Do you have a favorite flavor of ice cream? Or, like me, do you stand dumbfounded in front of the ice cream counter or grocery store freezer doors peering at all of the different offerings, attempting to choose just one?
With the ever-expanding plethora of ice cream varietals, it can be tough to choose a favorite… but once you become comfortable with making your own at home, there’s no need to choose one because virtually any flavor is right at your fingertips.
Cookies & cream is a classic that appeals to kids and adults alike, and this particular recipe couldn’t be easier to make.
Just stir together coconut milk, sugar, vanilla, & crushed sandwich cookies and then dump the mixture into your ice cream maker. No tempering of eggs or heating of milk!
The coconut flavor is very slightly discernible, but the vanilla and chocolate cookie flavors definitely dominate the ice cream. If you really dislike coconut, you can try adding in double the amount of vanilla, but I can’t personally attest to how that will turn out.
What I can tell you is that this (almost) vegan ice “cream” is beautifully creamy and packed full of bite-sized chocolate sandwich cookie pieces. Using full-fat canned coconut milk ensures that the final product is scoopable straight from the freezer, (unless you keep your freezer at the coldest setting), and that the consistency is similar to that of real ice cream.
It is also insanely delicious.
For nutritional information purposes, I listed the yield as 8 servings, but I’m pretty sure I polished this batch off in less than a week.
By myself.
Hey, I am pregnant after all! (<– I’ve been using that excuse for all sorts of things, from word retrieval problems to not cleaning out the cat litter box. Let’s just say that John is a trooper).
There are so many other flavor additions swirling around my ice-cream obsessed brain right now, but I’m certain that I’ll be making this one over and over again.
Seriously so good!
Vanilla Bean Cookies & Cream Ice Cream
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Keywords: dessert vegan coconut ice-cream
Ingredients (8 servings)
- 2 (14 oz) cans full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup unrefined granulated sugar, such as evaporated cane juice
- 1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste
- 20 all-natural cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, such as Back to Nature, roughly chopped/crushed
Instructions
Refrigerate the cans of coconut milk for 1 hour (no longer). Chilling the coconut milk will cause the coconut cream to rise to the top of the can and slightly solidify. Carefully scrape out the coconut cream and milk from both cans into a large mixing bowl. Add in the sugar and vanilla bean paste. Hand-whisk lightly to break up the solidified cream, and then whip with an electric mixer for about 10-20 seconds, or until smooth and thick. If you whip for much longer that this, you’ll start to make vegan whipped cream (not a bad thing, but not what we’re aiming for here!).
Pour mixture into your ice cream machine and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions, gradually adding in the chopped/crushed cookies during the last 5 minutes.
Transfer mixture to a freezer-safe air-tight container and freeze until desired consistency is reached (at least a few hours).
Nutritional Information Per Serving:
367.2 calories, 26.8 grams fat, 17.2 grams saturated fat, 0.8 grams fiber, 13.8 grams sugars, 2.6 grams protein
Anything cookies and cream is AWESOME in my books!
There is a new vegan ice cream place near my office and I just had the coconut milk cookies and ice cream flavor a couple of days ago – it was delicious, as I can imagine your version to be! It’s tough for me to choose what’s my favorite ice cream but it’s probably strawberry :)
Yum–this is all my favorite things.
this looks delish! i lovee cookies and cream :)
great blog btw!
This looks deliciousss!
Man, I wish I had an ice cream maker right now. Does Amazon deliver directly in an hour?!
This looks absolutely awesome and I can’t believe it’s almost vegan! I know how tough it is to get the perfect ice cream shot and your photos are beautiful!
oh boy, i don’t always go for cookies & cream right off the bat, but usually love it when i do. this is certainly one to enjoy this summer :)
This looks fantastic! And so simple
I’m like you and love ALL ice creams, but vanilla & cookies and cream are 2 of my favorites…so this looks divine! I also love coconut milk ice cream b/c it’s nice to have a non-dairy option sometimes. Can’t wait to try your recipe!
Hi Lauren: A belated congrats on your pregnancy!!! Yay for you! This looks absolutely insanely delish!! I am gonna make it on Sunday for sure. I am curious if I can sub the vanilla bean paste with vanilla extract? I assume I can so how much would you recommend? Thanks!
Thanks Lori! You can definitely sub in vanilla extract – I would use the same amount (1 Tbsp). Enjoy =).
There is no way I can choose a favourite ice cream flavor, but if I tried this, I may just change my opinion. This looks SO good!
Coconut milk ice cream that’s scoopable from the freezer and is similar in texture to the normal stuff? Wow. I need to make room in my freezer so that I can freeze the bowl. I want to make this! Cookies and cream is definitely a favorite and this looks incredible.
so do you still use all contents of the can of coconut milk or scrap off the solid cream from the top and leave any watery stuff? thanks!
You’ll want to scrape out all of the contents of the can… the cream and any remaining liquid! Enjoy =).
Oh wow, you are awesome!
I absolutely love coconut…and ice cream! Definitely going to have to give this a try soon.
I so love cookies and cream. This is delicious, creamy and yummy. Thanks for sharing this great recipe.
Wow, this sounds and looks AMAZING! P.S. Congratulations!!! Hope you are feeling well! What an exciting time this is!!!
omg that looks so so tasty. It reminds me of the blizzards from dairyqueen
What’s not vegan about it, the cookies?
Yep… although I’m sure they make vegan “cream”-filled chocolate sandwich cookies!