No baking, no churning, no spoon required for this easy dessert recipe–these vegan and paleo cookie dough ice cream sandwiches are a healthy summer treat!
There have been ice cream pops. And ice cream floats. Ice cream bowls. Ice cream in an instant. Ice cream, some patience required. Ice cream with chunks. Ice cream with sprinkles. And even ice cream that fell from the cone to floor and never made it to the blog. R.I.P chocolate chip strawberry swirl in a sugar cone.
And the frozen recipe family expands again! Because I’m certainly not done craving pretty much exclusively cold and creamy things, and hopefully you’re not either.
Today’s foray into a so-far-unexplored-on-the blog-this-year ice cream form is in collaboration with the always amazing Leah from Love Me, Feed Me. Because she’s been all about the chilly treats lately too with some crazydelicious pop flavors, not to mention much more on trend than I am since apparently I missed the #popsicleweek memo.
But who’s really surprised? Not me.
Enough about how I live under a rock oblivious to all the hashtag things though.
The truly pressing, deeply concerning matter on my mind today: If these are ice cream sandwiches, but ice cream betweeen two round baked cookies is also an ice cream sandwich, and “ice cream bars” are pretty much popsicles going by another name…WHY?
Because if you ask me, everything about this square-shaped layered ice cream situation screams “Call me an ice cream bar!” Yet it’s technically an ice cream sandwich. But this is coming from the girl who used to order a build-your-own triple layer froyo parfait with cookie dough and vanilla ice cream for all three layers every single time, so what do I know.
Sidenote: Is it weird to anyone else to think that froyo wasn’t always self-serve? That not that long ago there wasn’t the option to sample any/every flavor by awkwardly licking it out of a tiny white condiment cup? And you couldn’t concoct a hideous can’t-make-up-my-mind mess with a little bit of 5 different flavors, 7 different toppings, caramel AND fudge sauce, and a single piece of that chocolate chunk thing you can’t identify but skeptically placed on top anyways just because you can? Times have changed, we pick ice cream toppings by most delicious for the weight, and most of us suck at swirling froyo.
But back to vanilla + cookie dough…
Yep, I was boring like that. Or maybe genius like that – why mess with a good thing, right? Because cookie dough + vanilla ice cream is a very good thing. A thing I will never get tired of. A thing that has the perfect texture contrast of chewy and creamy and chippy. A thing that was worth forgoing all the other soft serve flavors and ignoring the rest of the topping options for. A thing I just turned from layered treat requiring an extra-long spoon into hand-held mostly healthy dessert sandwich.
Cookie dough. Baking cookies, waiting for them too cool, making the ice cream, and then having to scoop and smush each one individually sounded like a lot more effort than I cared to exert for my ice cream dessert-ing. So I simplified and streamlined the process.
No bake cookie DOUGH instead of cookies with only 3 essential + 2 optional ingredients. It just happens to be vegan, date-sweetened, and paleo too (a.k.a. make extra because it’s a scrumdiddlyumptious little treat all it’s own!)
No cooling time because no baking. Which means no heating up the entire house when it’s already a zillion degrees outside either, because your AC bill is very important to me.
And if you press it all into a pan, freeze, then cut into individual bars sandwiches you get 8 perfect servings but only have to smush once.
Ice cream. Now you could sandwich any kind of vanilla ice cream between those two layers of chocolate chip dough. I personally created a nice cream + coconut milk ice cream hybrid for the filling because it’s the perfect balance of creamy and fruity-sweet.
It’s just as simple as it sounds – frozen bananas blended with full-fat coconut milk and then stirred a few times as it’s freezing to prevent icy-ness. Because it will be quite liquid-y after blending, you want to give it a couple of hours head start on freezing before trying to add the top layer of cookie. Makes the whole stirring thing a lot easier too.
And if you’ve made it this far, firstly welcome to the True Ice Cream Sandwich Lovers Club. But secondly, you must see the epic ice cream sandwich-ing Leah is sharing today. So go, go, go → HERE for Ginger Rhubarb Mini Donut Ice Cream Sandwiches!
Happy sweet simple cookie dough / ice cream / cookie dough layering to you!
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Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Yield: 8 sandwiches 1x
- Category: dessert
- Method: freezer
- Cuisine: american
Description
No baking, no churning, no spoon required for this easy dessert recipe–these vegan and paleo cookie dough ice cream sandwiches are a healthy summer treat!
