Vegan Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients

For the Ice Cream Filling
• 2/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk, as thick as possible, such as canned Thai Kitchen brand. (Lite coconut milk and coconut milk beverage in a carton will not work, as they are too thin.)
• 1 3/4 cups raw cashews, soaked for 3 to 6 hours in filtered water and well drained
• 1 cup Just Like Sugar Table Top natural chicory root sweetener (not Baking), or your favorite sweetener.
• Pinch of unprocessed salt
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil (place jar in lukewarm water to melt oil)
For the Cookies:
• 2 cups raw nuts, soaked 3-6 hours if possible and well drained (See All About Nuts.)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon unprocessed salt
• 6 tablespoons pure cacao powder
• 2 tablespoons roasted carob powder (This gives the cookie a darker color, but you can substitute cacao powder)
• 1 large carrot, with the peel, cut into chunks (about 120 grams)
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups Just Like Sugar Table Top natural chicory root sweetener (not Baking), or your favorite sweetener.
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring (optional)
• 2 tablespoons Seaweed – Hijiki or Wakame, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes (optional- it helps to bind the cookies)

Instructions

For the Ice Cream Filling:
1. In a blender, combine the coconut milk, soaked cashews, sweetener, salt, lemon juice, and vanilla. Blend until very smooth and creamy. Sweeten to taste. Add the coconut oil last and blend well.
2. Pour the mixture into a flat pan or tray with a removable bottom or lined with parchment paper, so the mixture is no more than 1/2 inch thick. If it’s any thicker, it is too difficult to cut when frozen. I use an 8 by 11-inch tart pan. Freeze for 2 hours or until very firm.
For the cookies:
3. To a food processor, add all the cookie ingredients. Mix well until the carrot is well pureed and the dough becomes cohesive.
4. Divide the dough into two parts. Roll each piece between two pieces of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Freeze both sheets for 30 to 60 minutes until stiff.
To Assemble:
5. Remove the dough from the freezer. Cut with a cookie cutter, in matching pairs. Don’t worry if a piece breaks, you can re-roll the dough and freeze.
6. Remove the filling from the freezer. Working quickly, cut the filling with the same cutter and place on one of each cookie pair. Stack the second cookie of each pair on top. Place the sandwiches in the freezer immediately on serving plate. Below I'm testing an ice cream sandwich!