Dessert
Healthy Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars
These healthy strawberry shortcake ice cream bars are made with strawberry oat milk ice cream, vanilla cookies, and freeze-dried strawberries. This easy, homemade recipe is completely dairy free, gluten free, and naturally sweetened, too! It's the perfect frozen dessert perfect for summer, bursting with fresh strawberry flavor.
INGREDIENTS
Homemade Vanilla Cookies, for the coating*
- 2 tbsp honey (or, maple syrup)
- 2 tbsp melted butter (or, vegan butter substitute)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 c almond flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
Additional Coating Ingredients
- 1/2 c freeze dried strawberries (crushed into crumbs)
- 1/2 tbsp melted butter (or, vegan butter substitute)
Strawberry Oat Milk Ice Cream
- 1/4 c raw cashews
- 3/4 c oat milk
- 3/4 c strawberries, fresh or frozen (about 200 g)
- 2 tbsp honey (or, maple syrup)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Pinch of salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Homemade Vanilla Cookies**
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, use a spoon to mix together the maple syrup, melted butter, and vanilla until smooth.
- Add in the almond flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Mix until a dough forms. The dough should be smooth and just slightly sticky.
- Pinch 1/2 tsp-sized balls from the cookie dough, and space them out on the baking sheet. You should be able to make about a dozen small cookies.
- Press the cookies down so the tops are flat. The cookies will not spread much.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. The cookies will be soft when they leave the oven but will firm up as they sit on the baking sheet.
- Cool completely before crushing into crumbs, which is easiest if you use a food processor.
Strawberry Oat Milk Ice Cream
- Place the raw cashews in a heat-proof bowl, and cover them with boiling water. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.This softens the cashews so they blend more easily.
- Now, drain the cashews and add them to a blender along with the remaining ice cream ingredients. Blend until completely smooth.
- Place the silicone popsicle molds onto a lined baking sheet or large freezer-safe plate.
- Insert a popsicle stick into each mold. Carefully pour the ice cream mixture into the popsicle molds, and freeze for 1 hour.***
Finish The Strawberry Cookie Coating
- On a medium plate, mix together the vanilla cookie crumbs along with the crushed freeze dried strawberries.
- Pour the melted butter on top, and lightly pinch it into the cookie and strawberry crumbs to create little clumps.
- Dip each ice cream bar into the mixture of crumbs, using your hands to press it into the bars so that it sticks to all sides.
- Place the coated ice cream bars back on the baking sheet, and repeat until all of the bars are coated.
- Freeze for at least 15 minutes before enjoying!
- See the blog post for storage tips.
Notes
*You could also use store bought vanilla cookies (like shortbread or Nilla Wafers).
**You can prep the cookies a few days ahead of time and store them in an airtight container before using them for this recipe.
***After freezing, I recommend removing the ice cream bars from the freezer and letting them sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to soften the outsides. This will allow the crumb coating to stick to the ice cream much easier.