Growing up, I used to have a thing for Dairy Queen Blizzards. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Blizzards, in particular, were my go-to indulgence during the summer when I needed something cold and creamy, especially after hours of running around at softball practice. It also helped that my sister used to work there and she would give me extra scoops of cookie dough when I came in. ;)
Love that.
Yesterday, I found myself with an insatiable craving for a cookie dough blizzard. It must have been the tropical weather we were experiencing (11 Celsius and sunny- I’ll take it!) and the fact that I had just come back from a 6 mile run. The only thing on my mind was COLD!
Let’s first take a look at the ingredients in the Dairy Queen Cookie Dough Blizzard.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: Unenriched Wheat Flour, Sugar, Margarine (Palm Oil, Water, Soybean Oil, Mono- and Diglycerides, Artificial Flavor[Milk], Colored with Annatto, Calcium Disodium EDTA added as a preservative, Vitamin A Palmitate added), Chocolate Chips (Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin [Emulsifier], Vanilla), Powdered Sugar (Sugar, Corn Starch), Butter (Cream, Salt), Pasteurized Eggs, Brown Sugar, Corn Starch, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Salt.
Dairy Queen Vanilla Soft Serve: Milkfat and nonfat milk, sugar, corn syrup, whey, mono and diglycerides, artificial flavor, guar gum, polysorbate 80, carrageenan, and vitamin A palmitate.
Fudge: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sweetened Condensed Skim Milk (Skim Milk, Sugar, Corn Syrup), Partially Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Water, Fructose, Cocoa processed with Alkali, Cocoa, Sodium Alginate (Algin, Dextrin, Sodium Phosphate), Salt, Mono & Diglycerides (Vegetable), Potassium Sorbate (a preservative), Soy Lecithin, Disodium Phosphate, Artificial & Natural Flavors..
Admittedly, I wasn’t really craving one after reading that crazy list, but I figured that I could make a homemade version using natural ingredients from my kitchen.
This recipe was inspired by the banana soft serve with cookie dough pieces that I made a lot last summer.
The first thing I did was make a batch of cookie dough. This is my third cookie dough recipe, adapted from Chocolate Dipped Cookie Dough Balls and my Raw Cookie Dough Balls.
Cookie Dough Balls III
Yield: 1 cup packed cookie dough
- 1/2 cup unsalted cashews
- 1/4 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup oat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1.5 tbsp natural cane sugar
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3-4 tbsp pure maple syrup (or a bit more if dough is too dry)
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
Directions: In a food processor, add the cashews and oats and process until it forms a fine crumble. Now add in the salt, sugar, and flour and process for a few seconds more. Add in the maple syrup and vanilla and process until combined. It will be sticky, but this is normal! Add in your chocolate chips and stir by hand or process. Form into balls. Store in freezer.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ‘Blizzard’
Yield: 2 servings
- 3 peeled and frozen bananas, cut into 1 inch chunks for easier processing
- Splash of non-dairy milk (if needed)
- 2 tbsp cookie dough (from above)
Directions: In a large food processor, add in your 3 frozen bananas. I like to cut my bananas into 1 inch chunks before freezing. Process bananas, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Finally, add in your cookie dough and process until combined. You should have a soft serve type consistency when done. To make the blizzard simply stir in your desired amount of mini cookie dough balls, pour into a glass, and serve with a spoon. Makes 2 servings.
This was pretty awesome, not going to lie. :) We will be making this a lot this summer, I can tell.
In case you missed it yesterday, the 3 winner’s of the giveaway are now posted! Thank you everyone for your generous donations.
Happy Friday! 
Cookie dough blizzards are my favorite! We have something around here called the Tornado, (same thing basically, but bigger) I can’t wait to try this. I’m a vegetarian, so technically I could still have the regular version, but I love vegan desert, and now that my favorite treat ever has been veganized, I am a very happy girl! Can’t wait to try this!
Okay, this is genius! I can’t wait to try it. Thanks!