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup date paste
- 2/3 cup coconut flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
Ice Cream
- 3–4 frozen bananas
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk
- Optional: more chocolate chips
Instructions
- Combine all the cookie dough ingredients. Mix. It should just barely hold together, if it’s too dry add more date paste.
- Divide into 2 equal parts.
- Press half of the dough into the bottom of an 8×5″ pan (or a loaf pan or even a tupperware container) lined with parchment paper.
- Blend the frozen bananas and coconut milk until smooth. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and blend briefly to combine.
- Pour on top of the cookie dough.
- Freeze for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes to prevent ice crystals.
- Press the other half of the cookie dough into a rectangle.
- Once the ice cream is firm enough, add the top layer of cookie dough and gently press.
- Freeze overnight (or at least 8 hours).
- Once frozen, slice into bars and enjoy! Keep in the freezer.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ice cream sandwich
- Calories: 247
- Sugar: 27g
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
- Fiber: 7g
- Protein: 4g
Keywords: no bake, frozen, dessert, easy, vegan, dairy-free, nice cream
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Oh. My. Goodness.
These look IRRESISTIBLE!! Girl, you knock my socks off. You know my every craving before I even do, sometimes. I cannot wait to try these! Oh, and I absolutely love your words – you are an amazing and captivating writer! 🙂
Well good thing because it is way too hot for socks right now anyways! Or if you are wearing socks then you need at least two ice cream sandwiches to counter balance 😉
I love how minimalist these are! No bake chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream sandwiches for life! Also, thanks for caring about my A/C bill because it can get crazyyy during these summer months 😉
Tell me about it! I loved baked treats too much to leave the oven off all summer, but the more no-bake but still tastes like cake/cookie treat the better 🙂 Thanks Ashley!
The prettiest little sandwiches I ever did see! Seriously though, super impressive how clean and beautiful you make these treats look, since they can be so messy, drippy, and melty, in the best way possible. Also LOVE that you made this so simple! No baking required means one of these gems in my belly even faster, so I’m definitely a fan of that. Legit giggled at your fro-yo experience description because I feel like we can all relate. Sooo many options. Although I’d pass up froyo for a pan full of these sandwiches in my freezer on any summer day, for sure!
Oh trust me, there was still a mess by the end of the shoot haha! Thanks Sara 🙂
Is it bad that I want to eat the cookie dough ALL ON ITS OWN!? Sounds amazing and I LOVE the ingredients! This whole recipe is genius though!
Not bad…soooooo relatable. I could’ve just stopped there too and saved the ice cream-ing for another snack too 😀
Could you use a different flour? Like oat flour?
Yes you can, but you will need probably double the amount of flour or much less date paste because coconut flour is very absorptive. Just add the flour slowly and adjust until you get the right texture. Good luck!
Does coconut flour go stale? When I mixed into the paste it smelled amazing, but tasted like soap? I’m so heartbroken 🙁
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Hmm I’m not sure, but possibly. It definitely shouldn’t taste like soap. What brand are you using?
Can these be made without full fat coconut milk? I only have reduced fat coconut milk in my pantry.
You can, just know that the ice cream layer will not be as creamy that way. I suggest using less milk and more bananas if you are using the low fat stuff, or even adding some nut butter if you have it can help with the creamy ice cream texture. Hope you enjoy!
Can you use prunes rather than dates? Sooooo excited to make this…and then tell my husband what all is in it AFTER he scarfed down half the batch! Yay for healthy AND yummy desserts!
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Absolutely! It will obviously taste different but prunes will work just as well. Haha I love you plan, I hope he is totally shocked by how healthy they secretly are 😀
How do you think it would do as a snickerdoodle type dough? Any suggestions on what to add, just cinnamon? Thinking about making these for a birthday surprise and my boyfriend love snickerdoodles (have a feeling he’d love them as is though too!)
That sounds like a delicious idea, I love it! Snickerdoodles are typically vanilla and cinnamon, so since they already have the vanilla I would just add a generous teaspoon of cinnamon to the dough and maybe some cinnamon sugar on the outside if you want. I hope he loves them 🙂
Do you have a recipe for date paste? I can’t wait to try these!!
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Yep, right here: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/date-paste/ Hope you love them!
My brain has been a ‘spinning beachball of death’ ever since I clicked through the photos. Neural network. Frozen.
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Hahahaha!! This is quite possibly the most creative comment I’ve ever received 😀 Love it! Hopefully the beachball stops spinning soon and you can get to no-baking!
They must be delicious omg!
