Vegan Peach Almond Ice Cream

I have been buying lots of peaches lately because they are amazing right now! I am mostly just eating them as is, but I was thinking of how delicious they would be in some ice cream as well!  It was hot and humid last week, so it was the perfect time to make and enjoy some! I still go outside when it is hot to run and go for walks and enjoy the sun, because it makes me happy despite the heat, but it is still nice to be able to come home to a cooling treat!  What I ended up making was a Vegan Peach Almond Ice Cream! I remember my Grandparents used to buy a peach frozen yogurt that I really liked when I was a kid that I would enjoy when I visited their house.  So I thought I could make something similar to that.  But I also decided to add the flavor of almonds as well, because I thought it would be lovely with the peaches!

I used a coconut milk base, because I find that it makes the most luscious creamy ice cream, but I also added almond butter to it since this was peach almond ice cream, and it made it even more smooth and decadent.  I sweetened this ice cream with dates, because I like that they don't add any access moisture to the ice cream (so that it doesn't freeze as hard and is easier to scoop) and they give it a nice hint of caramel flavor.  I also added a bit of vanilla to this as well, fresh sweet ripe peaches of course to give it plenty of peach flavor.  And lastly a touch of almond extract because I think it makes things heavenly!

This ice cream base was delicious even before freezing it and honestly I scraped every last bit of it out of the ice cream maker to enjoy! The texture of this is kind of similar to gelato.  If you do not own an ice cream maker, you can still make this it just requires a little extra hands on while it is freezing.  I have included a note on that in the directions.  That said, if you are on the fence about getting an ice cream maker you should totally buy one!  There are some inexpensive ones out there that work pretty well, and I find that I use mine quite a lot and rarely buy ice cream at the store anymore.

This ice cream turned out so heavenly!  It was sweet and scented with peach, vanilla and almond, creamy textured and pretty easy to scoop!  It was the perfect summer treat on a hot day!  If you have a bunch of ripe peaches on hand, definitely give this Vegan Peach Almond Ice Cream a try!

Vegan Peach Almond Ice Cream
Makes 3 cups

Ingredients:

• 2 cups full fat coconut milk
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 3/4 cup soft, pitted medjool dates (if they are not soft, soak them in filtered water for 30 minutes before using)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh peaches, cut into pieces
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to directions.  Alternatively, if you do not have an ice cream maker, pour it into a bowl, and whisk every half hour until it is to the consistency of a thick malt.
3. Pour into a freezer safe container with a lid, and continue to freeze until firm enough to scoop (at least 4 hours or overnight). If it becomes too firm, simply let it sit out for 15 minutes before serving.