»Be Mine« Date Toffee Ice Cream with Cookie Dough

February 14, 2014

reading time: ca. 1 min

"Be Mine" for Valentine

Preparation time: 15 mins + 3 hours freezing time
Main ingredients: banana, dates, buckwheat
difficulty level: easy
serves: 1-2
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free, nut-free, paleo, raw food, and delicious "even so"

Yeah i know, it's V Day today, and even though i don't really like this commercialized "love" day, it was kind of fun to think of a nice raw-vegan alternative for this special occasion, so here's my happy & healthy Valentine's dessert: a soft banana ice cream with date chunks and cookie crumbles - to share with your loved one or merrily spoon down all by yourself :)

Ingredients

Ice Cream
3 large ripe bananas, frozen!
3/4 cup medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1/2 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
Pinch sea salt

Cookie Dough
½ cup soft medjool dates or prunes, pitted (if not soft enough: soak for 30 mins and drain well)
¾ cup finely shredded coconut
½ cup buckwheat or oats
a handful of raisins
1/2 tbsp maple syrup
Raw carob or cacao powder (optional)

also:
- a blending machine or food processor (NO NEED FOR AN ICE CREAM MAKER!)

Instructions

For the cookie dough, combine coconut, cacao and buckwheat in your blender and process until the consistency resembles flour. Add dates/figs, raisins and maple syrup, and blend until it gets sticky. Roll your dough flat on a plate or a foil lined sheet (1/2 inch thick), and place in the freezer. - in the meantime, i'd jump to the next step and prepare the ice cream! - Once firm, break it into cookie crumbles.

If you wanna go all out, go ahead and cut the dough into heart-shaped cookies instead! Honestly, i ended up just munching the cookie dough by itself... so yummy :)

For the ice cream, place the frozen banana chunks in your blending machine and blend them into THE BEST BANANA SOFT SERVE. Then quickly add all remaining ingredients, blend it all together - or pulse if you want to have some gooey soft date chunks - and scoop your Date Toffee Ice Cream into some pretty glass bowls! Now garnish everything with your cookie crumbles, and top it off with a sprinkle of carob powder or a good spoonful of caramel cream (see below).