Paleo/Primal Cookie Dough ‘Whoa’ Ice Cream Sandwiches!

Paleo/Primal Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwiches

So this recipe is pretty much the best thing I’ve ever made ever. It’s like, whoa! (Joey from Blossom voice). It tastes exactly like the Nestle Ice Cream Toll-House Cookie Sandwiches. Identical. In fact those were the inspiration behind this recipe. I’ve been craving an ice cream sandwich like a son of a B. Those ones in particular too. Double son of a B. Check out the ingredient list below on those bad boys. (literally).

Ingredients:
Cookies (Enriched Bleached and Unbleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Sugar, Margarine (Palm Oil, Water, Soybean Oil, Salt, Mono and Diglycerides, Artificial Flavor, Annatto Color, Vitamin A Palmitate), Nestle Toll House Morsels (Sugar, Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Milkfat, Soy Lecithin, Vanillin-Artificial Flavor, Natural Flavor), Water, Molasses, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Dried Egg, Corn Syrup, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Baking Soda, Salt), Milkfat and Nonfat Milk, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Whey, Mono and Diglycerides, Guar Gum, Calcium Sulfate, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Cellulose Gum, Invert Sugar, Carrageenan.

#yikes. I’m not gonna eat that, would you? What the hell is a Mono and Diglycerides? Say Whaaa? My version has 8 ingredients and all of them you can pronounce. I promise. Not only that but I’ve given you options! Don’t you just love options. You can go semi-paleo, extra paleo, or primal. Whatever your fancy. When I made mine I went full on primal with it. Guess why? Guess why? Because I got the all clear from the doc, I’m not allergic to dairy! Yay! So I’ve been introducing high quality dairy back into my world. It’s like finding out your favorite shoes are on sale for 60% off. I’ve been eating full-fat grass-fed yogurt, grass-fed ice cream, raw cream and raw cheese. Cheeeeesssse. Cheese is so good. All this dairy eating has been glorious. Glorious I tell you. Especially the ice cream part. Do you know how good ice cream is? I almost forgot. Not really. I just wanted to forget because I couldn’t eat it.

So how cute is my little brother, he came over last week to bake my Paleo “Reese’s” Swirl Brownies for a school project. The project was to make a recipe and explain to the class, in 3 minutes or less, how you made it and why. He said he wanted to make Paleo brownies because his teacher is gluten-free and she hinted at the fact that you would probably get a better grade if you made something gluten-free so she could eat it too. Bonus points if it was also dairy free so that people in the class with dairy intolerances could eat it as well. So he researched, learned all about gluten intolerance and it’s relationship to GMO’s and how they are causing more and more people to become gluten intolerant. It was so awesome you guys. Then we baked together while playing Candy Crush and talking about Flappy Bird and The Walking Dead and how Carl is being a little whiny bitch. Total sister/bro bonding time. Anyway the brownies came out great, his class and teacher loved them, and he spread the good word about living la vida gluten-free. Proud sister here folks.

Oh my gosh I almost forgot to tell you! I got a new car! It’s beautiful and I want to marry it and have little Acura babies. Brad was confused because he thought I wanted to marry him and have babies. Maybe if he smelled like new car. I’m sensing a fart joke coming…Speaking of Brad, he also said that this recipe was his favorite that I’ve ever made. He was like, “Whoa, these are good.” So if you feel like having a little more “whoa” in your life, you should probably make these Paleo/Primal Cookie Dough ‘Whoa’ Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Paleo or Primal Cookie Dough ‘Whoa’ Ice Cream Sandwiches
*Makes 9 servings

-Cookie Dough Layers-
Ingredients:
2 cups cashew butter*
1/2 cup browned Kerrygold grass-fed butter or 1/4 cup melted ghee
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup raw honey, melted
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
dash of cinnamon
3/4 cup Guittard Extra Dark Chocolate Chips

Directions:
1. Brown the butter by putting it in a shallow sauce pot on medium-low heat until it becomes a dark golden brown. You will know it’s ready when it smells like toffee. Take the butter off the burner right after it reaches this point to prevent burning.

