I was checking out the recipes on a new blog I found called "Oh She Glows" and I was super excited to run across one for chocolate chip cookie dough "Blizzards". I haven't eaten at Dairy Queen for at least 6 years and don't ever plan to again, but I fondly remember eating my fair share of Blizzards when I was younger (and Dilly Bars...remember those?!?). We practically grew up at Dairy Queen when my brother and I were kids - we went there after every single tee ball game my brother had, and it was our go to place for hot summer nights. So when I told the kids what we were making, I expected them to be just as thrilled as I was....until they gave me blank stares and asked what a Blizzard was. Lol. It ended up being a good thing that they didn't have any preconceived notions, because the recipe wasn't as great as I had hoped it would be. It was however, much healthier than anything we could have gotten from Dairy Queen, so it was worth the effort.
The first thing we did was slice up a bunch of bananas (the recipe called for 6, but I think one per person would have been a better amount) and pop them in a bowl in the freezer. While they got nice and frosty, we moved onto the next step which was the cookie dough balls:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted cashews
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (other flours may work)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1.5 tbsp natural cane sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup (or a bit more if dough is too dry)
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
Directions: In a food processor, add the cashews and oats and process until it forms a fine crumble. Now add in the salt, sugar, and flour and process for a few seconds more. Add in the maple syrup and vanilla and process until combined. It will be sticky, but this is normal! Add in your chocolate chips and stir by hand or process. Form into balls. Store in freezer.
When the bananas and the cookie dough were both sufficiently cold, I put half the bananas in the food processor with about 4 dough balls, and let 'er rip. The bananas take on this awesome soft serve sort of consistency, and the dough adds a touch of crunch to the mix. I poured it into our best sundae cups, and topped each one with a few more cookie dough balls:
The kids were waiting anxiously - its a rare event for us to have dessert in our house and even if they didn't know what a Blizzard was, they knew it was supposed to be yummy:
There were a few good things about it - we all loved the taste and consistency of the banana "ice cream". Its something I can see us making again for a dessert, because its so darn healthy. The bits of cookie dough gave it that Blizzard feel, but unfortunately, they didn't taste anything like real cookie dough to us. They were WAY to salty for one thing. I don't know if its because we use the Real Salt brand of salt (which has a very different taste than the salt most of us grew up with) or if the recipe just calls for too darn much salt. Either way, the cookie dough balls were practically inedible, which was a disappointment. If I were going to make this again, I would leave out the salt altogether. Still, we didn't really expect it to be an exact clone of a real Blizzard, and I wouldn't consider it a total failure. Just a recipe that needs tweaking, and I am sure the kids will have no problem with taste testing along the way!
The first thing we did was slice up a bunch of bananas (the recipe called for 6, but I think one per person would have been a better amount) and pop them in a bowl in the freezer. While they got nice and frosty, we moved onto the next step which was the cookie dough balls:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted cashews
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (other flours may work)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1.5 tbsp natural cane sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup (or a bit more if dough is too dry)
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
Directions: In a food processor, add the cashews and oats and process until it forms a fine crumble. Now add in the salt, sugar, and flour and process for a few seconds more. Add in the maple syrup and vanilla and process until combined. It will be sticky, but this is normal! Add in your chocolate chips and stir by hand or process. Form into balls. Store in freezer.
When the bananas and the cookie dough were both sufficiently cold, I put half the bananas in the food processor with about 4 dough balls, and let 'er rip. The bananas take on this awesome soft serve sort of consistency, and the dough adds a touch of crunch to the mix. I poured it into our best sundae cups, and topped each one with a few more cookie dough balls:
The kids were waiting anxiously - its a rare event for us to have dessert in our house and even if they didn't know what a Blizzard was, they knew it was supposed to be yummy:
There were a few good things about it - we all loved the taste and consistency of the banana "ice cream". Its something I can see us making again for a dessert, because its so darn healthy. The bits of cookie dough gave it that Blizzard feel, but unfortunately, they didn't taste anything like real cookie dough to us. They were WAY to salty for one thing. I don't know if its because we use the Real Salt brand of salt (which has a very different taste than the salt most of us grew up with) or if the recipe just calls for too darn much salt. Either way, the cookie dough balls were practically inedible, which was a disappointment. If I were going to make this again, I would leave out the salt altogether. Still, we didn't really expect it to be an exact clone of a real Blizzard, and I wouldn't consider it a total failure. Just a recipe that needs tweaking, and I am sure the kids will have no problem with taste testing along the way!