Two ways to make healthy cookies and cream ice cream popsicles with no churn ice cream, few ingredients, and free of dairy, and full of cookies, either oreos or your choice of cookie.
Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Popsicles
These healthy cookies and cream ice cream popsicles are really great any season. And I give you two easy ways to make them!
The first version is stuffed with cookies and made with anti-oxidant rich black cocoa, they are energizing and offer up some nutritional support.
Black cocoa, combined with cashew cream and oreos, creates an extremely decadent chocolate popsicle!
The second version is pure simple, mixing full fat coconut milk with oreos – it’s so easy and creamy.
What is Cookies and Cream Ice Cream?
Cookies and cream ice cream is fairly well-known, and is said to have originated sometime in the early 80s. A cookie ice cream flavor was said to be create in 1979 by South Dakota State University student, Joe Leedom. Within a few years, a few ice cream parlors used oreos as the cookie, named it “Oreo Cream” and got into a tangle with the company, Nabisco, who owns the Oreo cookie trademark.
Regardless of who created it, this flavor is awesome! And in fact an article in the July 2019 Washington Post proclaimed the flavor to be the most popular behind chocolate and vanilla.
How Do You Make Cookies and Cream Ice Cream From Scratch?
I give you two ways. One is longer, involving soaking cashews the prior night but the result is sweet, healthy and cream. The other is fast, just as healthy, using coconut milk. You can’t really taste the coconut, so if you have full fat coconut milk on hand, this might be the best route for you. Both ways are no churn, both make fantastic popsicles!
All About Black Cocoa
I used black cocoa powder in this popsicle recipe to match the oreo cookie black and white coloring. But you can just as easily use cacao powder instead.
Black cocoa powder is a bit less healthy than raw cacao powder – it is “dutched” or washed to reduce acidity. But black cocoa tastes delicious, and imparts a deep cocoa flavor that intensifies the flavor of chocolate.
And it has some nutrition: fiber, magnesium and antioxidants. Just not quite as much as raw cacao powder.
If you want to work with black cocoa in a dramatic frosting, try my no-bake chocolate mousse torte here.
The Easier Way to Make Oreo Cookie Ice Cream
The easiest way to make oreo cookies and cream ice cream at home is to open cans of full fat coconut milk. There is a slight coconut flavor, but it is shared with the vanilla and maple syrup, and oreos! If you want to make fewer than 10 popsicles, know that each popsicle well holds 1/4 cup, and a can of full fat coconut milk in the USA holds about 14 ounces, so you decide how many popsicles to make.
I give you a simple way to make all vanilla cookies and cream popsicles, but if you want to marble it like the cashew-based version, simple divide the coconut milk mixture, and add black cocoa to half.
Which Version is Healthier?
They both contribute healthy fats, and anti-bacterial properties both from cashews and coconut cream. And the swirl of black cocoa offers magnesium and mood-boosting aspects.
And both versions are vegan. Now, of course oreos may be vegan but remember they are still processed. I generally avoid processed foods, but..oreos. So balance, you know?
So I hope you enjoy these pops, and make them this weekend.
Share on social media if you love them! I’d love to see how well you got yours out of the mold. I hope you did better than me. I think I stuffed one-too-many cookies in there in these pictures, haha!
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Healthy Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Popsicles
Ingredients
Longer Method
- 2 cups raw cashews soaked at least two hours
- 1 1/2 cup plant milk
- 2 tbsp maple syrup (or leave off if you don't need it; taste-text mixture)
- 2 tbsp black cocoa (I use this brand)
- 1/2 cup broken oreos
Shorter Method
- 2 14 ounce coconut milk (canned, full fat - you need about 1 cup per 4 popsicles using my mold so reduce the recipe if you want to make fewer popsicles)
- 15 oreos (crush 5, and leave 10 whole, one for each popsicle)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
Useful Equipment
- Popsicle Mold (I use this popsicle mold)
Instructions
Longer Method
- Make cashew cream by first soaking the cashews in water at least two hours or overnight in refrigerator.
- Next day, rinse them, and put them in blender. Add 1 cup of plant milk and blend until creamy. If you want it to be creamier and easier to pour into molds, feel free to add more of the plant milk at this point but hold some back for the next steps. Add in the maple syrup if you think it needs sweetening.
- Remove half the cashew cream mixture and set aside - it's the vanilla portion of the popsicle mixture.
- Add the black cocoa to the remaining cashew cream in the blender. Blend until creamy. Here is where you may need to add some or all of the remaining milk. This is your chocolate portion of the popsicle mixture.
- Fill the popsicle molds by alternating between pouring the chocolate cream, adding oreo chunks, pouring the vanilla mix. I suggest pouring in a bit of chocolate cashew mix first before adding cookies. I added a cookie chunk at the tip of mine, and that made the tip break off of some of my pops, so next time I will first pour in the mixture and then start cookie-stuffing.
Shorter Method
- Do not chill the full fat cans of milk. Shake the room-temperature can to distribute the solids andn liquids inside. Pour the amount you need into a bowl.NOTE: You need about 1 cup per 4 popsicles using my mold so reduce the recipe if you want to make fewer popsicles.
- Crush 5 oreos and add them to the coconut milk.
- Add the vanilla and maple syrup and stir the mixture.
- Add a whole oreo to each popsicle well. Pour in the mixture so the well is full.
Freeze the Popsicles (either method)
- Freeze your mold for 30 minutes, then insert sticks.
- Freeze your pops at least four hours or overnight.
- To remove, dip mold in a pot of hot water and tug until they slide out. It's quite a process, don't let anyone tell you removing is easy. BUT once they are out, eat!
Nutrition
Dee Dine is founder of Green Smoothie Gourmet, a plant based recipe blog, and author of the recent cookbook, Crazy Healthy with 4 Ingredients . On this blog you’ll find incredibly easy recipes with hidden veggies for anyone wanting to eat healthier, regardless of diet. Dee has graduate degrees in sciences and journalism. More about Dee Dine here.
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