made my own hot fudge – and next time will have a homemade version of the magic shell as well.
I shared with my neighbor and here was her response: OMGosh! THIS IS OUTRAGEOUSLY DELICIOUS!
YEP, all caps! 🙂
Thank you sooo much, Eileen!! You made my day!
Penney Rante
Oh my goodness! This was the easiest, most delicious ice cream! My family gobbled it up so fast I never had time to take a picture. This is my new favorite ice cream.
Thank you SO MUCH! It’s our families favorite too!
TJ
Does the hot fudge freeze to a hardened state or does it stay kinda gooey/syrup-y? Can’t wait to try it!
The hot fudge stays on the softer side, but definitely firms up, if you use more of a chocolate sauce, I’m not sure how that will respond to freezing. Magic shell will definitely harden into nice chocolate chunks. Hope you love it!
Ieva
One of the easiest most delicious ice cream recipes out there! My little nieces and all the adults in the family thoroughly enjoyed the flavours, and I can’t believe how little hands-on time it required! Thanks – brilliant recipe! 🙂
Love hearing that, so easy right?!
kushigalu
My favorite ice cream flavor. Sounds so delicious. Thanks for sharing.
You are most welcome!
Jacqueline Meldrum
I was excited to see what this was and I wasn’t disappointed. Delicious!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Katherine
This is seriously amazing. All the BEST things in one awesome ice cream!
Truly!!
Gina
Moose track Ice Cream is one of my go-to flavors at ice cream shops. This was my first time making it at home and wow, it came out so creamy and delicious! I will be making this all summer long!
On repeat at our house too!
Jamie
This combined all of my favorite things into one dessert! I love the combination of fudge with the peanut butter cups. Yum!
I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t love it!
Jill
This moose tracks ice cream really hit the spot. My kids want me to be making this on repeat now. Thanks for the recipe!
We have the same kids!
Chenée
Moose tracks is my favorite and I never thought to make it at home! I’m so glad I found this recipe!
I’m so glad you did too!
Caitlin
This is a fabulous no churn ice cream recipe! Love the flavors so much!
Thank you so much!
Sara Welch
Such a delicious and refreshing recipe! The perfect way to cool down on a hot summer day; my whole family loved it!
Perfect for a hot summer day!
Tasia ~ two sugar bugs
We love ice cream and this no churn recipe does not disappoint! Even better than store bought moose tracks!
So much better than store bought!
Sunni
I will be making this recipe. It looks simply divine!