Cookie dough blizzards are amazing!!! I used to love that and the oreo ones growing up! Yum!!! Genius Angela!! Happy Friday!!!
Oh wow, this sounds ridiculously good! I used to love Blizzards as a kid and it was always the Skor ones that I couldn’t resist. Your version sounds SO much better to my adult self!! :)
Oh, yes…the Heath Bar blizzards were the greatest! That, and the chocolate cherry…mmm…
That is such a fun recipe! I loved the butterfinger blizzards the best!
AHHH This is BEYOND WORDS!
OMG Angela this recipe looks sooo tasty! I can’t wait to try it! Cookie Dough blizzards are my hubby’s favourite, and DQ is my weakness. I’m excited to have a better-for-you and most likely better-tasting option!
Thanks for all your great recipes and for continuing to inspire me.
cheers!
e
YUM! This is a great recipe! I have put countless spins to your banana fro-yo! Delicious.
Oh my goodness. You just totally saved my summer (me + dairy = :( bad bad stomache aches)!!!! I absolutely cannot wait to try this!!! :D
Ooooh, this looks magical. I’ve been trying more and more vegan baking lately, and I think one of the best things is the ability to eat the dough without a trace of salmonella concern :)
Happy Friday, indeed! This. is. awesome. I can’t wait to try your latest creation!
What a great Friday treat! I hope you are secretly writing a cook book to be published. You are very talented.
Have a fantastic weekend! :)
I broke a blender and a food processor trying to make banana soft serve, but tons of people make it so I’m not sure why! I can’t remember if I cut my bananas into chunks, so I’m going to try again (but I’m afraid to break another appliance!)
I nearly did, but husband came to the rescue – it made the worst sound! I added some splashes of soy mix when blending and it saved having to buy a new magimix…I will be more careful in future!!!
This is fantastic!! What a healthier way to enjoy my favourite summer treat.
Thanks, Angela!
YUM! That looks perfect for the spring/summer season!
H.O.L.Y.G.O.O.D.N.E.S.S. I am making this all summer long…it’ll be so much cheaper an better for us than blizzards! Quick question though: with the cashews, are they roasted or raw? I need to know so I can hit up the store today :)
I used to work at DQ in high school and the cookie dough blizzard was my favorite. I may have used to eat the cookie dough pieces without ice cream at times ;) This is a great replacement! Will be saving this recipe, thanks!
i seen this same type of drink yesterday, seems like its going to be the new thing in the blog world!
Wow, thanks for posting that ingredient list! Admittedly, I live a 5 minute walk away from Dairy Queen but haven’t been there in something like 4 years… Now I know what I haven’t been missing out on :P
Your version looks amazing, I bookmarked it :) Although I really only wanna make that cookie dough, it looks so good!!
Angela this looks so delicious!
I too love DQ Blizzards — and cookie dough (or M&Ms) is my favorite flavor!
DQ Blizzards are sooo good, but I haven’t had one is years due to the nasty content. Finally, a ways to enjoy them again! :) I am thinking this is the perfect Friday reward for a hectic, hell-ish week.
How clever are you?! Nice to know I don’t have to go up a pants size to get a Blizzard fix! Now if you could only find a way to duplicate Butterfinger using all-natural ingredients (that’s my crush-in of choice), I think I may officially lose my mind.
How clever are you?! Nice to know I don’t have to go up a pants size to get a Blizzard fix! Now if you could only find a way to duplicate Butterfinger using all-natural ingredients (that’s my crush-in of choice), I think I may officially lose my mind.
Holy cow, that looks awesome! I’ve never had a blizzard but I’ll definitely be trying this!!! Have a great weekend :)
DQ Cookie Doug blizzards were my favorite too! This recipe will be the first thing I try as soon as warmer weather arrives here! Thanks!
I used to love blizzards as well. I allow myself one a year and just savor it. Way to make a healthy version! next can you make a PB cup one? ;)
Done. I’m so making this. It looks amazing!!!!!!!!!!!
