There are two types of people in this world: those who prefer the cookie, and those who prefer the dough. While I ADORE cookies, I fall definitively into the latter camp. In college, I kept a log of Tollhouse chocolate chip in my dorm room fridge, available whenever I needed to pinch off a bite (or three). In my later, more healthy years, I’ve been known to keep a glass container full of this stuff in my freezer, digging into it with a spoon on Bachelorette nights (anyone else Team Luke?) or even a few sneaky mornings.
And now, in the spirit of summer, I’ve translated my addiction into a milkshake. A completely vegan, paleo, refined sugar free, healthy cookie dough milkshake. You could call this a smoothie and drink it for breakfast, if you wanted – it’s that good for you. But the flavor – the flavor is all decadence. It’s rich, buttery, filled with vanilla smoothness and bursting with bites of chocolate. Beyond freezing a bit of nondairy milk in ice cube trays the night before, the whole thing also comes together in about two minutes flat.
There are a few secret ingredients here that give it that supreme cookie dough flavor. Almond butter brings that rich butteriness, while an abundance of vanilla extract ensures that chocolate chip cookie essence. I also swapped chocolate chips for cacao nibs, which are completely unprocessed crushed cacao beans and thus retain more of chocolate’s amazing nutrients. You know when people talk about chocolate being a super food? They’re talking about raw cacao, which is packed with theobromine, magnesium, and antioxidants that give you a mellow energy and loads of immune-boosting power. They completely satisfy my chocolate cravings, and I love the faint crunch they give when pulsed into the milkshake, but if you prefer, you can also use dark chocolate chips or shavings.
Healthy Cookie Dough Milkshake (Vegan, Paleo, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free)
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 5
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 Shakes 1x
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup creamy unsalted cashew or almond butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/8 tsp fine grain sea salt
- 4 tbsp chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate (you can also use cacao nibs to make it even healthier!)
- 1 1/2 cups milk of choice
- 2 cups frozen cauliflower
- 1/4 cup hulled hemp hearts
- 1 frozen banana
Instructions
- Stir together nut butter, vanilla, maple syrup, almond flour, and sea salt until a dough forms (it’ll be thick, use your hands!).
- Divide in half. To one half, mix in 2 tbsp of chocolate chips, then roll into balls the size of the chunks you find in cookie dough ice cream.
- Add the other half to a blender and blend with milk, cauliflower, hemp hearts, and banana until smooth.
- Pulse in the remaining 2 tbsp chocolate until it’s distributed but not fully blended.
- Pour into two glasses. Stir in/top with cookie dough chunks! Enjoy with a friend who will now love you very, very much ?
I have been dairy free for 7 months and I miss ice cream and milkshakes SO much. This was amazing!!
This is awesome!
★★★★★
How many servings is this? Thanks!
2 shakes! =)
Being keto by choice (and doc reccomend) has not been easy. And I’ve MISSED cookies. Especially cookie dough. So, when I came across your recipe, I Pinned it with mild interest. Mostly as a quick breakfast idea or snack and not expecting much, honestly.
With a fee changes, I made half of this today. SO YUMMY!!!!
I used Sun Butter instead of Almond (cuz I had it and it’s less irritating to me than pnut butter), cashew milk and straight ice, and sugar free maple syrup…plus some extract and liquid stevia. This is one of the best on-plan smoothie/blender drinks ever. Thank you so much!!
★★★★★
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I just made this and the flavor was amazimg but it didn’t get thick at all. 🙁 I used canned coconut milk, froze 3/4 cup for 12 hours, and blended it with 3/4 cup coconut milk, and the rest of the ingredients. My blender is kind of cheap so I had to blend it for a few to get all the milk cubes blended..and by that point it was very runny. What could I have done wrong?
I think blending it too long made the difference! Maybe next time start with even more frozen parts and less liquid!
Oh my stars! This milkshake is life. I didn’t have any frozen milk and I also needed the shake right away so I used canned (not cold) coconut milk and added some ice cubes. It didn’t have that texture you speak of from the frozen milk, but it didn’t matter. Yum yum yum!
★★★★★
Yay I’m so glad you loved it!! <3
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Oh my! I need to make this! It looks absolutely amazing! And I love cookie dough too – it’s the best! Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe. I know what I’ll be sipping on this weekend 😉
Woot! Stop back and lemme know what you think! <3
I have a almond allergies how can substitute the almond butter. I really want to give it a try
Hi Paula! Roasted cashew butter would also work really well, and so would walnut butter. Are you okay with either of those?
Meant to rate it a 5 on my original comment!
★★★★★
I had all of the ingredients but the frozen milk when I read this recipe and really wanted to make it anyways. Subbed the frozen milk for frozen banana and just reduced the maple syrup to about 1.5 tbsps so it wouldn’t be too sweet. I blended half of the cacao more thoroughly and left the rest whole. I also added a little chia to beef up the protein a bit more. It came out super delicious! I’ve been gluten free for 4 years now, and vegan for the last 6 months.. so needless to say I haven’t had good cookies/cookie dough in ages. This totally satisfied those cravings. The consistency was so yummy, and the ‘batter’ tastes salty and buttery. The dark chocolatey taste from the cacao made it even more decadent. Thanks so much for sharing! This is my new favorite healthy dessert!!
Yay!! I’m so glad you liked it! Your tweaks sound awesome – I’ll have to try it that way! <3
Question: recipe calls for 3 cups milk, but instructions only account for 1.5 cups (3/4 frozen + 3/4 blended)?? Looks great, though!
sorry – updated to reflect! I doubled it in one of my testing sessions, and forgot to change it back! Thanks for pointing it out.
Doesn’t 3/4 plus 3/4 equal 1.5 cups, rather than 3 cups?
Made this for a special weekend breakfast and it is super delicious. Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★