Chunky Monkey Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches
Oh my apologies for missing the boat on banana ice cream. I've read about it and seen recipes on Pinterest, and yes, I was totally aware that it is a fat free, dairy free frozen ice cream-like dessert, but I think, because I'm not totally in love with bananas, I neglected to try it. I was wrong. Please forgive me, for I knew not what I was missing. Banana ice cream is the BOMB. Especially when you zhuzh it up a bit. And that's what I did for you today. Cause I'm late. To the party.
You see, I like the flavor of banana, but I don't really care for the banana itself. Maybe it's that texture, or the fact that they go from perfectly ripe, but you're not really in the mood for a banana, to overripe and mushy in about half a second, and refrigeration can't stop the process, but instead seems to strangely accelerate it. So I always end up with a freezer full of bananas, and once or twice a year I get around to making banana bread.
So I decided to take the plunge with all of my frozen bananas, and see what was up with the banana ice cream hype. So glad I did! It's not really as banana-y as I feared, and honestly, if you don't like bananas, you can add chocolate, peanut butter, coconut, or whatever flavor you like and you'd never even know.
I think tiny desserts are just the sweetest thing ever (pun intended). They provide just the right amount of sweet to satisfy that after meal need, but not so much that you feel all sugared out afterward. I love to serve desserts in tiny shot glasses, like my Vegan Chocolate Pudding Shots, and I've been feeling the need to make something in my mini springform pan
, so this recipe was calling to me!
Banana ice cream, laced with cocoa and just a little bit of extra sweetness from dried dates. And the "cookie" is really nuts, oats, and PB2 all-natural Powdered Peanut Butter, with a few extra dates to moisten and sweeten it up. Wait. Did I just say - no added sugar or fat? Yep. I did.
Call it a giant ice cream sandwich for 4, or a mini ice cream cake, or just delicious. It's just crazy good, and actually kind of good for you. Fruit and nuts with some oats and a little bit of protein. Sounds like a meal to me 🙂
[bctt tweet="Fruit and nuts never tasted so good. Chunky Monkey Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches. #HealthyDessert"]
Ingredients
Cookie Crust
- ¼ cup walnuts
- ¼ cup almonds
- ¼ cup Old Fashioned Oats
- 2 tablespoons PB2 Peanut Butter Powder
- 6 large pitted dates soaked in water if they are not soft
Ice Cream
- 3 bananas sliced and frozen
- 2 large pitted dates soaked in water if they are not soft
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- In a food processor fitted with the chopping blade, pulse together walnuts, almonds, oats, and PB2 Powder until finely ground. Add dates and process mixture until dates are broken down and mixture starts to stick together. Set aside and clean out the bowl and blade of the food processor.
- Place bananas, dates, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt in the bowl of the food processor and pulse about 15 times or until the bananas are broken down.
- Process the mixture for about 45 seconds until it resembles soft serve ice cream.
- Lightly spray a 4" springform pan with cooking spray, and press ½ of the cookie/crumb mixture into the bottom and slightly up the sides of the pan.
- Add banana ice cream.
- Top with remaining crumb mixture and lightly press the crumbs into the top of the ice cream.
- Freeze the ice cream sandwiches for 1-2 hours to firm up.
- Slice and serve immediately.
- If theses are frozen for several hours, or are too hard to slice, let them thaw for about 10 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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Are you a banana fan? Have you ever tried PB2?
Eat well!