Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich Squares

When I was younger, ice cream sandwiches were always my favorite treat to get in the summer (obviously before I found out I was allergic to gluten and dairy). They were so creamy, chocolatey, and just had that perfect way of melting in your mouth–things that are absolutely necessary for a frozen dessert, at least in my opinion.

Recreating One of My Childhood Favorites

But, after going gluten- and dairy-free, I wasn’t able to get my ice cream sandwich fix anymore. Despite all the gluten- and dairy-free desserts that they sold, no one had come up with a gluten- and dairy-free ice cream sandwich. So, I took it upon myself to come up with a recipe that would satisfy my craving, and boy, they did not disappoint!

Without All the Crap

Plus, not only are these homemade ice cream sandwiches gluten- and dairy-free, they’re also grain-free and have no refined sugar (besides the chocolate chips). Now I can satisfy my craving and know that I’m feeding my body with nutrient-dense, wholesome ingredients, which is what I aim to do with all of the food I make. I also decided to use a different flour for the cookie part to switch it up a bit. Have you ever heard of green banana flour? If you’re not a fan of bananas, don’t worry, it doesn’t even taste like them! 😉 Try out my recipe below and tell me what you think!

The Recipe

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich Squares

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Nothing beats a creamy, chocolatey, melt in your mouth dessert, and these Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwich Squares are exactly that!

Author: Kaylee

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

For the Peanut Butter Cookies:
1 cup creamy peanut butter (I like this kind)
1 cup coconut sugar
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring
½ cup green banana flour
¼ cup arrowroot starch
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼-1/2 cup coconut or almond milk
½ cup, or desired amount, Enjoy Life dairy-free mini chocolate chips
Optional drizzle: more dairy-free chocolate chips or any kind of high-quality dark chocolate, such as Eating Evolved paleo chocolate bars
For the Ice Cream:
4 very ripe frozen bananas, sliced into smaller pieces
½ cup raw cashews (sometimes I do a mix of raw cashews and raw macadamia nuts), soaked for at least 4 hours
1 can full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
A pinch of sea salt

Instructions

First, preheat the oven to 350˚ (F).
In a large bowl, beat together the peanut butter and coconut sugar until the ingredients are fully incorporated.
Then, add the vanilla flavoring and maple syrup, beating the mixture again until the ingredients are incorporated.
Next, in a separate, medium-sized bowl, mix together the banana flour, arrowroot starch, baking powder, and salt.
Slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture.
Then, slowly add in the almond/coconut milk until a nice dough forms.
Finally, stir in the dairy-free chocolate chips with the dough.
Line a 9 x 13 baking dish with parchment paper.
Divide the cookie dough in half and evenly press one half of the cookie dough onto the parchment paper-lined baking dish (you want it to cover the entire pan in a thin layer).
Bake the cookie dough layer in the oven for 12 minutes. Then, place it in the freezer.
Then, repeat the same procedure for the second half of the cookie dough.
For the ice cream, place the cashews in a blender with a pinch of salt and ¼ cup of the coconut cream and ¼ cup of the coconut juice from the full-fat, canned coconut milk, blending the mixture until it's creamy.
Next, add the frozen bananas, maple syrup, and ½ cup more of the cream from the full-fat coconut milk, blending the mixture until it's creamy.
Then, pour the mixture into a 9 x 7 baking dish and place it in the freezer until the ice cream is firm (you can always pour the mixture into a larger or smaller pan depending on how thick you want the ice cream sandwich to be and cut off the excess cookie or ice cream edges when forming the bars).
Remove the cookie dough layers from the freezer.
Next, place one cookie dough layer into a parchment paper-lined 9 x 13 baking dish.
Then, remove the frozen banana ice cream from the freezer and run a knife along the edges until it pops out of the dish.
Now flip the banana ice cream onto the cookie dough. By this time, the banana ice cream should have melted a little and can be spread evenly on the cookie dough layer without melting all over. 5. Place the second cookie dough layer on top of the banana ice cream.
Place the pan in the freezer for at least an hour or two.
Finally, remove the bars from the freezer and cut them into desired-sizes (if the bars have been in the freezer overnight, leave them out for a few minutes before slicing or serving).
Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer.

Peanut butter chocolate lovers, have you tried my Melt-In-Your-Mouth Banana Bread Skillet?! Or, for all you frozen dessert lovers, how about my Mini Banana Cheesecakes?

Also, check out why I only use this peanut butter!