Lemon Olive Oil Ice Cream & Rosemary Almond Shortbread Cookies

A couple of months ago, I started doing pop-up dinners here in Rochester at the gorgeous Living Roots Winery. What started as a trial has turned into a whole new “branch” of my business and one of the most fulfilling experiences yet! It’s great to connect with people online, but watching other people enjoy my food in person just takes the whole darn cake. Follow along on Instagram for all the details and ticket information.

While prepping for a private in-home dinner for a bunch of my older Italian cousins (they’re more like 3rd cousins, but everyone’s a cousin you know?), I had the idea to make this vegan olive oil lemon ice cream. It requires no machine and is SO simple. (Fun fact: dates don’t fully freeze, so using them as the sweetener makes this possible without a machine.) Once you have the technique down, you can make any flavor imaginable.

And what’s better to balance that than a crunchy shortbread-style cookie!? Well, the problem was I had never even made shortbread, let alone tried to make a healthy version. But this was one of those “throw it together on the day of and it works perfectly” cases. I’m still dreaming about the perfection.

Both are gluten-free, vegan, and naturally sweetened. No guilt here, ever.

VEGAN LEMON OLIVE OIL ICE CREAM

INGREDIENTS:

(serves 6-8)
2 cans full-fat coconut milk (or coconut cream)*
1/2 cup dates, packed
1/4 cup almond milk (or other nut milk)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp lemon zest
1/8 tsp salt

*Note: Trader Joe’s coconut cream is fine, but do not use their milk as it’s much too watery.

RECIPE:

Chill coconut milk or cream overnight in the fridge.

Make the date paste. If dates are not soft, soak in warm water for 10 minutes. Combine pitted dates into a blender or food processor and pour water in (while running) until a thick + creamy paste forms. A good rule of thumb is to use about half as much water as dates (1/4 in this case). You can always add more to help it come together, but you want a thick paste.

Put a metal bowl into the freezer for 10 minutes. Scoop out the thick cream from the top. Do not get any of the coconut water underneath!

Using a hand mixer (or whisk if you’re strong/patient), whip the coconut until it’s thick and creamy. Add in the rest of ingredients (date paste, lemon zest/juice, olive oil, and salt). Adjust the flavors if needed. I didn’t use all of the date paste, but you can if you like it a little sweeter!

Pour into a parchment paper lined pan (a loaf tin works perfect) and freeze. Take out after a couple of hours for a softer ice cream or leave in for longer for a firmer style. I still haven’t perfected the timing on this so I’ll usually take it out for a bit before eating. See how it works for you!

ROSEMARY ALMOND SHORTBREAD COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:

(makes about 8 small cookies)

1 cup almond meal, or flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp rosemary, finely chopped
splash of lemon juice
pinch of salt

RECIPE:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients into a bowl. Mix well until the flours have all been absorbed and it’s a wet, crumb-like dough.

Press dough onto cutting board or parchment paper and flatten or roll out. I used a little round jar top to make the cookie shapes, but you could also just cut into squares for ease. Carefully transfer to a parchment-lined cookie sheet with a spatula.

Cook for 8-10 minutes, watching carefully. they should be a tiny bit brown on the bottom and still soft to the touch when done. They will firm up once cooled. Enjoy right away or keep in an airtight container on the counter for a few days!