My husband bought me an ice cream maker for my birthday a few years ago, and now every year when my birthday rolls around he likes to mention how I’ve only made ice cream in it twice. So, he is probably going to kill me for the fact that the first ice cream recipe I post on the blog does not include an ice cream maker, but c’est la vie!
These peanut butter and banana ice cream sandwiches are so freakin’ good that I wanted everyone to be able to enjoy them! Ice cream maker or no ice cream maker. A while ago I saw this awesome looking banana ice cream recipe on Pinch of Yum and I thought that the idea of making ice cream out of bananas was genius! We have a special place that we go out for ice cream to every few months and I always get the banana ice cream with peanuts on top. It is so creamy and delicious, but I only allow myself to eat it every so often. I figured that if I could make banana ice cream without a bunch of milk, cream, and sugar then there would be no reason for me not to eat it all the time!
I wasn’t quite sure what the texture was going to be like, but it is literally so creamy and so delicious that you almost forget that it is dairy free. This ice cream is also so easy to make that you will be making it all summer long! I added some cashew cream to mine to make sure it stayed really creamy when I froze it for the ice cream sandwiches, but if you are planning on eating them fairly soon after you make them, you could probably skip that step. You start out by cutting the bananas into bite size pieces and then you freeze them. Once they are frozen, you add them, along with a few other things, to a powerful blender and then you get ice cream! (FYI: the little pieces of frozen bananas make awesome summer snacks!)
I’ve been planning an ice cream sandwich recipe for sometime now, and when I finally decided on banana ice cream I just knew that the sandwich part had to be peanut butter flavored! Peanut butter and bananas are like Kim and Kanye, meant to be! Kinda just kidding with that last one, but I do have to admit that I’ve been binge watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians ever since I found out that I could buy the new episodes off of Amazon. Please don’t judge me!
I adapted this peanut butter cookie recipe from Blissful Basil. I just loved that it was both vegan and gluten free, so all my vegan friends out there can enjoy this too! I smashed the cookie dough down to cover the bottom of the pan and slightly under-baked it so it stays pretty soft even after you freeze it. I also added some fork marks on top to look like peanut butter cookies, but that step is completely optional!
Please allow me to complain for one second, photographing ice cream sandwiches outside is no easy task when it is 100 + degrees outside! The first batch of photos that I took literally looked like a hot mess. Surprisingly my perfectionist side won out over my lazy side and I did the shoot again the next day when it wasn’t quite as hot out. These ice cream sandwiches are definitely delicious to eat when it is 100+ degress outside, so it was all worth it! Enjoy!
Peanut Butter & Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches {gluten free + vegan}
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cookies:
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter, no stir
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips, dairy free if necessary
Banana Ice Cream:
- 4 ripe bananas
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in water overnight and rinsed and drained
- 3/4 cup almond milk, divided
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
Peanut Butter Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream together the peanut butter and brown sugar for about 1 minute. Then add in the vanilla extract and maple syrup and mix again until combined.
- In a medium sized bowl add the oat flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture in two batches and mix until everything is combined. Add the almond milk and mix again. Add the mini chocolate chips and gently mix into the cookie dough with a spoon or you can use your hand.
- Divide the cookie dough in half. Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper and press in half of the dough mixture. You want the cookie dough to cover the entire pan in a thin layer.
- Place the pan into the oven and bake for 12 minutes. The cookie dough may seem underdone, but it will firm up a little as it cools and then it will firm up even more when you freeze it. Lift the cookie dough out of the pan by the parchment paper and set on a cooling rack.
- Repeat the same process for the 2nd half of the cookie dough. Let ice cream sandwich cookies cool.
Banana Ice Cream:
- Cut the bananas into small pieces and freeze for at least 2 hours.
- Add the soaked cashews to a blender with 1/4 cup of almond milk. Blend for about 30 seconds – 1 minutes, until it has a creamy texture.
- Next, add the frozen bananas, maple syrup, and 1 /2 cup almond milk and blend until you get a creamy mixture, about 2 – 3 minutes. You may have to adjust the bananas as you go and mix it up to make sure the blades can get to all the bananas.
Ice Cream Sandwiches:
- Line the 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper. Carefully flip the peanut butter sandwich cookie upside down (this step isn’t necessary, but it will make the top look better). Slowly slide the cookie onto the parchment paper. Top with the banana ice cream and spread around evenly. Carefully slide the second piece of peanut butter cookie on top of the ice cream.
- Place ice cream sandwiches into the freezer and freeze for at least 2 hours. When ready to eat, slice into desired ice cream bar sizes.
Notes
If the bars have been in the freezer overnight, you may want to let them sit out for just a few minutes before enjoying them.
- Category: Dessert, Gluten Free, Vegan
Throwback Thursday picture of baby Cheeto!
Just made these – wow! They remind me so much of my favorite San Francisco ice cream sandwich from What’s What – oatmeal cookie and delicious ice cream inside! When I make nice cream I usually get tired of it after a few servings. This is a wonderful way to use it and know that I am getting a healthier treat. LOVE IT!!
Yah! So glad you enjoyed them!
Can I substitute almond flour for oat flour? Thanks
That might work but I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t say for sure
What a treat! This sounds amazing and fairly healthy for you too! I love the peanut butter banana flavor combo and that you can’t get anything else like it anywhere that I know of. I am pinning to try soon.
Thank you!! I hope you enjoy them š
Love ice cream sandwiches and this guilt free healthy alternative is amazing. Next time would probably cut down on the brown sugar for the peanut butter cookies, probably from 1 cup to 1/2 cup as I found them overly sweet.
So glad you liked them! š
What a bomb recipe! Why have i never though of this recipe beforeee. You are a genius!! Gonna try this ASAP <3 Looks soooo yummy!
Thanks Barbara!! I hope you enjoy them!
Would this recipe work without cashews? Thanks! ????
Yes! I would also leave out the almond milk, and maple syrup and just blend up the frozen bananas by themselves to make the ice cream part!
These are a dream!!! I want one for breakfast š
Thank you Aggie!! I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t had them for breakfast before š
What a wonderful recipe!
I was wondering what can I substitute brown sugar with?????
Thank you!
Hi Karen, you can probably sub it with coconut sugar! I haven’t tried it myself, but I think it would work just fine š