Unfortunately I don’t have coconut flour, what can I substitute it for?
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Hi Caterina! You can use oat flour but you will need quite a bit more (about 1.5-2 cups). The texture is not as “baked” like with the oat flour but it will still work. You could try almond flour as well, but I haven’t tested it so can’t give you an estimated amount although it will be similar to the oat. Good luck!
I love this recipe! I had a coupon for free halo top and chose strawberry 🍓 😋 I’m not dairy free and love extra protien so this works for me! It was delicious, but I could easily make strawberry nice cream too 😊 It was kid-approved!!
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That sounds so yummy together flavor wise, and even better (and easier) when the filing layer is free🍓🤗 I’m so happy you liked it Gabrielle!
Now, this is the epitome of raw!! Not even baking the cookies, wow! Talk about easy! And I love a good ice cream sandwich…creamy ice cream sandwiched in between yummy chocolate chip cookies…doesn’t get much better than that! I love the donut ice cream sandwiches Leah made too….oh man, I bet that was hard to get a mouth around that big thing, LOL! I would be happy trying to shove it into my mouth though. I love, love ginger too, so will definitely have to check those out. I swear, I know it seems obvious since it is summer and so dang hot out, but I swear I have been eating SO much more ice cream this year than I think I ever have during summer. I am embarrassed to even say how much ice cream is in my freezer right now, hahaha. I totally see a spot though to fit some ice cream sandwiches in ;). One can never have too many back up ice cream plans, am-i-right? These just look too good and I love how kid-friendly they are. Kids love cookies, they love ice cream..so these are pretty much perfect!
I think maybe it’s because I’ve been doing less ginormous banana smoothies lately, but i have been eating TONS of ice cream this year too haha! Gotta get my cold creamy fix somehow with this heat…or at least that’s my excuse 😀 I adore those little donut sandwiches Leah made, such a cute idea. And I’m sure I would make an absolutely mess eating them as well but it would be 100% worth every melty bite. Ice cream always has a wonderfully child-like feel to me, but even moreso with all those mini chips involved 🙂 Thanks for checking them out Brandi!
These look amazing! However, I’m on the Keto diet and was wondering what can be sub’d for the date paste.
You could try nut butter, but I can’t guarantee it will work and it won’t be very sweet at all. Considering the date paste is more than half of the cookie dough its hard to think of a good sub for it. Sorry and good luck if you do try it!
Wowowowowwowwwww!! These are sooo beautiful Natalie! I am so obsessed with cookie sandwiches. These look so delicious – I have to make them asap! I need one in my belly right now haha! Thank you for sharing another beautiful recipe! <3
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Cookie dough and ice cream, what’s not to crave 🙂 Thanks Harriet!
I made these and had super high hopes because they’re so beautiful in the pictures! The “ice cream” was just banana flavored ice…i stirred it just like the directions say. It was super yucky and I ended up having to hurry and throw together another dessert for the 4th of July party I planned to bring it to. 😫 Any tips on what could’ve went wrong?
Did you use full fat coconut milk? Any kind of lower fat non-dairy milk will make it very icy. And letting them thaw for 5-10 minutes before eating is always a good idea too. Sorry it didn’t work out for you, if the banana ice cream isn’t your thing though you can always use store-bought vanilla ice cream instead next time.
I ended up using a full fat cashew milk, not thinking it would change the consistency! It sure did. The cookie part was excellent though! Thanks!!
This looks so delicious! 🙂
Let’s just say I was not mad about having to remake these because the first round of photos were too melty😋😋
These speak to my soul on so many levels. So in love. Even just that cookie dough on its own looks like a dream! The cookie monster in me kind of wants to fill them with cookie dough ice cream… is that too much??? 😉 Loved collab-ing with you, girly!!
It also is v weird froyo wasn’t always self-serve… what’s even the point?? making it yourself is the best part!!
Fun fact: once I tried to make something similar, but was impatient and the top layer just sank and it was a big ol mess.
I can relate very much to your inner cookie monster, umm no such thing as too much 🙂 Hahaha the funny thing is I can totally see myself making the same impatient mistake too! And then grabbing a spoon of course because at that point there are no other logical options. I always love collabing with you too <3
OMG, these look seriously so good! Whenever I make ice cream sandwiches, I always make them with cookies, but I love these huuuge ice cream sandwiches cut into individual ones.
