Ice cream cookie sandwiches have just been given a healthy make over by using banana "nice cream" (blended frozen bananas) sandwiched between two delicious crunchy cookies. Perfect for a hot sunny day and we have given you 3 different flavour options to try.
I challenge you to find anyone that doesn't love ice cream cookie sandwiches, and the best thing about these is that they are a lighter version. We have made a lower in fat, fruit based ice cream alternative so you still get all that creaminess, but less calories. You would never know that it's made of banana.
If you are looking for some other cooling desserts to try, then why not try our Mango Sorbet, Pineapple Lolly, Frozen Yogurt Bark, No Bake Brownies, 5 Minute Frozen Yogurt or Watermelon Fruit Pizza?
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Why you will love it
- Quick and easy - This nice cream sandwiches are ready in 10 minutes (if you have the bananas already frozen).
- Low in calories - 1 sandwich is only 127 calories which is lower in calories than some ice cream options.
- Kids will love these - Not only will kids love making these and coming up with their own flavour combinations, but they will love eating them too.
Ingredients needed
- Cookies - We used standard chocolate chip cookies, but there are so many options here. You could use double chocolate chip, white chocolate, peanut butter cookies, orange chocolate cookies. You could even use cookie thins if you wanted to make these lower in calories.
- Bananas - This is the main ingredient for the ice cream alternative. Keep bananas in your freezer, to be able to make this quickly whenever you want. Make sure to freeze ripe bananas (although not black) as they are the sweetest and will give the best results.
- Strawberry - This is what is used to make the strawberry nice cream. You could swap it for blueberries or raspberries or use a combination of all three.
- Cocoa powder - This is what makes the chocolate nice cream. Try to use the best quality you can, as you really will be able to taste the difference. Why not stir in some dark chocolate chips too for some extra chocolate flavour and to add some crunch too.
- Vanilla - This makes the vanilla nice cream and you should use vanilla extract, not essence.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step by step
One: Put the frozen bananas in to a food processor and blend until smooth. You will need to stop it a couple of times and scrap the sides down and start blending again.
Two: Take ⅔ of the mixture out. With the remaining mixture in the food processor, add the frozen strawberries and blend until smooth.
Three: Halve the mixture that you took out and add vanilla extract to one and cocoa powder to another. You should now have 3 flavours of nice cream - vanilla, strawberry and chocolate.
Four: Divide the nice cream between 10 cookies and then put another cookie on top to make a sandwich.
What is nice cream?
Feeling a bit confused about what banana "nice cream" is? Well, it's so easy and SO good that you will kick yourself for not having tried it already. It's just chunks of frozen banana, blended until it becomes ice cream texture.
It is super sweet and you could be fooled in to thinking it actually is ice cream. Especially when you add other flavours to it, like blended frozen strawberries, vanilla and cocoa powder to make a Neapolitan mix.
Kids absolutely love it too, and we always have some chunks of banana in the freezer to make this in a flash. Of course we always have some cookies in the cupboard too!
Nice cream flavours
The flavour options are almost endless when it comes to nice cream sandwiches, but we went with a classic Neapolitan. Mixing peanut butter in is another favourite and we are going to try mint choc chip and caramel next. You can change the flavour of the cookies too.
So, make a big batch of nice cream, put it on the table with some of these cookies and let everyone build there own. It does get a bit messy, especially when it comes to eating them, but that's all part of the fun!
If you wanted to make these even sweeter, then you could mix in some honey or maple syrup, but we think they are sweet enough with the bananas. Make sure you freeze really ripe bananas for extra sweetness.
FAQs
Leftovers of these ice cream cookie sandwiches don't store very well. Once they are made, they need to be eaten. So try to only make as many as you need, so they don't go to waste. However, if you have leftovers of just the filling, that can go in a container in the freezer.
You can use any cookies you like. We used chocolate chips cookies, but feel free to use your favourite cookies. You can use cookie thins if you wanted to make these lower in calories. You could also use our Almond Butter Cookies.
The banana nice cream itself is naturally vegan. If you use vegan cookies, then the whole recipe is vegan.
If you use gluten free cookies and make sure that there is no cross contamination, then these can be gluten free.
Extra tips
• Make sure you always keep bananas in the freezer, that way you can make these quickly. We also love adding frozen banana to smoothies, as it makes them nice and cold and thicker too.
• Slicing the banana before freezing makes it easier to blend.
• Add a little milk if you want a silkier texture. But, only a tiny bit.
• You can use different fruit, such as blueberries, raspberries or blackberries.
• Add orange or mint extract to change the flavours.
• You need to use a high powered food processor to make the banana nice cream. It will look like it isn't doing much to begin with, but keep scrapping down the sides and processing it and it will all come together.
• If you want to ensure that there is less mess when eating these, then once you have made them up, wrap them up in plastic wrap and put them back in the freezer for an hour so they can set more.
More dessert recipes
If you’ve tried this banana nice cream recipe, or any other recipe on the blog, then let us know how you got on in the comments below - we love hearing from you!
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - we love sharing photos when people make our recipes. You can use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Nice Cream Cookie Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 2 Banana - cut in to chunks and frozen for 3 hours
- 4 Frozen strawberries
- 1 tbsp Cocoa powder
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 20 Chocolate chip cookies
Instructions
- Put the 2 Banana (frozen) into a food processor and blend until smooth. You will need to stop it a couple of times and scrape the sides down and start blending again.
- Take ⅔ of the mixture out. With the remaining mixture in the food processor, add 4 Frozen strawberries and blend until smooth.
- Halve the mixture that you took out and add 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract to one and 1 tablespoon Cocoa powder to another. You should now have 3 flavours of nice cream - vanilla, strawberry and chocolate.
- Divide the nice cream between half of the 20 Chocolate chip cookies and then put another cookie on top to make a sandwich.
Recipe tips
- Make sure you always keep bananas in the freezer, that way you can make these quickly. We also love adding frozen banana to smoothies, as it makes them nice and cold and thicker too.
- Slicing the banana before freezing makes it easier to blend.
- Add a little milk if you want a silkier texture. But, only a tiny bit.
- You can use different fruit, such as blueberries, raspberries or blackberries.
- Add orange or mint extract to change the flavours.
- You need to use a high powered food processor to make the banana nice cream. It will look like it isn't doing much to begin with, but keep scrapping down the sides and processing it and it will all come together.
- If you want to ensure that there is less mess when eating these, then once you have made them up, wrap them up in plastic wrap and put them back in the freezer for an hour so they can set more.
Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
Jason
These look perfect. Thanks for the idea.
Tabitha
Great recipe - an intriguing use of banana but sounds amazing! Would be great with some cinnamon too!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
These look incredibly delicious! I love those Maryland Thins
Catering in Den Haag
Wow!! This looks amazing! Yum. Thanks for sharing.
Charli
These look so delicious. doesn't biting into them hurt your teeth though?
Natalie
Super excited by his ice-cream! I've got vegan treats to make for Halloween - I'm all over adding peanut butter to the 'nicecream' mix!
Thank you!
Laura H
Ahh this looks to die for! And so much nicer to have a fresh ice cream sandwich rather than one out of a packet!
Rebecca | Let's Eat Cake
Oooh! I hadn't heard about Maryland Thins before - I can see why they're a weakness. They look really good! And yaaaaaas all about that nice cream!
Tanya Brannan
Oh I SO want to make these now. They look absolutely delicious and I love the idea of banana nice cream too, so simple as well!