There is only one treat that my new health-concious palate still craves. You know how biting your nails isn’t nearly as satisfying after you’ve given up the habit for Lent? Foods are the same way with me. My former undercover lover, the pop-tart, tastes sickly sweet and cardboard-y to me now. So for you who are still struggling with sugar addiction: There is a light at the end of the tunnel! Your tastebuds change and things like bell peppers become candy-sweet. Well, this phenomenon did not happen with one demonic sugar-laden substance–ice cream! It tastes just as good as I remember, and seriously does things to my brain so I just can’t get enough. This poses a problem since my favorite vice consists of a wholesome blend of the following:
Milkfat and Nonfat Milk, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Whey, Mono and Diglycerides, Artificial Flavor, Guar Gum, Polysorbate 80, Carrageenan, and Vitamin A Palmitate.
There’s some calcium in there with the nonfat milk, but that’s about it in terms of nourishment. None of those other ingredients look too promising. Wonder what 19 years worth of this stuff does to you…
Fortunately, I have found a way to satisfy my ice-cream tooth (teeth?). The best part is that it takes minutes to whip up, with no strange ingredients or tools. Minimal effort for the pay-off, baby! With my low-carb ice cream bars, you have no excuse for caving to cravings and blowing $4.00 on toxic sludge for your body. You get the calcium from the cream and cream cheese (go organic if you can, at least on the cream!), the antioxidants from the chocolate, and the medium chain triglycerides from the coconut oil. Consume the Dilly bar‘s healthy cousin with gusto!
Easy Ice Cream Bars
Makes 4 bars
Ingredients:
Filling:
2 oz heavy cream (Organic Valley is deliciously thick!)
2 oz cream cheese
3 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter
2-4 tablespoons of sweetener
For ALL NATURAL sugar-free sweetening, use both of the following:
-1-2 tablespoons erythritol or xylitol
-1/8 teaspoon pure stevia extract
Chocolate Coating (for two bars):
1 tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil
2 squares Lindt extra dark 85% chocolate bar
Pinch of good-tasting pure stevia extract
chopped nuts (optional)
Peanut Butter Coating:
4 teaspoons creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons coconut oil
sweetener, to taste
Preparation:
Beat heavy cream with a mixer until it forms stiff peaks. Do not over-beat or it will get clumpy and turn to butter! Set whipped cream aside. Beat cream cheese, sweetener, and peanut butter until the mixture is smooth and clump free. Test for sweetness. It should be a bit sweeter than you want the finished product. Using a spatula, fold cream cheese into the whipped cream until there are only a few white streaks. Shape ice cream rounds on a pan lined with parchment or waxed paper. Freeze for 1/2 hour.
Melt coating ingredients in the microwave in 10 second intervals, until liquified. Stir until smooth and add sweetener, to taste. Remove rounds from freezer and dip into coatings. You may need to set the round on the paper and spoon the coating over bare spots. Sprinkle bars with nuts immediately after dipping in the coating, if desired. Chill for another few minutes until the coating hardens.
~3g net carbs per treat!
Stack
May 28, 2008 at 10:50 pm (15 years ago)WOW! Those sound like HEAVEN!
Totally gonna try them.
Anonymous
May 29, 2008 at 4:20 pm (15 years ago)If these taste as good as they look, I’m marrying you – no questions asked – and chaining you to the oven. You’ll be on a long chain of course, wouldn’t want to stifle your culinary genius.
Thanks for the new recipe!
lene
May 29, 2008 at 7:53 pm (15 years ago)These look so wonderful, my 22 year old son is drooling on my shoulder as I type.
I’m such a mess, I’d get coating all over myself as I ate one of these, I’m sure, and since I have no popsicle sticks on hand, I can’t make them tidier to eat that way. I think I’ll give these a try by layering filling and coating in small freezer cups, to be eaten with spoons. I may even add a layer of chopped peanuts, and make both kinds of coating to use a little of one layer and a little of the other. Thanks for a great recipe!
Anonymous
June 5, 2008 at 4:17 am (15 years ago)Oh my LAWD girl – these score a big A PLUS with me!
