This post is sponsored by my friends at Coconut Bliss.

Creamy banana ice cream flecked with brownie bits and fudge swirl, layered with fresh banana and smashed between chocolate brownie cookies. Gluten free. Plant based. And really dang delicious! This recipe is so easy and delightfully fun to make. Decadent, of course, but with “health” snuck in. Don’t you just love when treats are good for you? It’s like hitting the jackpot.

The first time I tried the new Coconut Bliss flavor Golden Banana Brownie Swirl I knew I had to do something extra special with it. Especially considering it’s made with three of my favorite superfoods: banana, chocolate and turmeric!

So when I was brainstorming recipes my immediate first thought was ice cream sandwiches. It’s been forever since I’ve had anything close to the real deal. And I can’t resist a hippie dip twist on a nostalgic classic.

The recipe is super simple. Mix the cookie dough. Roll out. Bake in 10 mins. Cool. Then spread ice cream and add banana slices. Refreeze. DONE. High payoff. Low effort. Perfect for cooling down on hot days, and immensely impressive as a dinner party dessert. 

Now let’s talk about this ice cream for a minute. Coconut Bliss has been a favorite of mine for about 9 years, ever since I first went dairy free in 2011. They’ve always had the highest standards of dairy free ice creams on the market, being certified Organic and using simple ingredients to make their ice creams. All of their flavors meet my high standards, which is why their vanilla ice cream is my go-to. I always have a pint in my freezer.

But this Golden Banana Brownie Swirl flavor… I mean WOW. Pure deliciousness. The base is coconut milk, the banana flavor comes from pure banana puree and the lightly golden color comes from turmeric. There’s a fudge swirl (made of only agave, cocoa, vanilla) and the gluten free brownie bits are made with brown rice flour, tapioca flour, cocoa and coconut sugar. I couldn’t have made this ice cream better myself!

Now, the main “effort” involved in this recipe is making the cookies. And I’m putting “effort” in air quotes because these might be the easiest cookies I’ve ever made. Just 6 ingredients: almond meal, maple syrup, coconut oil, chocolate, a pinch of salt and splash of vanilla. No leavening. No complex process. Simple. We LIKE simple. The result is a soft brownie-cookie that’s sweet but not too sweet. Most importantly, they’re easy to bite into straight out of the freezer.

That being said, go grab yourself a pint of ice cream (you can order online!) and give this recipe a go!

xo — Renee

Golden Brownie Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches (Gluten Free, Vegan)

Prep time: 10 mins - Bake time: 10 mins - Total time: 20 mins (not including freezing time) - Makes: 12 round cookies, 6 ice cream sandwiches

Notes: 1. This recipe makes 6 round ice cream cookie sandwiches or 12 smaller “squares” — truly you can make these ice cream sandwiches whatever size you like, so the final amount of ice cream sandwiches is up to you. I prefer to make round cookie sandwiches and slice them in half for better portion control. 2. Cookie recipe adapted from the cookie layer of an Earl Grey Tiramisu recipe from The First Mess Cookbook by Laura Wright.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups almond meal

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 2 tbsp coconut oil

• 1/4 cup (2 oz) dark chocolate chips

• pinch sea salt + more for topping cookies

• splash vanilla extract or almond liqueur

• 1 pint Coconut Bliss Golden Banana Brownie Swirl Ice Cream

• 1 ripe banana

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (this is a must otherwise the cookies will stick to your baking sheet).

2. Add 1 1/2 cups almond meal, 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1 tbsp room temp coconut oil to a mixing bowl. Stir loosely together into a slurry.

3. In a small sauce pot combine the 1/4 cup chocolate chips and remaining 1 tbsp coconut oil. Melt and stir together over low heat until beginning to melt, them cut off the heat. Allow ambient heat to melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil, stirring to completely combine.

4. Add melted chocolate to the almond meal slurry along with a pinch sea salt and splash vanilla extract (or almond liqueur). Stir everything together until you get a sticky, glossy ball of dough.

5. Pat your cookie dough into a rough ball and add to the center of your parchment lined baking sheet. Top the cookie dough ball with another sheet of parchment paper and use a rolling pin to roll the cookie dough out into a rectangle (about 1/4” thick). Sprinkle with a generous pinch of flakey sea salt.

6. FOR SQUARE ice cream sandwiches — prick the rectangle of cookie dough all over with the tines of a fork and bake for 10 mins on the center rack. Let cool to room temp. Then cut your big cookie down the center (as pictured). Freeze your cookie for 10 mins. While the cookies are freezing, remove your ice cream from the freezer to soften up a bit.

7. FOR SQUARE ice cream sandwiches (cont’d) — Remove the cold cookie from the freezer and spread the ice cream out evenly on each half of your cookie. Slice a banana into coins and add to one half of the ice cream covered cookie. Lift one side of the cookie and gently place on the other side, pressing down to bring everything together. Use a spoon to even out outside edges, then refreeze for minimum 1 hour. Once hard frozen cut into squares and either serve immediately or refreeze until ready to eat. Best kept frozen and stored sealed in tupperware.

8. FOR CIRCLE ice cream sandwiches — use a round cookie cutter (or mason jar lid) to cut out circles in your large rectangle of cookie dough. Carefully remove the excess cookie dough from between the cut out circles. You can EITHER roll out the excess cookie dough and repeat OR simple make golf-ball sized balls out of the excess dough and press to flatten into circles. NOTE: cut-out cookies are more delicate and hard to move but are aesthetically more attractive, keep that in mind. Spread the circle cookies out a bit on your baking sheet — they do not rise or spread. Prick each cookie all over with a fork. Bake for 9 mins on the center rack. Remove, let cool to room temp. Then freeze your cookies for 10 minutes. While the cookies are freezing, remove your ice cream from the freezer to soften up a bit.

9. FOR CIRCLE ice cream sandwiches (cont’d) — Remove the cold cookies from the freezer and add a BIG scoop of ice cream to half of your cookies. Slice a banana into coins and press the banana coins into the ice cream. Top each ice cream scoop with another cookie and press firmly together to spread the ice cream to the edges. Use a spoon to even out the outside edges, then refreeze for minimum 1 hour. Once hard frozen cut either serve immediately as-is or refreeze until ready to eat. I prefer to cut the circles in half for better portion control. Best kept frozen and stored sealed in tupperware.

This post is sponsored by my friends at Coconut Bliss. Check out their other flavors like Madagascan Vanilla Bean, Dark Chocolate and Sweet Cherry Amaretto — all flavors are plant based, gluten free and dairy free! Find it at your local grocery store or order direct online here.