vegan cookie dough ice cream [gluten-free, all-natural]

This ice cream dish is one of those things that you (and I) will crave all summer long.

Yes, it's really that good.

On day one, I made Vegan Cookie Dough Bites. I was like, "Holy crap, these are good."

On day two, those cookie dough bites were just begging to be made into ice cream.

And why not? Cookie dough ice cream is so good, it's like legend in the ice cream world.

It's been a long time since I have had cookie dough ice cream (at least 10 years, yes…years, folks).

You want to know how to make easy vegan ice cream? Frozen bananas, non-dairy milk, vanilla, cinnamon. Done. 

Yep, that's it.

Oh, and you may want to add in some more cookie dough bites. 

Just sayin. 

After popping it into the freezer for a little while, it will come out in perfect scoops. 

Top with homemade hard shell topping.

Perfection.

Vegan Cookie Dough Ice Cream [gluten-free]

Super Easy Vegan Ice Cream

2 to 3 frozen bananas (let them thaw for a few minutes)
1/4 cup dairy-free milk (I prefer almond milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 dashes salt
a pinch of cinnamon (my favorite secret ingredient)
10 (or more) Vegan Cookie Dough Bites
a small handful chocolate chips (optional)

Homemade Chocolate Hard Shell Topping

1/2 cup chocolate chips (dairy-free)
1-2 tablespoons coconut oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Put all ingredients for the ice cream in a food processor. Pulse ingredients at first, as the bananas may still be hard. After bananas have broken down a bit, process ice cream until smooth, stopping periodically to scrape down the sides. 
2. The ice cream will be soft at this point. Pour the mixture into a small glass pan (or medium-sized bowl). I absolutely LOVE chunks of cookie dough in my cookie dough ice cream, duh! At this point, I recommend roughly chopping up additional cookie dough bites and stirring them into your ice cream. Once finished stirring, place ice cream in freezer for about 30 minutes, as you want your ice cream to be "scoopable". 
3. While the ice cream is cooling in the freezer, make your chocolate hard shell topping. In a microwave-safe container, stir together chocolate chips and coconut oil. Melt chocolate mixture for about 30 seconds, stir, then put in for another 30 seconds. Stir until smooth.  
4. Once ice cream is frozen, scoop out as much ice cream as your heart desires. Drizzle chocolate topping on ice cream. As soon as this chocolate topping touches the cold ice cream, it will harden just like Magic Hardshell Chocolate Topping. It's amazing!

Once again, thank you Lee Hersh, for your inspiration.

vegan cookie dough bites [gluten-free]

sometimes i feel inspired.

to make cookie dough.

is it so bad that i crave it?

that's totally human of me, right?

ohmygahsh. 

don't that look so tasty?

and maybe try fudge-dipped too?
why not?

pop them in the freezer, and voila! you got a snack to eat on the go. perfect.

Vegan Cookie Dough Bites [gluten-free]

Cookie Dough

1 cup ground oats (oat flour)

1/3 to 1/2 cup almond butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 to 4 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 pinch of salt

1/4 cup chocolate chips (dairy-free)

Homemade Chocolate Fudge Topping

1/2 cup chocolate chips (dairy-free)

1 tablespoon butter substitute (Earth Balance works great)

DIRECTIONS

1. Place all ingredients together in a food processor with the mixer-attachment (or medium-sized bowl). If mixing in a bowl, use a wooden spoon. Process ingredients together, until smooth. It should have the consistency of regular cookie dough. 
2. Scoop out small portions of cookie dough. Roll each scoop into bite-sized pieces. Place these on a parchment-covered cookie sheet and cool in the freezer for about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, create chocolate fudge topping by heating chocolate chips in the microwave. After about 30 seconds, give chocolate a good stir. Melt chocolate for another 30 seconds. Afterwards, stir in butter substitute. As you stir in the butter substitute, the chocolate should cool and thicken a bit.
4. Remove cookie dough bites and dip/cover in fudge sauce. (You don't need to dip all the cookie dough bites, I only covered about half of them.)
5. Place cookie dough bites back in freezer for about 10 more minutes. When they are cooled, store them in a small tupperware or ziploc bag. Make sure you keep cookie dough bites in the freezer or fridge, as they will soften a bit at room temperature.

This girl was my inspiration for this. Stay tuned for Vegan Cookie Dough Ice Cream tomorrow. :)