Description
Delight in these creamy vegan ice cream sandwiches made with naturally sweet banana soft serve, crunchy peanut butter cookies, and rich vegan chocolate chunks. Perfect for a refreshing vegan dessert that combines the lusciousness of homemade banana ice cream with the satisfying crunch of nutty cookies.
Ingredients
Scale
Ice Cream
- 4 large ripe bananas (or 6 small, sliced into coins and frozen overnight)
- 1 cup coconut cream or chilled full-fat canned coconut milk (use only the thick part from the top of the can)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Cookies
- 1 medium ripe banana
- 1 cup soft brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 cup crunchy peanut butter (such as NutShed Very Crunchy)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup ground almonds
- 3.5 oz (about 100g) vegan chocolate chips or dark chocolate chunks
Instructions
- Preparation (Day or Night Before): Slice the large ripe bananas into coins, place them in a reusable container or ziplock bag, and freeze overnight to prepare the base for the banana soft serve.
- Make the Ice Cream: Remove the frozen banana coins and let them sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften slightly. Place the banana slices into a food processor or high-speed blender with the coconut cream and vanilla bean paste. Blend starting on low speed and gradually increase until smooth and creamy. Transfer the banana soft serve to a 6×6 inch deep container suitable for freezing and use a cookie cutter to ensure the right size for ice cream discs. Freeze for 1½ to 2 hours to set.
- Prepare the Cookies: Preheat your oven to 180°C (356°F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mash the medium ripe banana using a fork. Add the soft brown sugar or coconut sugar, crunchy peanut butter, vanilla extract, baking soda, and sea salt. Mix with an electric whisk or stand mixer for about 30 seconds until combined. Add ground almonds and knead them into the dough by hand. Add the vegan chocolate chunks and mix evenly, reserving a few chunks to top the cookies.
- Shape and Bake the Cookies: Divide the cookie dough into 8 equal portions and roll into balls. Place them on the lined baking sheet, spaced 2 inches apart, and gently flatten into discs with your hands. Sprinkle reserved chocolate chunks on top. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes until lightly browned. While still hot, use a large round cookie cutter to clean the edges of each cookie. Let the cookies rest on the tray for 5 minutes.
- Cool the Cookies: Carefully slide the parchment paper with cookies onto a cooling rack. Allow cookies to cool at least 30 minutes or until they reach room temperature before assembling the sandwiches.
- Assemble the Ice Cream Sandwiches: Line a tray or plate that fits in your freezer with parchment paper. Place 4 cookies bottom side up. Using a cookie cutter slightly smaller than the cookies, cut out 4 discs of the frozen banana ice cream. Place one ice cream disc on each cookie and top with another cookie to form sandwiches.
- Serve or Store: Serve immediately for soft cookie texture or store sandwiches in the freezer up to 2 hours. For best results, assemble only what you plan to serve at once. The cookies can be stored separately in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days, and the ice cream kept in the freezer until ready to use.
Notes
- The ice cream sandwiches are best enjoyed on the day they are made to keep the cookies soft.
- If not serving all at once, store cookies and ice cream separately to maintain freshness and texture.
- Use a cookie cutter slightly smaller than the cookies to create perfectly sized ice cream discs for easy assembly.
- You can substitute coconut sugar for brown sugar to keep the recipe refined sugar-free.
- Ensure you use only the thick coconut cream from chilled canned coconut milk for the creamiest ice cream texture.
