Cookies and Cream Nice Cream

Let me introduce you to cookies and cream nice cream!

This creamy soft serve-like frozen dessert is made with pureed frozen bananas, vanilla extract and milk with crushed chocolate sandwich cookies folded in.

A delicious, healthier sweet treat made with Oreos!

How to: cookies and cream nice cream

Ingredients Needed

• Frozen bananas. I recommend grabbing 5 ripe bananas, peeling them and storing them in a zip top bag in the freezer.
• Vanilla extract. Get "pure" vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. It makes all the difference.
• Milk. You can use any kind. I used vanilla soy milk and it was so delicious, but go with cow's, coconut, almond, cashew, oat, rice or the like.
• Salt. Just a pinch to bring out the flavors.
• Chocolate sandwich cookies. You can use Oreos or any brand of chocolate sandwich cookies (I used Simple Truth Organic).

Equipment Needed

• A food processor to puree the nice cream.
• Measuring cups and spoons.
• A spatula for scraping and folding.
• A bowl or loaf pan to hold the nice cream.
• A plastic zip top bag for crushing the cookies.
• An ice cream scoop, bowls and spoons for serving.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. First, be sure you have 5 frozen bananas in the freezer.
2. Also, crush the chocolate sandwich cookies. Place them in a zip top bag and use a mallet, heavy spoon or rolling pin to crush them into pieces.
3. Next, place the frozen bananas, vanilla extract, milk and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Puree until smooth.
4. Scrape the sides as necessary and be sure all chunks of banana are pureed. It should be soft serve ice cream texture.
5. If it needs more liquid, add a bit more milk.
6. Transfer the nice cream to a bowl and fold in the crushed cookies.
7. Scoop into bowls or cones and serve immediately, or for a firmer nice cream, place in the freezer 30-60 minutes, then scoop and serve.
8. To store, fit the bowl with a lid and store in the freezer.
9. Once frozen, it'll be a bit difficult to scoop unless it sits at room temperature for a little bit.

Serving Suggestions

• I suggest serving the nice cream immediately after making, or store it in the freezer 30-60 minutes, then scoop and serve.
• To store for later use, place a lid on the bowl (airtight) and place in the freezer up to 1 month. Let sit at room temperature 30-60 minutes before scooping.

Recipe Substitutions and Alterations

• Banana: I would not substitute the banana in this recipe.
• Milk: You can use any milk option to make this nice cream. Even cream, half and half or evaporated milk would work.
• Cookies: Instead of cookies, try making this nice cream with fruit mixed in, such as chopped peaches, mangos or berries.
• To make gluten free: Choose gluten free cookies or use fruit as the mix-in.
• To make dairy free: Use dairy free milk and be sure the cookies you use are dairy free. If you can't find dairy free cookies, use fruit as a mix-in.
• To make vegan: Choose a plant-based milk and be sure the cookies you choose are plant-based. If you can't find vegan cookies, use fruit as a mix-in.

Other sweet treats:

• Strawberry Coulis (as a dessert topping)
• Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
• Summer Raspberry Cake
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Yogurt Cookies
• Italian Ricotta Cheesecake
• Mixed Berry Oatmeal Cookie Crisp

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