Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches [Vegan]

Ingredients

Cookie:

• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 cup dates
• 1 tablespoon cacao powder
• Pinch Himalayan salt

Chocolate chips:

• 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon cacao powder
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Ice cream:

• 1 cup young coconut meat
• 1 cup cashews
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/4 cup mint leaves
• 3 drops peppermint oil
• Spirulina powder, as needed (optional)

Preparation

To make the cookies:

1. Pulse the walnuts in a food processor until they become a fine powder.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until it all begins to stick together.
3. On parchment paper, shape the dough into cookies however you like. I used a circular cookie cutter and dropped a spoonful into it, pressed it down, then gently tugged the cookie cutter off and made another.
4. Set these in the fridge overnight.

To make the chocolate chips:

1. Whisk together the ingredients, then pour onto a flat plate and freeze until solid.
2. Chop into small pieces and stir into the ice cream when it’s thick enough (otherwise the pieces will just sink to the bottom).

To make the ice cream:

1. Blend all the ingredients until smooth, adding tiny amounts of spirulina until the mixture is the color you want.
2. Put this mixture into an ice cream maker and follow the instructions of the machine. If you don’t have an ice cream maker (like me), simply pour the mixture into a metal pan and stick it in the freezer, whisking it up every 30 minutes until it’s transformed.
3. Remember to add your chocolate chips!

Assembly:

1. Cookie, scoop of ice cream, cookie.

Notes

ADAPTIONS: if you wanna make this low-fat, use rolled oats instead of walnuts; use bananas instead of cashews; and use date paste instead of coconut oil.

This recipe originally appeared at One Green Planet.