Chocolate and Bacon Ice Cream Sammies

Go big, or go home.

That’s right – when I first saw the Raw Ice Cream Sandwich Challenge that Lisa and Nicole had put together, I thought – Brilliant! Immediately having visions of grandeur, as nothing excites me more than the trend of savory desserts – and/or completely off the wall combinations. Insert: Scoops LA here. With flavors like brown bread, wasabi and strawberry balsamic, it’s pretty much impossible not to be inspired.

At first, I’m not going to lie – I had my heart set of doing a Bacon and Tomato (ice cream) Sandwich. I loved the idea, I loved the playfulness, and I loved it’s bizarreness. However,  I didn’t love the idea of making a large batch of tomato ice cream. I mean, wasting money can be fun, but right now – it’s not exactly on my radar. So instead, I decided to contrast crazy with normal – reigning in the bacon factor with basic cacao . Plus, if I hated the bacon bread, I’d at least have a batch of killer ice cream to snack on. That, I could handle.

I started with the coconut bacon base – if you refer to my raw coconut bacon pizza, you’ll see where I got the idea of ‘coconut bacon’. So, I processed away and then began to roll – holy hell, it wasn’t easy! I mean, I kind of consider myself a rolling pro (given the Rawxies), but this batter had me thinking differently – It took a bit of patience, but none-the-less, I finally got it to cooperate. Plus, the fact that I had the most adorable ice cream sandwich mold to use – made all the extra work worth it! Bacon + Pig = Awesome. I know.

Coconut Bacon Cookie/Bread

• .75 C raw coconut flour
• .5 C shredded raw coconut (unsweetened)
• .5 C almond flour
• .33 – .5 C date paste (add last, and start with .33)
• 1 T olive oil
• 2 T apple cider vinegar
• 2 T tamari
• .5 tsp sea salt
• 1.5 tsp chili powder
• .75 tsp cumin
• .75 tsp paprika
• dash of cayenne
• dash of black pepper

Add dry ingredients in food processor and pulse until shredded coconut is finely chopped. Add tamari, ACV and olive oil – again, pulse until mixed. Add date paste – starting with .33 C – Continue adding until mixture forms a sticky ball inside food processor (this may take anywhere between .33 and .5 C date paste).

Roll dough on a silpat and cut into desired shape. Dehydrate at 105 for about 6 hours.

The ice cream was a bit of a no-brainer. However, I will say after multiple fails last year, I decided to tweak this recipe – and I’ve got to say, it’s the best raw chocolate ice cream I have ever had. Yes, that’s right – I’m tooting my own horn. It’s the jam ma’am.

Raw Cacao Ice Cream

• 2 C cashews (not soaked)
• 2 C coconut milk (I blend coconut meat with water for the raw coconut milk – could also use raw homemade almond milk as well – or even, just water)
• .5 C cacao powder
• .33 – .5 C maple syrup or Ultimate Superfoods agave
• 1 T mesquite powder
• 1 T Vitamineral Earth (obviously, this is optional)
• 1 tsp raw ground vanilla (pref. Ultimate Superfoods)
• 4 packets of stevia (optional)
• dash of salt

Add all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Add mixture to ice cream maker and follow manufacturers directions.

Lastly, I begin to mold – again, ‘WTF – what had I gotten myself into!?’ Much easier said than done, mainly because after dehydrating, your cookie (whatever the shape may be) will shrink! For future reference, a raw batter might work best.

Assembly

First, say a prayer If using an ice cream mold, follow directions. If free handing it, carefully layer ice cream on cookie and follow with another cookie (worst directions ever, I know).

And viola – the most adorable pig shaped ice cream sammie… EVER. I’m bias, but whatever.

Thanks again, Lisa and Nicole for putting on such a fun challenge – Can’t wait for the next one! Oh, and if you decide you’d like to recreate mine, I’ve got plenty of extra bacon cookies that I could always send your way!

Tagged as: challenge, ice cream, Raw, summer, vegan