Lemon Coconut Cashew Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

"Ice cream is happiness condensed." - Jessie Lane Adams

Vegan, Gluten-Free Blueberry Compote Ice Cream

INGREDIENTS

• 1 14 oz. can full-fat coconut milk
• 1 5.3 oz can unsweetened coconut cream
• ¼ cup agave syrup
• ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract 
• Pinch salt 
• 1 cup frozen wild blueberries 
• 1/8 cup fresh lemon juice 
• Splash water 
• 1 tsp. fresh lemon zest
• 5 tsp. coconut sugar 
• ½ tsp. cornstarch

PREPARATION

1. Mix coconut milk, coconut cream, agave, vanilla and salt in a large bowl.
2. Pour into frozen bowl of ice cream maker. Churn for 25 minutes.
3. Pour into a freezer-safe container and freeze for half an hour.
4. In a small saucepan, combine blueberries, lemon juice, water, zest, coconut sugar and cornstarch. Heat over medium heat until simmering and thickened – you’ll want the consistency of a thick jam or preserves. This should take 5-10 minutes, depending on the power of your stove. Let cool.
5. Once cooled, remove the ice cream from the freezer and make inch-deep indentations with the back of a spoon in the (still soft) ice cream. Spoon blueberry compote into indentations, and swirl into ice cream with a knife. Place ice cream back in the freezer until solidified, about 3-6 hours, or overnight.

Paleo, Vegan, Gluten-free Lemon Coconut Cashew Cookies

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 flax “egg” (1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed and 3 Tbsp, lemon juice or water)
• 1 cup Big Spoon Roasters Lemon Coconut Cashew Butter
• ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. coconut sugar 
• ¾ Tbsp. baking soda 
• ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. fresh lemon zest (optional)

PREPARATION

1. Make flax “egg” in a small bowl. Combine 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed and either lemon juice or water (or a combination of the two, depending on how lemony you want your cookies). Whisk and let sit until thickened, about 15 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F.
3. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix until combined.
4. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, scoop rounded tablespoons of dough.
5. Bake for 10-14 minutes. Check at 10 minutes, as every oven is different!
6. Remove and let cool on baking sheet for at least 20 minutes. The cookies will still be rather fragile when removed from the oven, but will set nicely as they cool. Let cool completely before assembling into ice cream sandwiches.

Ice-Cream Sandwich Assembly

Fifteen minutes before assembling (or 20, if ice cream froze overnight), sit the ice cream out to thaw slightly. If still not easily scoopable, you can microwave the ice cream in 10-second intervals until workable.

Once cookies are completely cool, scoop 1/3 cup ice cream onto the bottom of one cookie, and sandwich with another, so the tops of each cookie are facing out (like any normal ice cream sandwich). If the ice cream gets too messy, freeze the assembled sandwiches for an additional 10 minutes or so before serving, so they firm up slightly.

Serve immediately after assembling. (For a fun decorative twist, we like rolling one half of the sandwich in decorative vegan sprinkles! The sandwiches can be made a day before serving. Store in an airtight freezer-safe container.)