Mint-cacao bit ice cream with hemp milk

My favorite flavor of ice cream is mint-chocolate chip. I decided to treat myself for Easter to my own version of my favorite flavor. The trick would be making it low carb and free of dairy, sugar, and eggs. It was surprisingly easy to make and delicious to eat.

I also have been dreaming of peppermint patties for some reason lately. I knew a regular peppermint patty would be impossible to recreate given my dietary restrictions. Instead, I opted to satisfy my craving with peppermint ice cream sandwiches which utilized some of my ice cream creation. The ice cream sandwiches were yummy and filled in quite nicely for a peppermint patty.

Mint-Cacao Bit (Hemp Milk) Ice Cream

(makes 2 servings)

Ingredients:

2 cups unsweetened vanilla hemp milk

3 tsp. egg replacer mixed with 4 T. hemp milk

10-12 drops vanilla-flavored stevia

1 T. cacao bits

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the hemp milk and egg replacer. Add the stevia. Heat till mixture thickens like pudding. Stir constantly as the mixture thickens. Transfer mixture to a bowl and refrigerate until cold. Freeze mixture in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. Add the cacao bits towards the end the freezing process.

Peppermint Ice Cream Sandwiches

1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour

1/8 cup powdered stevia such as SweetLeaf

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder or carob powder

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 cup canola oil

egg replacer for 4 eggs (use hemp milk in place of water)

1/2 tsp. peppermint extract (alcohol free)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine first five ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the egg replacer, canola oil and peppermint extract in a small bowl. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Spray a large cookie sheet with pan spray. Drop teaspoonsful of dough onto the baking sheet. You should get 12 small cookies. Bake 7-9 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

To assemble ice cream sandwiches, soften the mint ice cream slightly. Spread ice cream between two cookies. Set sandwiches on a cookie sheet, uncovered, and freeze until firm. When hard, wrap each cookie individually in plastic wrap.