Description
Delight in these creamy, refreshing Vegan Ice Cream Sandwiches made with naturally sweet frozen bananas and crunchy peanut butter cookies. This recipe combines the smooth texture of homemade banana coconut ice cream with soft, chocolate-studded vegan cookies, creating a perfect vegan-friendly dessert that’s easy to prepare ahead and sure to please everyone.
Ingredients
Scale
Ice Cream
- 4 large ripe bananas (or 6 small bananas), sliced and frozen
- 1 cup coconut cream or chilled full fat canned coconut milk (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 (e.g., NutShed Very Crunchy)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup ground almonds
- 3.5 oz vegan chocolate chips or dark chocolate cut into chunks
Instructions
- Preparation (Day or Night Before): Slice the ripe bananas into coins and place them in a reusable container or ziplock bag. Freeze overnight to get a firm base for the ice cream.
- Ice Cream Making: Remove the frozen banana slices from the freezer and let them sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften slightly. Place the bananas, coconut cream, and vanilla bean paste in a food processor or high-speed blender. Blend starting on low speed and gradually increase to high until the mixture is smooth and creamy like soft serve.
- Freezing Ice Cream: Transfer the banana soft serve into a 6×6 inch deep container or lunch box. Freeze for 1½ to 2 hours to firm up the ice cream while you prepare the cookies.
- Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 180°C (356°F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Mix Cookie Dough: In a large bowl, mash one ripe banana with a fork. Add soft brown sugar, crunchy peanut butter, vanilla extract, baking soda, and sea salt. Use an electric whisk or stand mixer for about 30 seconds until fully combined. Add ground almonds and knead by hand into the dough. Finally, mix in the vegan chocolate chunks, reserving some for topping.
- Form Cookies: Divide dough into 8 equal balls. Place them evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten each ball into cookie discs using your hands. Press reserved chocolate chunks on top of each cookie if desired.
- Bake Cookies: Bake for 10 to 11 minutes until cookies are lightly browned. While still hot, use a large round cookie cutter to smooth the edges in circular motions. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the tray.
- Cool Cookies: Carefully transfer the parchment paper with cookies to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely for at least 30 minutes until room temperature is reached for easy assembly.
- Assemble Sandwiches: Line a tray with parchment paper that fits in your freezer. Place 4 cookies bottom side up. Using a cookie cutter slightly smaller than the cookies, cut out 4 discs of ice cream. Place an ice cream disc on top of each cookie, then cover with another cookie to form sandwiches.
- Serving and Storage: Serve ice cream sandwiches immediately for best texture. Alternatively, store assembled sandwiches in the freezer for up to 2 hours. Unassembled cookies keep up to 3-4 days in an airtight container at room temperature, and ice cream can stay frozen until ready to use.
Notes
- Best served the day they are made to enjoy soft cookie texture with creamy ice cream.
- Freeze ice cream base well before blending for smoother consistency.
- If not eating all sandwiches at once, store cookies and ice cream separately.
- Use a cookie cutter slightly smaller than cookies to reduce mess during assembly.
- Ground almonds can be substituted with almond flour if more convenient.
