Ben and Jerry’s American Apple Pie Ice Cream: so good that I remember eating it over six years ago, and while in Spain. While I wasn’t really a foodie then, I was clearly becoming one. Among the cathedrals, I was raving about this amazing ice cream flavor I had never seen. And I still remember it. I can’t decide if I should be embarrassed.
Sadly, this Ben and Jerry’s flavor is no longer around. Lucky for you, you can just make your own version (that’s arguably better, in my obviously unbiased opinion) now.
Vanilla Ice Cream
Makes a bit over a pint (serves 4)
Because of its creaminess, coconut milk is a perfect base for ice cream. Combining coconut milk with almond milk reduces calories and fat, although you could just use coconut milk if you want an even more decadent and creamy ice cream. It’ll work just great. I don’t recommend just using almond milk, because it will be too icy.
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 cup almond milk (or another cup of coconut milk- see above for notes)
- 1/4 cup honey + 3 droppers stevia (or another 2-3 tablespoons honey), or to taste
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Whisk all ingredients together in a large bowl (or mix in a blender). Taste for sweetness–keep in mind that when frozen, the cream will taste slightly less sweet. Set aside until apple pie topping is completely cooked and cooled.
Apple Pie Topping
Makes 1 pie
Pie crust adapted from Elana’s Pantry
- 1/2 to 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or other fairly neutral tasting oil)
- 4 apples, sliced thinly
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut sugar, honey or maple syrup
- 1 to 2 droppers stevia (or add another 1 1/2 tablespoons of above sweetener)
- 1/2 cup oats, finely ground
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1 tablespoon honey
- pinch sea salt
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or unsalted butter, lightly melted
- 1 egg
Part 1: Making the Pie
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a medium sauce pan over low to medium heat. Coat pan in the bit of coconut oil. Once the pan is hot, add in the apples, cinnamon, sweetener, and stevia. Mix thoroughly so the cinnamon is distributed evenly among the apples. Let cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are slightly broken down.
Meanwhile, mix flours and salt in a food processor.
In a small bowl, combine coconut oil, honey, and egg. Slowly add in this mixture to the food processor while it is still running. Let the processor run until the mixture becomes a ball of dough, about 20 seconds.
Flatten dough out into a pie dish (or any glass baking dish) and place cooked apples on top. Bake until the crust is just turning golden, about 10 minutes. Set aside and let cool before adding to ice cream.
Part 2: Making the Ice Cream
Pour mixture into ice cream machine and run until mixture is just starting to thicken. Pause the machine and crumble in the cooled pie crust and cooked apples (I found that about 3/4 of the pie was more than enough in the ice cream, so you will most likely have some leftover pie). Turn the machine back on, and run until the ice cream is fully churned, about 5 minutes.
For best results, serve immediately. If desired, crumble some extra apple pie topping on top. Alternatively, store this ice cream in the freezer for up to a month.