Your photos always have been beautiful, but these are just simply perfection!! <3 Not to speak of the prettiest food porn videos ever 😀
I usually make them with cookies too, but sometimes laziness leads to lovely new square-sandwich discoveries! Haha that made me think of Voldemort…videos who must not be named 😀
Sorry if I missed it, but what size pan/dish did you use? Thanks
I just added a link to the exact pan I used, it’s about 8×5″ but a standard loaf pan will work too! Enjoy 🙂
OMG, seriously, girl, you are killing me. I am craving these sandwiches so badly now, I even had to share them on my Facebook account. 😀 Can’t wait to make this recipe. I also need this cute loaf pan, hahaha!! Big hug to ya.
Ah you are the best, thanks for sharing them Ela <3 That pan has become my favorite!! It's just the right (although odd) size for everything 🙂
DANG these sound/look completely delicious. Cookie dough ice cream is my fave so I am intrigued by this better for you version.
It’s my favorite too! Okay one of…there are too many yummy flavors to choose 🙂 But so good in sandwich form too!
Question, I ran out of coconut flour so would I be able to sub for all purpose flour or any other gf flour?
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Almond flour would be next best for texture, AP or a GF blend would be really gummy and not taste very good since the cookie part isn’t baked. Even with the almond though you will need a lot more flour or less date paste since it’s not as absorbent as coconut flour. Good luck!
I just made these, I had trouble with the tip layer over the icecream.
It crumbled on me when I tried to pick it up to put over the icecream.
I also used cocoa nibs cause I ran out of chips.
And I used a loaf pan, I did notice that the dough was very thin as I had to fit it in the pan.
Any suggestions??
The cocoa nibs should be fine, and a loaf pan is a bit bigger than the one I used so that will make the cookie part thinner. But my best tip is to use wax or parchment paper for pressing out and flipping on the top cookie layer, that makes things MUCH easier. And luckily this no bake dough is very easy to repair and press back together if it does break in a few places during the fip🙂
Awesome!
I did use parchment paper, I will though try to purchase an 8×5 pan soon.
Thanks, tonight will be the big taste reveal..lol
I can’t wait to try it.
Keep you posted.
How long can I keep them in the freezer? 🙂 Not saying they won’t be gone in 2 days but I’ll still ask
Haha I appreciate you honesty! They are best eaten within 2-3 days of making. They won’t go bad or anything for a while, but the texture and taste will start to get weird and freezer-y after that. Enjoy 🙂
Hi Natalie!
I made these last week and the flavor was great but the ice cream was kind of icy . . . I used Native Forest Classic coconut milk, 4 bananas (only 2 were frozen because I was short on time) and a little vanilla extract. I stirred it every 30 min for 2 hours like the directions said. Anything I should do next time to improve the creaminess? Thanks!
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Sorry to hear than Kana. Using only frozen bananas will help as colder to start = less freezing time = less time for ice crystals to form. Other than that you could use just the cream from 2 cans of coconut milk (chilled overnight and separated) instead of the milk from 1 if you don’t mind the extra fat content, but I tried to strike a balance between creamy and high fat hence the milk called for. Also as with any homemade gum/thickener free ice cream, letting them thaw for 10-15 minutes before eating is always a good idea. Hope that helps 🙂
I see, that’s what I’ll try next time, thank you so much! Your recipes are awesome:)
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How do you make Date paste? Thanks!
Here’s how I make it: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/date-paste/
hello Nat!
do you think I could substitute any other flour for the coconut flour (e.g. almond, hazelnut)?
xx thank you!
Sure! But you will need more of any of those, probably close to double the amount 🙂
These are delicious but they taste quite a bit healthier than I expected 😛 I should have just had more realistic expectations! I recommend letting them sit out for 15mins before serving so the ice cream is softer. The banana/coconut/chocolate chip blended mixture is also amazing as a milkshake before it’s frozen 😀
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Ha yes they aren’t exactly like the store-bought kind if that is what you are expecting. But I appreciate the feedback and you being a bit open minded🙃 LOVE the milkshake idea! I gotta try that. Thanks Helen!
How many calories are in each piece? I did half the recipe and cut them into 16ths. They are my new favourite dessert! I used almond flour, which made it more moist and cookie dough-like, I added a bit of whole wheat flour to make it dryer as well.
I just calculated the nutrition info for the recipe as written and added it to the bottom of the recipe card. If you want to figure it out with your modifications you can use this website: https://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator I am so happy you are enjoying them🤗
Looks so delicious and perfect for parties!
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Yes they would be really fun and yummy for summertime sharing too🤗