Banana Date Ice Cream Sammie’s

1.) Before you start this recipe, make sure your bananas are frozen in chunks, and if possible keep your coconut milk in the fridge.

2.) Add your bananas, coconut milk/cream, honey, vanilla and cinnamon to a food processor or blender.

3.) Blend the ingredients together until you have a smooth texture, similar to soft serve ice cream. Transfer the ice cream into a container and place it in the freezer for at least a few hours, or until frozen.

4.) In a food processor (A blender might also work for this, but I haven’t tried it.) combine your pitted dates, 1/4 cup coconut, and salt. Blend until all the dates are finely chopped.

5.) Get out two pieces of parchment paper. Sprinkle some extra coconut on the bottom piece of parchment paper as well as the top of the dough.

6.) Cover the top of your dough with the other piece of parchment paper, then roll it out with a rolling pin or a water bottle. Roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch to 1/8 inch thick. Sprinkle some more coconut on top and press it down lightly.

7.) Cut out little circles about 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter. Place these in the freezer.

8.) Scoop some ice cream out onto each cookie, then make a sandwich! This recipe makes a little more ice cream than you need, so feel free to stuff the sammie’s high!

9.) Eat them now or dip them in a chocolate shell. To make the chocolate shell combine 2 tbsp liquid coconut oil, 1 tsp maple syrup, and 2 tbsp cocoa powder. When you dip the sammie’s in the chocolate, it will harden immediately.

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Banana Date Ice Cream Sammie’s (Total Time: A few hours, Prep Time: 15 minutes, Serves: 6)

I’ve seen this “nice cream” trend lots of places, so I decided to try it out. However I wasn’t feeling like just plain banana blended up would impress me much, so I upgraded the idea a bit. These are not your typical ice cream sandwich by any means, but still pretty tasty in my opinion. The ice cream has a strong banana flavor and is surprisingly rich and creamy (probably thanks to the coconut milk), and the date “cookie” reminds me a little bit of gooey caramel. The first time I made these my brother said they were good, but would be better with chocolate. I obviously am never opposed to adding chocolate, so I decided to dip them in a chocolate shell. I highly recommend doing so, as it also adds a little crunch and bitterness. The only downfall of this recipe is waiting for your ice cream to freeze, but a little patience is worth it. Give these a try on the next sunny day this summer!

Ingredients

1 large banana, frozen and cut into chunks

4 tbsp coconut cream plus 1-2tbsp coconut water (When you keep your coconut milk in the fridge the cream and water separate; you want the cream for fat and the water to loosen things up a bit.)

1 tsp vanilla

A sprinkle of cinnamon

A drizzle of honey

5 pitted dates

A sprinkle of salt

1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut plus extra for sprinkling

Optional: 2 tbsp liquid coconut oil, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp maple syrup

Directions

1.) Blend the first 5 ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth and creamy. Transfer this mixture to a container and let it harden in the freezer for a few hours or overnight.

2.) Blend the dates, salt and coconut in a food processor until the dates are finely chopped and the mixture looks like a dough.

3.) Next, sprinkle a little bit of shredded coconut onto a piece of parchment paper. Place your dough on top, then sprinkle more coconut on top of the dough. Cover the dough with the other piece of parchment, and roll it out with a rolling pin until it is between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick.

4.) With a small cup or cookie cutter, cut out circles in the dough. The circles should be around 2 inches in diameter, or a little less depending on how big you want your ice cream sandwiches. Place the cut out dough into the freezer for a few minutes or so, just to let them harden up a bit.

5.) Next, start scooping out your ice cream and assembling the sandwiches. You can make them as thick or thin as you want, I usually go for about an inch of ice cream.

6.) You can be done here, or coat them in a chocolate shell. To do so, melt the coconut oil in the microwave, then stir in the cocoa powder and maple syrup. Dip the cold ice cream sandwiches in the chocolate. A shell will form in seconds. Pop the sammie’s back into the freezer, or eat them all now!