Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough "Blizzard"

In 1984, the Dairy Queen “Blizzard” was responsible for packing about 20 lbs onto my thighs, butt and tummy.

Actually, that’s not entirely true. It was an independent ice cream store called Penguin, in Dunkirk Square, and technically the responsibility lay with me and my willingness to fork over my hard-earned baby-sitting money day after day in exchange for those creamy, dreamy, hyper sweet concoctions of softened ice cream mixed with candy and cookie bits.

Penguin is gone from Bloomington. They probably went out of business because I left town! But there is still a Dairy Queen, and every time we’re in town, my kids and I make a pilgrimage for Blizzards. Two out of the three of us have pretty major lactose intolerance, so this delicious indulgence causes us quite a bit of pain. Hurts so good and all that.

Now, thanks to bloggers Angela and Katie, I can enjoy a delicious Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard, cobbled together from their various recipes, that tastes great without the pain (it’s dairy-free of course!). It’s also sugar-free except for the sugar in the chocolate chips, so it fits perfectly into this athlete’s stay-lean training plan.

The kids loved it too of course, although they objected strenuously to the endless recipe testing. I tried 4 different cookie dough recipes before I got one I liked! Life’s tough like that.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough “Blizzard”

Yield: Makes 2 servings (you will have extra cookie dough for snacking!)

The key to this recipe is using VERY ripe and sweet bananas. Wait until your bananas get very spotted. Then peel and place in the freezer until ready to use.

Ingredients

Cookie Dough

1/2 cup nuts (unroasted cashews were called for, but I used walnuts and it was also great)
1/4 cup oats
1/4 whole wheat flour (or other flour or more oats if you have gluten issues)
pinch of sea salt
5 large medjool dates, pitted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Ice Cream

2 frozen bananas, broken in half
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 Tbsp almond or soy milk

Instructions

To make the cookie dough:

Grind nuts, oats, flour and salt in food processor until finely ground.
Add dates and vanilla and blend until a sticky dough forms.
You may need to add a few drops of water if your dates were dry. YOU know what cookie dough consistency is! That's what you're aiming for.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Press flat into a pan or roll into little balls.
Place in the freezer until ready to use.

To make the ice cream

Place the bananas and vanilla in a clean food processor bowl and process just a minute or so until starting to get smooth.
With the machine running, drizzle in a few spoonfuls of non-dairy milk until mixture reaches soft-serve ice cream consistency.
Cut half of the cookie dough into crumbles and put in the food processor.
Pulse a couple of times to incorporate into ice cream.
Serve topped with more crumbled cookie dough bits.
Smile.