Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Soft Serve Nice Cream [Raw, Vegan, Gluten Free]

Welcome back to weekday life guys, how went your weekends? I’ve gotta tell you, I’m SO excited about this recipe today! Good news, this one is genuinely healthy enough that you could feel good eating it for breakfast. That’s right, ice cream that the kiddos will love and won’t know is actually healthy! Oh, oh, and even better news! It’s only got 5 ingredients!!!

Well okay, so there are some nuance ones that are optional but the point is that if you only use the base 5 it would still be amazing and it’s so easy to make. You may find it hard to believe that it can be so good once I tell you what’s in it, but you’re just gonna have to trust me on this one. I mean, the truth is that if all foods were made equal and you were going by taste alone, yeah, you’d obviously still choose the real stuff, but since chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream is on almost every no-no list there is, this is a wonderful alternative. Should I spill the secrets? All right, here’s the breakdown; dates, cashews, bananas, coconut cream, and dairy free chocolate chips, that’s it! Then optionally, you can add a little extra yumminess with salt, vanilla, and cinnamon but it’s not a have-to.

Guys, I discovered something when making this……I love dates!!” Haha, I asked my Mom if she could find me some dates the other day and then realized when everyone around started laughing, including me, how it could have multiple meanings. I tried to fix it by clarifying that I meant the edible kind and then it just started getting weird, oops. Being a depressingly single lady right now, I told her I’d be pretty okay with either one she was able to bring home and she promised to do her best. Thanks Mom, for always having my back.

But anyway, speaking of the food variety, you should probably be warned that it’s highly probable I’ll be forming an obsession with dates or at least having a really, really long moment with them. I remember my grandma buying them when I was little and I used to think they looked like cockroaches so I downright refused to ever try them. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I even first tasted them and I seem to remember not being overly impressed. You know what though, that’s because I had never tried using them in a recipe until now. I’m totally hooked.

So this is really fast and easy and all you need are the ingredients and a blender or small processor. If you’ve got one of those magic bullet things I bet that would work. First you puree the nuts and dates together and add the chocolate. Then you press that together and chop it into little bite-size pieces and get them in the freezer to get sold. After that you throw the nanners and coconut cream into the same blender (no need to clean it out, yay!) and pulse until it’s like soft serve. Then mix in your cookie dough and devour!!!

If you want to eat it more like solid ice cream you can freeze it for later but it does get a bit icey when simply frozen as is. However, if you have an ice cream machine I’d use that as churning it should give you a really good result for scoopable ice cream. Honestly, I’m usually too forgetful to put my ice cream machine in the freezer so I did try just freezing the extras and it was still good. Throwing it back in the blender helped revive it too, but you lose your perfect cookie dough chunks that way. It’s best to try to make and eat it fresh. There is also the no heating or cooking factor that makes this even more perfect for heat season when you’re trying to stay cool, but the flip side is that it’s full of good nutritious energy that will help you warm up for us southern hemispherians.

Bottom line, you just need to make this!

Print

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Soft Serve Nice Cream [Raw, Vegan, Gluten Free]

It might sound too good to be true but healthy cookie dough ice cream is a thing! Bonus points that it's easy to make!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 23 hours 46 minutes

freezing time 1 hour

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

Cookie Dough:

• 1 cup shelled raw cashews
• 1 cups pitted dates
• 1/8 teaspoon salt optional
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract optional
• 1/4 mini chocolate chips or finely chopped dark chocolate check brands to make sure that it fits your dietary restrictions if necessary[optional]

Nice Cream:

• 5 - 6 very ripe bananas frozen
• 1 cup coconut cream ice cold [not milk, see note]
• 1/8 teaspoon salt optional
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract optional
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon optional

Instructions

1. Before making be sure to put your bananas and coconut cream in the freezer to make sure they are as cold as possible. (Although, don't leave the coconut cream in the freezer for more than an hour or two or it will freeze too much)
2. Combine the cashews, date, and if using, salt and vanilla in a food processor or blender (a small one works best) and pulse together until as smooth as you'd like. I left mine a bit gritty for texture but if you'd rather, you should probably be able to get it completely pureed. Pour in chocolate chips and pulse just to combine.
3. Now scrape the "dough" out onto a plate or cutting board and press it into a rectangular slab. Use a sharp knife to chop it into small cubes then place them in an air-tight container and freeze for at least 30 minutes. (Alternatively, if you want perfectly round balls, you can take the time to roll it by hand but the other method is faster.)
4. Now, using the same processor (Yay, less dishes!) add your bananas, coconut cream, and if using salt, vanilla, and cinnamon. Process until smooth. Stir in cookie dough balls and serve as soon as possible.

Recipe Notes

If you can't find coconut cream you can buy full-fat coconut milk and chill it in the fridge for a few hours. Then just use the thick white cream that separates to the top and reserve the rest for another purpose