Cookie Dough Vegan Popsicles

This vegan cookie dough popsicle is made with whole foods like blended cashews and almond butter for a smooth and creamy dairy-free popsicle.

This weekend we brought dinner to friends who just had a baby. For dessert we brought these vegan Cookie Dough Popsicles. Well, popsicles aren’t the best food to lug around town, but we couldn’t resist. After dinner we took them out of the molds and stood in the kitchen while everyone sipped on our dripping vegan popsicles while the cicadas hummed. These are delicious everyone whispered. What is inside? The baby’s mother held him in one arm and an ice cream cone in the other. So life is, I thought. Good friends, good food.

About the book: Glow Pops

And these vegan cookie dough popsicles are more than good (yum), they’re good for you too! The recipe is taken from the book Light pops by our friend Liz Moody, a compilation of healthy, nutritious popsicles. Instead of pure sugar, they’re packed with nutritious fruits and veggies. And it’s not just healthy dessert recipes: Liz points out that some of the pops contain enough fiber, good fats, and protein to make healthy meals. (She even has some salty lollipops.) Her approach to health is similar to ours: Eat real whole foods. And her popsicle is full of it.

Get the book: Order Glow Pops from Liz Moody

How to make vegan cookie dough popsicles

So how do you get cookie dough flavor with real, whole foods? The magic is in the cashews, which are soaked until blended, forming a creamy consistency. Add some almond butter, some maple syrup and the magic ingredient: lots of vanilla. Mix it all together and you have a delicious cookie dough smoothie (which yes, I tried straight out of the blender). Frozen, these babies are out of sight.

A few more details about this creamy vegan popsicle:

• For the Pieces of “Chocolate”We broke up some large dark chocolate chips and added them to the mix. The recipe calls for mini potato chips, but we couldn’t find any at our nearest grocery store. We shredded the fries we had on hand to make sure they would float in the mix. For a full food effect, use cacao nibs; They are packed with antioxidants and have a very dark, almost bitter, chocolate flavor.
• They are rich in proteins. Compared to the typical creamy popsicles sold in stores, this version fills a dessert or snack that’s not all empty calories.

Finally, a few pro popsicle tips we learned while making popsicles this summer:

• popsicle sticks: The Light pops The recipes suggest freezing the popsicles for 1 hour, then inserting the sticks and freezing for another 4 hours. This makes positioning the bars easier. Also, I’ve noticed that I tend to put the chopsticks all the way into the mold, so the part of the chopstick that sticks out is very small. Instead, make sure to leave a few inches of the chopstick for the “sleeve” so it’s easy to eat.
• Demoulding pops: Most recipes call for running hot water over the clams and then removing them. With these vegan popsicles, we had trouble with the “running water” method, which took a while, so we tried putting them in a cup filled with lukewarm water. It did the trick and a lot faster than running water. (It was also a bit safer since it’s easy to squirt hot water on the pops while trying to demould them.)
• Storage: If you want to freeze these vegan popsicles for later use after shaping, lay them flat on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Once unmold, freeze for 1 hour (until completely frozen), then place in a resealable plastic bag and store for up to 3 months.
• Lollipop Shapes: Here’s the ice mold we’re using; we love it and recommend it.

Looking for healthy dessert recipes?

Healthy (or really healthy) dessert recipes can usually be found on our table. And that’s what this vegan popsicle is all about: using nutrient-dense foods, natural sweeteners, and lighter versions of traditional dessert recipes. Here are some healthy dessert recipes we love:

• Angel Cupcakes with Maple Cream: A lighter version of a cupcake, these angel cupcakes are flavored with maple and fresh raspberries.
• Bliss Bites: One of our best healthy dessert recipes is an upside-down peanut butter cup made with only whole foods: oats, peanut butter, coconut oil, peanut butter syrup. maple and cocoa powder.
• Berries and Peaches in Mint Syrup: This healthy dessert recipe couldn’t be simpler: Make a syrup with fresh mint, then drizzle with seasonal berries
• Vegan Banana Berry Ice Cream: this is more of a sorbet; It’s creamy, flavorful and perfect on a warm summer evening
• Chocolate Drizzled Peanut Butter Popsicles: These are also creamy vegan popsicles made with peanut butter and coconut milk
• Strawberry Vanilla Shortcakes
• Strawberries with Balsamic and Greek Yogurt: One of our favorite healthy dessert recipes, strawberries are tossed with balsamic vinegar and honey, then topped with Greek yogurt with a sprinkling of mint

This vegan popsicle recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten-free, naturally sweetened (made with cacao nibs). For vegan/plant-based products, use maple syrup and cacao nibs or vegan chocolate.