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.

Eggnog Ice Cream

Have you ever had one of those days where you feel really lazy?

So lazy that you stop caring and then feel so completely unmotivated to do anything?

That's exactly how I felt when I decided to make eggnog ice cream.

I wanted ice cream.

I wanted eggnog.

And I most definitely wanted them together.

Eggnog ice cream. It just sounded so good.

But then again, I was feeling LAZY.

So what did I do?

I cheated.

I didn't make eggnog ice cream from scratch.

In fact, I scratched the whole scratch idea.

And this is the result.

Come on...you can't deny that it looks delicious! :)

Lazy Day Eggnog Ice Cream

For a semi-icy consistency:

• 1 quart eggnog
• 1/4-1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• Spices to taste (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves--even pumpkin pie spice)

1. Stir all ingredients together and place into a chilled ice cream maker bowl.
2. Follow manufacturer's instructions.

For a creamier version:

• 3/4 quart eggnog
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/4-1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• Spices to taste (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves)

1. Stir all ingredients together and place into a chilled ice cream maker bowl.
2. Follow manufacturer's instructions.
3. This will yield soft serve ice cream right out of the machine. Transfer to tupperware and freeze for a few hours to get "regular" consistency ice cream. 
4. You can even sprinkle the ice cream with some spices before serving.

Oh and by the way, Happy Christmas Eve :)

Question of the Day:

What is your favorite kind of ice cream?