Welcome to Ice Cream Week here at Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy!
Ice cream is the topic of the hour, all week long. I’ve got some sorbets to share, plus some fun ice cream flavors I’ve been experimenting with, and some other ideas for what to do with all the ice cream you make.(Note: All the recipes are intentionally dairy-free; but with the exception of the sorbets can be made with regular old cow’s milk and cream should you desire.) Come back every day this week for a new recipe!
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I suppose it would be more accurate to say, “GingerSnaps in Ice Cream” but it doesn’t have the same ring to it. And when it comes right down to it, the actual truth is that it is gingersnap dough in ice cream, which totally just doesn’t have a ring at all. And yes, you heard me right: cookie dough ice cream, but not the chocolate chip kind. Nope, the gingersnap kind!
I was inspired by Susan of mighty acorns, who guest posted for me a little while back, and commented on my FB page that her favorite ice cream flavor had bits of “gingernut biscuit” (which I translated into gingersnap, hopefully correctly) and ginger chew (which I unfortunately did not have on hand). She said that it was in a vanilla-flavored ice cream, but I decided to go over the top and make the ice cream itself gingersnap-flavored, too.
Once again, I used a coconut milk base (which actually makes a very delicious and creamy ice cream base, even if you’re not vegan or dairy-free), but of course you can swap in regular milk and cream instead.
GingerSnaps in Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 cup So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1 can coconut milk, chilled
- 1/2 recipe GingerSnap Dough
- 1/4 cup candied ginger, optional
GingerSnap Dough
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 3 TBSP palm shortening
- 1 cup + 2 TBSP whole wheat flour (or 1 cup brown rice flour + 2 TBSP corn/arrowroot/tapioca starch)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1″ knob ginger root, grated
- dash ground cloves
Instructions
- Blend together the coconut milk, molasses and ginger powder. Chill until very cold, and then churn in ice cream machine. When ice cream is very close to the desired consistency, add in the GingerSnap Dough, one piece at a time, followed by the candied ginger. Continue churning until mixed thoroughly, then freeze for several hours before serving. Enjoy within a week.
To make GingerSnap Dough
- Bring molasses to a boil; remove from heat and add shortening. Stir together until shortening is completely melted, then add remaining ingredients, stirring well. Roll into small 1/4″ balls and place in a single layer on a pan. Freeze until hardened, then add to the ice cream per instructions. Freeze extra dough for the next batch of ice cream!
The gingersnap dough really deteriorated after a week or so in the freezer, which may or may not be because I used rice flour. Just in case, be sure to enjoy the ice cream right away. Also, next time I try it, I might actually bake a batch of gingersnaps, cut them into chunks, freeze them, and then add them to the ice cream instead of the raw dough.
Also, the molasses flavor was really quite strong in these, so next time, I’ll probably cut it with honey to soften the intense flavor a bit. I love ginger, and molasses is its perfect foil… but sometimes you can have too much of a good thing!
This is not a super QUICK recipe unless you already have a batch of gingersnaps and just add them instead of the cookie dough, although it really doesn’t take long to whip up a batch of gingersnaps (It is my favorite go-to cookie recipe, after all.).
It has several steps, too, so it’s not super EASY, either. But you know what they say… no pain, no gain. Some things are worth it!
Homemade dairy-free gourmet ice cream is definitely CHEAPer than the same thing bought in a store. And that makes it totally worth it in my book.
I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again (because it’s true!), homemade ice cream is definitely HEALTHYer than storebought! You can make ice cream at home with pure ingredients, plus you can control the sugar level.
That looks SO good! And the ginger snap recipe is killer! OMG‚ is there anything you can’t make with So Delicious Coconut Milk? I love that stuff!
I love it, too! It’s the best substitute for cow’s milk that I’ve found!
Hey there! I just came across your blog as I was googling for people’s experience making ice cream out of coconut milk beverage. I’ve been doing a ton of experimenting with both fat free yogurt and non-dairy milk (light coconut milk from a can, and almond milk) and trying all kinds of recipes and tricks, but everything I end up with becomes rock-hard in the freezer. I would *love* to come up with something that is scoop-able from the freezer, or at least softens nicely after a few minutes on the counter. What was your experience with this kind of ice cream? And, for the can of coconut milk, did you use full fat or light? Thanks!
I think the most perfect solution is one that I haven’t tried but have read about frequently, and that is to add in a tiny bit of some kind of alcohol just before you put the finished ice cream in the freezer. The alcohol inhibits the freezing process to a certain extent, ensuring a scoop-able consistency. I’ve never tried it, myself, though, so i dont’ know the quantities and exactly what kind of alcohol works best. I have also found that ice cream made with mashed bananas has a great consistency… but also a great banana flavor! If you’re not going for banana ice cream, that won’t work so well. For coconut milk, I used full fat; I actually don’t recommend using light or fat free products.I’ve never made ice cream solely with the coconut milk beverage; I always add a can of regular coconut milk. I do think that the coconut milk ice cream has a slightly better consistency than that made with regular cow’s milk, but it still can get very hard. I’ve tried adding a little starch, but although it helps with the scoop-ability, it makes it grainy, which is worse, imo. My best recommendation is to eat the ice cream right out of the machine, or after only an hour or two in the freezer for the best consistency. Let me know if you come across anything that works better; I’ve been on the same quest for a while now!