2. In a medium sized bowl add the cashew butter, browned butter, coconut flour and stir together. Next add the honey, sea salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and stir until combined.

3. Cover the bowl and place it in the freezer for about 20 minutes. You want the cookie dough to harden up a bit but you still want it to be somewhat pliable so you can work with it.

4. Remove from the freezer and fold in the 3/4 cup of chocolate chips. If you add them before going in the freezer they will sink and settle at the bottom.

5. Line an 8×8 glass or metal pan with parchment paper.

6. Divide the cookie dough into two equal halves. Take one of the halves and press it down evenly into the bottom of the parchment lined pan. Then grab the sides of the parchment paper and remove the layer of pressed cookie dough and set it aside. Now lay another sheet of parchment paper in the pan and repeat the process by adding the remaining half of cookie dough. Press down the same as before until it’s evenly distributed across the bottom of the pan. Then gently set the other layer of cookie dough, that you previously set aside, on top. Cover and place the pan back in the freezer to let the cookie dough layers harden for 20 minutes.

7. Once the dough is ready, uncover and grab the sides of parchment paper and remove the top layer of cookie dough. Set it aside. Scoop out the ice cream and use a rubber spatula to spread it evenly over the bottom layer of cookie dough that still remains in the pan. If you went with a store bought ice cream you may need to soften it first for a few seconds in the microwave. Once you have evenly distributed the ice cream layer, take the remaining cookie dough layer on the parchment paper that you set aside, flip it upside down on top of the ice cream layer and remove the parchment paper, which will now be on the top. Press down evenly into place. Cover and put back in the freezer for at least 30 minutes or even overnight.

8. Once it’s ready, run a large knife under water and allow it to heat up. Dry the knife and use it to cut your ice cream sandwiches. Use a spatula to remove each one from the pan and enjoy!

*Cashew Butter
Ingredients:
3 cups of raw cashews
2 teaspoons of coconut oil, melted

Directions:
1. In a food processor add your cashews and puree for about 10 minutes or so depending on how awesome your food processor is. You will have to stop and scrape down the sides a few times. Once you start to get a smooth almost dough like consistency, slowly add the coconut oil and then a little bit of salt and puree some more. For this recipe it doesn’t have to be as finely textured as store bought nut butter, just as long as you have a nice smooth consistency you’ll be fine, in fact the more dough like the better.

-Ice Cream Layer-
1 pint (2 cups) of preferred ice cream

Paleo Options:
1. So Delicious Coconut Milk Ice Cream
2. So Delicious Almond Milk Ice Cream

or make your own at home:

Paleo Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Ingredients:
2 cans coconut milk, full fat
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1/2 cup pure maple syrup, grade b
pinch of sea salt

Directions:
1. Put all the ingredients in a blender and mix until well combined.
2. Pour mixture into the bowl of your ice cream maker and follow the instructions according to the manufacturer. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, pour the mixture into a metal loaf pan, cover with saran wrap, and freeze for at least 6 hours. For firmer ice cream freeze overnight.

Primal Options:
1. Jeni’s Grass-Fed Ice Creams
2. McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams

Notes:
Do not skip the browned butter process and try to just use regular melted butter. You will not pass ‘Go’ and you will not collect $200. The browned butter is literally what makes this recipe taste like authentic cookie dough, it will be worth the extra step I promise! If you’ve never browned butter before just Google it, it’s super simple, I pinky swear. Also please feel free to use whatever ice cream you like. I’ve included my favorite/healthiest options so that I could give you a good variety.

And scene. Those were “whoa” delicious (licking my fingers.) I’ve officially decided browned butter is my favorite thing. I want it on everything. Steak, vegetables, chocolate, ice cream, everything. Do you like my food groups. Steak, vegetables, chocolate and ice cream. I promise that’s not all I eat. Kind of. Did you know hollandaise sauce is Paleo? That’s what I learned this week when I made it to put over some wild salmon and asparagus. I had no idea until I looked up the recipe. Just in case you didn’t know either, now you know. See, this is a learning blog. Guess what else we learned? Wild salmon is very very expensive, and 8 ingredient ice cream sandwiches are way better than the real thing. Until next week my lovelies.