Healthier Pistachio Ice Cream Sandwiches

creamy homemade pistachio ice cream sandwiched between grain-free chocolate chip raspberry cookies - your next healthier dessert recipe is in here!!!

You know I love a good homemade sweet treat. Making desserts at home allows me to control the quality of the ingredients, make them gluten free, moderate the sugar levels (most desserts out there are WAY too sweet in my opinion), and add extra nutrients like protein, fiber, or healthy fats to minimize the glucose impact.

I do love a trip to the ice cream shop on a warm summer day, but homemade desserts almost always satisfy me more. I had an oddly specific craving of an ice cream sandwich with homemade pistachio ice cream. I gathered the ingredients from the farmers’ market, got to baking on a Saturday afternoon, and it was even better than I could have imagined. I’m sharing the process/recipe here so that you can recreate it in your home!

Choosing the Cookie Layer

First step, choose your cookie layer. I opted for a chocolate chip cookie because you just really can’t go wrong, but I got so many good recommendations on Instagram - the most popular suggestion was a white chocolate macadamia cookie, which sounds amazing.

I used the Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from my cookbook. It starts with browned butter mixed with tahini which gives it the most decadent nutty, creamy flavor. Then you fold in a bit of cassava flour and coconut and they’re minimally sweetened with maple syrup so they’re A LOT more blood sugar friendly than a typical recipe, but with all the delicious flavor and texture that you want from a cookie.

If you want to try that recipe, my cookbook is on sale for only $15 right now, so go snag a copy and you’ll have it in a day or two! The chocolate chunks in the chocolate chip cookie paired so well with the pistachio, but feel free to use any cookie recipe you’d like.

I started with baking the cookies so that they could chill to room temperature and and then set in the fridge while I made the ice cream so that they were sturdy and easy to handle when assembling the ice cream sandwiches.

Now it’s Time to Make Homemade Ice Cream

I love making homemade ice cream - it is such a decadent and impressive treat but it’s actually really easy to make with simple ingredients! I usually just whisk together all of the ingredients and throw it in my ice cream maker, but this time I wanted to experiment with making a custard (the traditional process of making ice cream). I don’t really think it improved the texture of the ice cream significantly, so I will probably go back to my easy (read: lazy) way. But if you want the traditional process or you don’t want to eat raw egg yolks, I wrote out the custard process for you here!

Ingredients

• ¾ cup raw unsalted pistachios 

• ¼-1/2 cup maple syrup (depending on sweetness preference)

• 2 cups heavy cream 

• 1 cup whole milk 

• Pinch sea salt

• 4 egg yolks

• 1 tsp vanilla extract 

• 1-2 drops almond extract (optional)

Directions

1. In a food processor, add the pistachios and maple syrup and finely grind until they form a paste. 

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the pistachio paste, 1 cup of the heavy cream, the milk and sea salt. Heat over medium heat until just simmering, then remove from heat.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Temper the eggs by gradually whisking 1 cup of the warm pistachio mixture into the egg yolks, a little at a time, to prevent the eggs from scrambling.

4. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Do not let it boil.

5. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining cup of cream, the vanilla extract and almond extract. Pour the custard into a bowl and let it cool to room temperature. 

   Ice cream maker: Transfer the custard to your ice cream maker and churn according to your machine’s directions.

   No churn option: Transfer the mixture to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for about 30 minutes, then stir vigorously with a whisk or fork to break up ice crystals. Repeat this process every 30 minutes for about 3-4 hours, or until the ice cream is smooth and fully frozen.

6. Once the ice cream is done churning, allow it to soften slightly and then assemble the sandwiches. Place one cookie, bottom side up, on a flat surface. Scoop about ¼ cup of ice cream onto the cookie. Place a second cookie, bottom side down, on top of the ice cream. Gently press down to spread the ice cream evenly between the cookies. If the ice cream is too soft, you can place the assembled sandwich in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up. Repeat with the remaining cookies and ice cream. For an extra treat, roll the edges of the ice cream sandwiches in crushed pistachios.

7. Serve the ice cream sandwiches immediately or store in an airtight container in the freezer. If you are storing them in the freezer for later, before enjoying, let the ice cream sandwich thaw for 5-7 minutes.

Let me know if you’re going to try these out! Can’t wait to hear what you think ❤️

And tell me in the comments - what are your go to ice cream sandwich combos that I should try next??