This is a weird little recipe I've been making on and off for the past 20 years. It's called Tofu Cookies and Cream. It's a smooth, creamy, egg-free ice cream dessert starring silken tofu and Oreos -- two ingredients you can't pair up without a chuckle. But it works! The family loves it.
A Cooking Light Ice Cream of the Year!
The recipe is originally from Cooking Light, May 2001 where they were featuring recipes to help slip soy into the diet. So it started as a way to use soy, then in 2002 when they put together their annual they called it their favorite ice cream of the year. Silken tofu, is blended with half & half, sugar, salt and vanilla. Some light whipped topping gets folded in, then the ice cream is churned. Lastly, you add Oreos! This was a period when the magazine placed more emphasis on cutting calories and fat than sugar. But alas, it is dessert after all.
A Very Easy Dessert Without Eggs
Since there are no eggs, you don't have to heat the custard, so that makes it pretty quick. You just put the ingredients in a blender, puree, fold in the whipped topping and churn in your ice cream maker. During the last 5 minutes, add the cookies. There are a lot! That's the beauty of making your own cookie and cream. Most ice creams don't have nearly enough cookies. You can eat it right away or freeze it until firm.
Tofu Cookies and Cream Ice Flavor and Texture
This does have a tofu flavor, but it is pleasant. Draining and lightly rinsing tones down the tofu flavor a bit, but you'll still taste it in there. For the tofu, be sure to use the soft or medium-firm silken type. It's kind of chalky when frozen, but when softened it melts smoothly in your mouth. But the main flavor is vanilla. If you have some vanilla bean paste, use that instead of regular vanilla. It will be even better.
Ingredient Changes
Some of the ingredients have changed over the years. The original version called for fat free Cool Whip, which I don't think exists anymore. I just use light whipped topping or sometimes I'll use TruWhip or CocoWhip, which do not have high fructose corn syrup. It also called for a lite type of tofu, which is hard to find. Regular silken tofu is already pretty light, so there's no need to seek out lite or fat free tofu. And then you have the sugar. You can use the full amount of sugar, combine it with a little allulose or use 100% allulose.
Sweetening With Allulose
Back when this recipe was created, you couldn't just go to the store and buy a bag of allulose. Now allulose is readily available and it works so well in ice cream. Using allulose in place of the sugar cuts about 50 calories per serving without sacrificing taste or texture. It also helps keep the ice cream soft. That being said, I still like it better with sugar.
Recipe
Cookies and Cream Tofu Ice Cream
Equipment
- 1 ice cream maker
- 1 blender
Ingredients
- 12 oz silken tofu (340 grams)
- ½ cup half & half (114 grams)
- ½ cup sugar or ¾ cup pure allulose (100 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups reduced fat whipped topping (about ⅔ of an 8 oz tub) (150 grams)
- 8-10 regular Oreos, broken into pieces
Instructions
- Drain and lightly rinse the tofu, then put it in the blender with all of the ingredients except for the whipped topping and cookies. Puree.
- Pour the puree into a bowl and fold in the whipped topping.
- Put mixture in the ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer directions. During the last 2 minutes, add the broken cookies. If you want them more broken, you add them eariler.
- Serve right away or scrape into a container and freeze until firm.
Anna says
Also, the point of the light whipped topping is to bulk up the ice cream and lower the overall calories. If you use one of the fuller fat ingredients I just mentioned, you'll get an ice cream with a higher calorie count.
Anna says
Hi Jana, I don't think it would work. You need some sort of bulky, creamy ingredient to make up for the 6 oz (by weight) of missing mass. You could try whipping 2/3 cup of heavy cream and folding that in or you could try using 2/3 cup of full fat (not lite) coconut milk. If you are worried about the high fructose corn syrup, there are some brands that don't have it.
Jana says
What is the result you don’t include the whipped topping?