That looks wonderful! I’d prefer the natural blizzard over the DQ one any day. Those ingredients make my stomach hurt. They are so unnecessary!
A vegan cookie-dough blizzard? How creative and fun… top food blog post of the day, in my opinion :) !!!!
Holy drool!!
Oreo Blizzards were always my favourite, but cookie dough was a close second. This looks like an amazing summer indulgence!
Insane is all I can say!
I can’t believe that’s mostly bananas?! I eat way too many in one day as is….
I love yogurt. What can you do to substitute that in your diet but still get that satisfying, filling thick consistency??
I’ve never had any sort of Blizzard, but this looks amazing and totally delicious!
This looks so yummy! I’ll have to try this recipe for cookie dough! I love the idea of using nuts!
I do believe you just knocked Dairy Queen out of the water with this recipe. ;) LOVE IT! When I was little my family used to go to Dairy Queen occasionally as a treat in the summer, but it’s been a while since I’ve been to one. What a great way to recreate the summer fun!
xxoo
Heather
That list of ingredients was offputting (and what a great way to make yourself stop in your tracks and not go for the easy route, but to take the time to make it yourself!)
Man, blizzards are my favorite indulgence (well…any ice cream loaded with more sugary candy crap, haha) but that ingredient list is dreadful! Not that I actually expected it to be any better but still…haha. Anywho I’m loving the all natural version! I actually made your cookie dough balls around christmas time and crumbled them over all natural vanilla ice cream – I went gaga for that so I assume this healthier version would just be that much more epic!
I was so excited to see this post, because I used to love those too! And then I saw it was made with bananas, the one fruit I cannot stand. Sad face.
Ah well, I can still have the cookie dough, which looks great!
Why don’t you try a store bought natural frozen dessert to replace the bananas like Coconut Bliss http://www.coconutbliss.com/ ? It’s SO good!
I probably will try that, thanks. Either that or make my own cashew-based version — cashew ice cream is my favorite!
Wow! We have a Dairy Queen down the street that we used to bike to, but I realized one day that the ice cream tasted artificial and they generally just made me a bit sick. This vegan version looks so much better.
You have out done yourself once again! This looks absolutely amazing.
This is a great alternative to give children in the hot summer months to come and it’s just not full of all the crap dairy queen is full of. I can’t wait to try them out.
You know it’s delicious when you don’t even get to the ball making stage… You just eat it out of the bowl with a spoon :)
Amazing! Your version sounds much more appetizing than the DQ classic.
Those look a-freaking-mazing. What I especially love is that while they carry themselves as dessert, they’re really healthier than most people’s breakfasts. I don’t comment often, but I’ve got to say, I love your recipes! Yum!
thanks Jennifer!
This looks to die for!
I swear, Eric must love coming home from work every day to sample whatever you’ve been making! ;)
yes he does :)
Oh-My-Goodness!!! I have been craving a Blizzard lately but just couldn’t justify putting something like that into my body. But this? Oh yeah baby! Can’t wait to try this!
Used to LOVE Blizzards as well. This might be the new summer go-to recipe (and here in Washington, DC it’s starting to feel like summer might be around the corner!).
Holy moly. This looks amazing. I have a thing for Friendly’s peanut butter cup “Friendzees” or whatever they are called. I may have to create a healthier version now that you’ve set the bar!
Oh wow, this looks great!!!! I love Blizzards. Especially the Oreo ones. This is so much of a healthier option, though :D
YUM such a great idea. I’ll have to make this soon. Do you have a favorite version of your raw cookie dough?
probably this most recent version :)
thank you thank you thank you! I would prefer yours WELL over a DQ blizzard. This looks unreal!
WOW! This looks amazing! I loooved blizzards, esp. reese’s pb cup blizzards. After becoming a vegan, I thought my blizzard days were over…but you’ve given me hope. :)