I made a double batch of the filling and put it into a plastic-wrap-lined 9″ pie plate, smoothing it out, then froze – once frozen, cut it into 8 wedges and stuck a popsicle stick into the wide end of each wedge.
Back into the freezer!
Then I melted 40 grams of extra-dark chocolate with some organic expeller-pressed coconut oil, some erythritol and stevia, in a cereal bowl. I used a big spoon and held each wedge by the stick over the bowl and spooned the coating on til the wedges were each covered (except the last one, which only got a drizzle – note to self, next time, more chocolate!) and placed each on a piece of waxed paper as they were coated. Back into the freezer for a few until I couldn’t STAND to wait any longer – oh boy these are RICH RICH RICH!
Next time I will use a plastic-wrap-lined loaf pan and cut into 10 or 12 rectangles. AND melt more chocolate! 😉
Anonymous
June 23, 2008 at 4:15 pm (15 years ago)I made these this afternoon and two words
YUM
OH
oblong
October 28, 2008 at 12:21 pm (15 years ago)Hello there! I tried making these last night but I replaced the cheese and cream with coconut milk and poured the mix into ice cube trays. They’ve turned out quite well, but more like a sorbet than an ice cream.
I also made the fluffy almond biscuits which turned out amazing. How do you do it? Thank you for all your work creating these fantastic recipes and sharing them with us all!!
Lauren
November 8, 2008 at 10:06 pm (15 years ago)Oblong – You are welcome! Glad you enjoyed these bars and the biscuits. I just mess around in the kitchen until something yummy happens. Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂
Chef Rachel
May 24, 2009 at 1:10 am (14 years ago)Once again, Lauren, You’ve outdone yourself. They look fantastic and from the comments you’ve gotten, they sound like winners. Can’t wait to try them.
Chef Rachel
May 24, 2009 at 1:11 am (14 years ago)Hey, you could freeze the ice creamy stuff in popsickle molds, then remove, then dip in the chocolate. Maybe you thought of this already?
Alexandra
July 16, 2010 at 6:18 pm (13 years ago)WOW! Made these last night and they are literally better than any ice cream treats I have EVER had! I'm never eating regular ice cream again!
LOVE your blog, everything I've made from it has been so delicious. You are such an inspiration, keep up the good work!!!
alonewithme
October 12, 2010 at 5:53 pm (13 years ago)These were really really good! I couldn't make them without making a mess though. Hah… I will stick a spoon in them or something next time to make it easier to dip them in chocolate and peanut.
Jess
July 6, 2011 at 4:42 pm (12 years ago)These are amazing! And this is coming from someone who's guilty pleasure is conventional ice cream—but I SO want to get away from it and because of health issues I need to.
Thanks for this brilliant recipe! I seriously never imagined but whipped cream and cream cheese are like the richest vanilla ice cream! Oh I added a few drops of vanilla to enhance that. LOVE IT!!
Wendy Alexander
April 12, 2012 at 3:07 am (11 years ago)Thanks for the best, easiest & healthiest ice cream bar recipe EVER, Lauren! These are so good!
Lauren
April 30, 2012 at 11:35 pm (11 years ago)Wendy – Your comment reminded me to revisit these treats. 😉 I'm so glad they worked out well for you!
Kathy
November 16, 2014 at 10:51 pm (9 years ago)Do you have the total carbs on these….they look scrumptious!
Deb
May 25, 2015 at 7:50 am (8 years ago)I’ll have to try these with almond butter. I don’t like peanut butter
Lauren B.
May 29, 2015 at 4:13 pm (8 years ago)They’re good with any smoothly ground nut butter!
Domino
June 22, 2016 at 2:45 am (7 years ago)I made these and loved them, but the shell wasn’t what I remembered when I made them. so I’m sharing this recipe from the Max Falkowitz of Serious Eats – diy crackle shell. With Vitafiber as the corn syrup replacement, it’s sugar free, prebiotic and super high in fiber. http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/06/how-to-make-your-own-chocolate-dip.html.
Deandre
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Geraldine
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Cornelia
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