We have been eating a lot of vegan ice cream from Trader Joes. They have the Cherry Chocolate Chip and the Vanilla. Both of their ice creams are INCREDIBLE, but we wanted to make our own since we haven't used our ice cream maker very much.

My wife found this recipe for Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Ice Cream from Minimalist Baker. We followed the recipe exactly except we used a tablespoon of soy milk in the cookie batter instead of reserving some from the can of coconut milk. The chocolate chips, raw cashews, soy milk, maple syrup, and peanut butter we bought at Trader Joes. We used creamy peanut butter, but you can also use crunchy.

You have to prepare the ingredients the night before and keep them chilled in the fridge overnight. The next day you put the ice cream mix in your ice cream maker. (follow your ice cream maker's directions) The directions from the recipe's website said 45 minutes but it only took 30 in our ice cream maker. We bought our Ice Cream Maker on Amazon. We have the Cuisinart ICE-50BC Supreme Ice Cream Maker.

Once it's done, you add the cookie dough by just crumbling it in, stirring it around to mix it in and adding more. At first I thought I had too much cookie dough, but you can never have too much cookie dough right? After it's added it goes into the freezer for a few hours and then it will be done. You could eat it right then but it's really creamy and not the consistency you will want it to be.

I have to say this is one of the best ice creams we have ever had. The consistency and flavor were incredible. It's very rich, so you will get full fast. The amount of cookie dough in the ice cream is perfect, it actually has A LOT.

My wife topped hers off with Chocolate Syrup that we found at Whole Foods that is Vegan and tastes great. The brand is Ah!laska. The 22 oz bottle was $6.99 from Whole Foods and will last awhile.

We love the ice cream and plan to use the base recipe a lot more and create different varieties of this.

The Recipe says it serves 8 but we think it serves 4 decent servings or 6 very small servings.

I pasted her recipe and instructions below but changed what ingredients we used.

INGREDIENTS

ICE CREAM

· 1.25 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight or at least 6 hours- we soaked them for around 8 hours and they were perfect.

· 1/4 cup brown sugar (or granulated) - we used light brown sugar from Whole Foods

· 1/4 cup maple syrup from Trader Joes

· 1 14-ounce can full fat coconut milk (reserve 2 Tbsp for the cookie dough)- we didn't reserve any because we used the soy milk. So the whole can went in for ice cream.

· 2.5 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

· 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

COOKIE DOUGH

· 3 Tbsp vegan butter or coconut oil (we used Earth Balance Butter)

· 1/2 cup crunchy or creamy salted natural peanut butter - We used Trader Joes Creamy Peanut Butter

· 1/2 cup brown sugar

· 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

· 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour (you could sub a GF blend, but it will be slightly grainier in texture)

· 1/4 cup dairy free mini chocolate chips (such as Enjoy Life)-We used Trader Joes Semi Sweet only $1.99 a bag

· 1-2 Tbsp coconut milk or other non-dairy milk-we used Trader Joes unsweetened organic soy milk

INSTRUCTIONS

1. The night before, place your ice cream churning bowl in the freezer to properly chill. Also, make sure you soak your cashews overnight OR the next day for at least 6 hours. Be sure to drain before adding to blender.

2. Add all ice cream ingredients to blender and blend until creamy and smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Use the “liquify” or "puree" setting if you have it. You want it to be completely creamy and blended.

3. Chill mixture in the freezer for 1.5-2 hours, or in the fridge overnight.

4. Add chilled mixture to ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions - about 45 minutes. It should look like soft serve. If for some reason it doesn't thicken enough, put the mixture (still in the ice cream churning bowl) and pop it back in the freezer to thicken before churning once more.

5. In the meantime, add vegan butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and vanilla to a mixing bowl and use a mixer or wooden spoon to combine. Add flour a little at a time and stir until thick and slightly crumbly. Add in a little coconut or other non-dairy milk to add moisture. Lastly, add chocolate chips and stir once more. Transfer to fridge or freezer to chill.

6. Once the ice cream is thick like soft serve, add in 3/4 of the cookie dough, crumbling it with your hands as you add it in.

7. Then transfer to a freezer-safe container and sprinkle in the last bits of cookie dough for extra texture. Cover well and freeze for at least 4-6 hours or until firm.

8. Set out for 15-20 minutes before serving to soften. Will keep for up to 1 week, though best when fresh.