While it is officially autumn here, we still have beautiful, sunny days in NZ. As long as I get one or two sun rays landing on my nose, I will not store the ice-cream maker away 😉
The other day I made these vegan & gluten-free chocolate cookies. And I thought, how would they be in a cookies & cream ice-cream recipe? Turns out, they are delicious! 🙂
While I have made the ice dream recipe with cashews, you can also use a plant-based milk alternative instead of cashews and water for a nut-free option.
As always, this recipe works with or without an ice cream maker. You can find the instructions for both options below.
For approx. 1.5 liter you’ll need:
3 cups (750ml) filtered water
1 1/2 cup (210g) dates, pitted
3/4 cup (100g) cashews, preferably soaked in filtered water for at least 4 hours
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or vanilla essence
1 cup (approx. 100g) chopped or crumbles cookies (I used this recipe)
Preparation with ice-cream maker
1. In a high-speed blender, blend all ingredients but the cookies until smooth. If your blender isn’t very powerful, let the dates soak in the water for a while.
2. Transfer mixture to the ice cream maker and churn until it is almost finished.
3. Pour in the cup of chopped/crumbled cookies and let churn for another 2 or 3 minutes.
4. Scoop the ice ‘dream’ into a freezer safe container and pop in freezer for an hour or so to let firm up properly.
Preparation without high-speed blender
1. In a high-speed blender, blend all ingredients but the cookies until smooth. If your blender isn’t very powerful, let the dates soak in the water for a while.
2. Transfer the mixture into freezer safe containers, filling the container not higher than the thickness of your finger. Place in freezer until solid.
3. Pop frozen ice dream slabs onto work bench and cut into cubes.
4. Place ice cubes in high speed blender and using the tamper, push them at medium speed into the blades until it is ice-creamy.
5. Scoop a layer of the ice ‘cream’ into a freezer safe container, sprinkle with chopped/crumbled cookies. Then add another layer and sprinkle with cookies again. Repeat until finished. Place in freezer until it is more firm.
Enjoy! 🙂
Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.
