It’s beginning to look a lot like SUMMER, despite it being only January (that is what you get when you live in Southern California). So to celebrate, I’m making everyone these gluten, egg, dairy, flour, and refined sugar-free (and everything else!) frozen treats. I shall call them Healthy Ice Cream Sandwiches! Can you believe that this tower of goodness actually is good for you? I know…look again.
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They look so decadent and sinful but are full of good-for-you ingredients, you won’t even believe it. And the best part is neither will your kids. I know mom and dad, you’re so welcome. You can pay me back by sending me a check. No seriously, you can send me a check…
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Chickpea peanut butter cookies and banana ice cream create these ultra tasty and easy-to-assemble Healthy Ice Cream Sandwiches.
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PinIngredients
For the Banana Ice Cream:
- 3 ripe bananas
- 1 Tbsp. non-dairy milk
- 2 tsp. maple syrup (optional, the bananas provide a lot of sweetness as is)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
For the Peanut Butter Cookies:
- 1/2 c. peanut butter, smooth or chunky (almond or sun butter works too)
- 1/2 c. white beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 c. gluten-free old-fashioned oats
- 2 Tbsp. applesauce
- 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/3 c. non-dairy chocolate chips (plus more for rolling) – optional
Instructions
To make the banana ice cream
- Line a small rectangular dish (I used a 6×4 sized dish) with parchment paper. Feel free to use whatever size or dish you have (you can even use a round pan). Just know that the bigger you use, the thinner the ice cream filling is vs. the small the pan, the thicker the slices.
- Blend everything up in a high-speed blender until smooth. Place into the dish and freeze until set (approximately 2+ hours).
To make the cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In food processor blend everything (except the chocolate chips) together smooth, yet thick enough to form into a dough. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Roll about 1 Tbsp. of dough into a ball between hands and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Shape with your hands by gently flattening dough down into 2″ diameter circles. These will not spread while baking so it’s important to shape them prior to.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly brown along the edges and allow to cool on the baking sheet. Transfer to the freezer until ready to assemble.
To assemble
- Take a 2″ circle biscuit cutter and make cut-outs in the dish holding the banana ice cream. Place in between 2 frozen cookies (optional: coat with non-dairy chocolate chips) and freeze again until fully set.
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Lisa
November 24, 2017 at 6:47 pmDo you think it would still work if I left out the oats and apple sauce? I canât have either
Audra
May 10, 2017 at 6:19 pmThis may be a really, REALLY dumb question but are the beans raw or cooked? I assumed cooked but looking at the photos it looks like there may be chunks of bean?
Tamara
July 16, 2016 at 6:12 amHi, I truly can not eat anything with banana in it. Is there another healthy way to make the ice cream without having banana in the recipe? I have noticed there are so many tasty healthy recipes that have banana in them and so I am unable to make them and it limits my options…I would love to know what I could substitute the bananas. Thank you!
Cara
July 22, 2016 at 4:33 pmSorry Tamara, but this is specifically for banana ice cream đ You can always try other frozen fruits that are similar in texture when blended or use a coconut based ice cream. If you search strawberry semifreddo on my site, you will find a banana free option. Good luck!
Jade
August 30, 2015 at 7:47 amThese look so good! I’m a relative new vegan, and seeing recipes like this gives me a lot of confidence I can sustain it! Thanks for sharing đ
-Jade x
★★★★★
ball
March 4, 2014 at 12:28 amThank you for share.It very nice.I like to eat Ice Cream.
Samantha
February 10, 2014 at 10:59 pmHi,
I just made these and while they taste pretty good… they turned kindof well, green! The only thing I changed was I used sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter. Any idea why this would happen? Were your cookies crunchy or soft? I can’t tell from the photos.
Mine were quite fluffy and not sure they’d hold up in an ice cream sandwich, do you know what I might have done wrong?
Thank you!
Cara
February 11, 2014 at 8:47 amYou have been greened, Samantha! đ I should have mentioned that in the recipe that when you bake sunflower butter, the chemical reaction creates a greenish hue. Weird huh? So you did nothing wrong! Sounds like these can be the perfect St. Patrick’s Day cookie đ Mine were a little fluffy too that is why I made sure to flatten them down prior to baking and them placed them in the freezer afterwards to firm up. Does that help with your questions or did you do that too? If so, let me know and we can brainstorm more possibilities of what happened. Glad they tasted good though. Yay for silver linings đ xo
Tiffany Mooney
July 12, 2016 at 7:28 amI made these yesterday and it seemed like I made a lot more cookies than ice cream (banana part… ie. I don’t have enough of the ice cream to fill all of my sandwiches). I know I could easily make more of the banana ice cream by doubling this part of the recipe but was wondering if I had done something wrong?
Also my cookies seemed fairly crumbly and didn’t fluff up like yours did in the pictures. Any tips??
Xoxo.
Lisa
January 26, 2014 at 6:52 amThis looks fantastic but I cant have oats đ What would you recommend as a substitute?
Cara
January 27, 2014 at 9:53 amUnfortunately I have only tried oats so I’m not really 100% sure that anything else will be a good substitute. I think if you added a light flour like almond meal, or any flour really, that could work.
Brooke @ glutenfreeanonymous.com
January 22, 2014 at 10:31 pmThese look to die for! I miss ice cream sandwiches so much but they ARE bad for you so I guess it’s a good thing I have to stay away! I seriously can’t wait to make these! Thank you for such a fabulous, healthy alternative! LOVE your website, btw!
Kathy
January 22, 2014 at 5:33 amMade these yesterday. They are fantastic. Thanks for creating such amazing recipes!!
Cara
January 22, 2014 at 2:32 pmHooray! I love hearing that đ
Ty
January 17, 2014 at 12:51 pmThose look great!
Cara
January 22, 2014 at 2:50 pmThank you so much Ty! xo
The Vegan Cookie Fairy
January 17, 2014 at 4:53 amHm, these look tasty! Can you believe I’ve never had an ice cream sandwich?!
Cara
January 22, 2014 at 2:53 pmWHAT??! No way. I used live off of the store-bought kind (shocker). You must make these now! You are the cookie fairy after all đ xo
Jackie at Vegan Yack Attack
January 16, 2014 at 10:36 amOh.. Oh my. These look utterly FANTASTIC! A serious thing of beauty, or not so serious. Whatever. I want them!
Cara
January 22, 2014 at 2:52 pmI can always do a drive-by Ice Cream Sandwiching… đ