Soft and chewy, maple-sweetened peanut butter cookies sandwiched around homemade vegan jam ice cream. Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream Sandwiches you can feel good about. Gluten-free, vegan, and refined sugar-free.
The last couple weeks have been jam-packed with travels. Kathryne and I went to Minneapolis for Lindsay’s Pinch of Yum Food Photography Workshop, an awesome learning experience made even better by the other women we met there.
We are currently wrapping up a family wedding week out in the Pacific Northwest. My first visit there as an adult, and I'm already brainstorming ways to get out there again soon.
Before we left Kansas City, where the heat and humidity seem always to be in a friendly competition, we made these peanut butter and jelly ice cream sandwiches, and I had forgotten how much I loved the pb & j combo. I've got plans for another round of ice cream sandwiches as soon as we get home.
The beauty of this recipe is that you can make it as homemade as you like. The peanut butter cookie recipe is simple and comes together pretty quickly. The vegan jam ice cream can be made from scratch as the recipe below indicates, or you can buy a store-bought vanilla ice cream of choice and skip to the last steps.
Either way, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches will never be the same.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cookies
- 1 flax egg 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons warm water
- ½ cup unsalted natural peanut butter stirred well
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 ¼ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Vegan Jam Ice Cream
- ½ cup agave syrup
- 30 ounce full fat coconut milk shaken
- a pinch or two of salt
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot starch cornstarch works too
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-OR-
- 1 pint store-bought vanilla ice cream of choice
- ½-¾ cup jam of choice homemade or store-bought (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry)
Instructions
To Make Cookies:
- Prepare flax egg, set aside for two minutes. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk peanut butter, maple syrup, and flax egg together. Add almond flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract.
- Place in freezer for about 20 minutes (or fridge for close to hour) to chill.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. The cookie dough will be sticky, so spray your hands with cooking spray as needed, then using a small spoon, scoop cookie dough and gently roll into a loose ball. Place on cookie sheet in even rows. Flatten each dough ball slightly with the tines of a fork. Due to the sticky nature, you may need to lightly wet the tines with water.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow cookies to rest a minute or two on cookie sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack.
To Make Ice Cream:
- If you are using store-bought ice cream, skip to #9. Set aside a ½ cup of coconut milk in a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whisk arrowroot starch into ½ cup of coconut milk. In a small saucepan over low heat, stir the remaining coconut milk, agave syrup, and salt until syrup has dissolved completely. Add the coconut milk-arrowroot starch slurry, stir to combine.
- Increase to medium heat, stirring often, and allow mixture to thicken, about 7-9 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Once cooled, pour mixture into a large Ziploc bag. Place the bag flat in the freezer until frozen (2-3 hours) or overnight. Once frozen, break mixture into chunks and transfer to a food processor. Process until smooth.
- Transfer ice cream to a loaf pan. Add spoonfuls of jam to ice cream, then using a knife, swirl to disperse. *If using store-bought, you'll want your ice cream softened so that you can mix the jam in.
- Cover loaf pan with plastic wrap so that wrap gently touches ice cream. This will help prevent ice crystals. Place in freezer until frozen.
To Assemble:
- Place a small to medium scoop of ice cream on top of one top-down cookie. Place another cookie on top of ice cream, pressing down gently. Serve immediately or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and return to freezer.
Notes
Nutrition
Sarah
My kids love these (I do too!)
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen
These are my kind of ice cream sandwiches Tessa! I honestly can't believe they're gluten-free, vegan and refined-sugar free! Can't beat the PB&J combo. Bet they're just delicious!
Tessa
PB&J is so nostalgic for me - it's a win-win combo, especially with ice cream! ;) Thank you, Mary Ann! Enjoy your weekend. <3