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! 
omg this looks incredible! i used to LOVE the oreo blizzards and haven’t had one in years.
That sounds DELICIOUS. Sigh, why does DQ have to be so bad, but oh-so-good? It’s one of those places I try to be ignorant of what’s IN the blizzard, so I can just enjoy the horrible goodness that is a blizzard. Maybe I’ll try this Banana-Cookie-Dough-Blizzard. It looks good too!
Personally I was always a Reese’s peanut butter cup blizzard girl, but I would gladly trade for one of these! I know what I’ll be making this summer!!
mmmm reese’s
I was just thinking- why not make a blizzard using these vegan chocolate PB cups? http://ohsheglows.com/2009/12/30/vegan-chocolate-peanut-butter-cups/ How good would that be!
Ok now im getting all kinds of crazy ideas!
YUM! You always have the best ideas. :)
We so thought of that today. And we thought of about 6 other ideas. I guess I’m going to have to try a new one every week or every day. Haha. Thanks so much for the idea. It was delish and my son loved it!
Well now this is just dangerous…but not nearly as dangerous as the DQ blizzards, ha! Yum yum– amazed that you found a way to make this one healthy!
Oh my goodness!!! So I made almond milk this morning (because I was to lazy to go to the store last night and I like homemade so much better;) I have been searching for a way to use the almond pulp and I saw this recipe this morning. So I just replaced the cashews with the almond pulp and wow! My husband and I are in shock of how much it taste like cookie dough! I love feeling like I can give my family delicious treats and not feel guilty about it. Thanks!
wow that is awesome! I’ll have to try it with almonds. :) Thanks for the tip!
amazing! I’ll be trying this asap! enjoy your weekend babe x
i used to work at dairy queen in high school!! needless to say i’ve eaten my fair share of chemically created cookie dough! this looks like the perfect, delicious alternative though!
congrats on raising all the money for japan! that’s just plain AWESOME :D
Omg, that looks so good! But, do you have any ideas of what I can use instead of cashews? I am allergic to nuts!
you might be able to make a vegan cookie dough and use that to make the balls with. I haven’t tried it myself, but I can’t see why you wouldn’t be able to!
Great idea! Yum!
I LOVE Dairy Queen Blizzards sooo much, but I’ve never read the ingredients before. Kind of scary. This is a genius idea!
you are a genius! the banana cream pie blizzard was my favorite. banana soft serve would be absolutely perfect for this. time to freeze some bananas :D
I just got back from a hot run and that looks like the best thing ever!
That looks amazing. I very rarely think it might be a good idea to go get a blizzard and then I remember I’ll feel like crap for the rest of the day. I wont be able to resist this version though! :D
A mix between two favorite desserts ! Yipee!!
Girl, this is insane!! I feel like it needs a dollop of the cookie dough almond butter on top! haha YUH-UMMMMM :)
Those were my favorite blizzards too! I actually made this almost every night last summer. :) It was the FIRST thing I thought of when I first heard about banana soft serve. I like ice cream scoops, but soft serve is my absolute favorite.
I used to love blizzards, and this looks awesome- SUCH a better alternative. Thanks for the recipe!
You are a GENIUS. I used to love blizzards back in the day – I’m kind of ashamed to say that, haha. So thank you for introducing a healthy version!!!
How can anyone not love this? I love your healthier version of the blizzard!
That looks amazing! My favorite was always the Butterfinger Blizzard – and I think I can totally make that using your recipe too!
Ahhh Angela this is too much! When is your cookbook coming out?!?
Um, Ok this looks AWESOME! What a great idea!!!! Sometimes I crave a dairy queen ice cream, but then I go on the site and look at all the crap, calories and fat that’s it in and I change my mind. This looks great though!!
Glad you are enjoying the weather.. it’s great isn’t it :)
That looks amazing and delicious! :)
Looks delicious!
Oh man, what are you doing to me? Blizzard recipe on a Friday afternoon… and I just bought bananas… seems like fate :P
I had the thing growing up for the vanilla blizzard with crispy crunch and oreos… oh so good!
this is one of the many things i’ll be looking forward to once it gets warmer outside! looks amazing
Oh my, is there anything you can’t do?! I will be thinking about this all day now. :) Can’t wait to try it!
Ah I can NOT wait to try this. I just had banana soft serve last night and wished there was cookie dough in it! I’m making this asap!
I shall be making these today!!!!!!! like, in a few hours? I’m hoping at least :D If not, tomorrow for sure~I can tell this is something my fiance will love! what a great idea with the healthier cookie dough balls–reminds me of froyo places
Holy gross!!! I’ve never looked at the ingredients of a Blizzard. I don’t have them often, but now, I don’t know if I’ll ever have one again. And I’d take your healthier version ANY day. Thanks for the post!!!
I used to love Dairy Queen blizzards….but after I became more health conscious and found out the ingredients they lost there attraction! But now I can have a healthy and delicious substitute! YUM! Can’t wait to try it…..my fave blizzard flavors were oreo and peanut butter cup! Maybe you could come up with a variation for those too :)!
this seriously looks amazing!! i have everything on hand except for the cashews. do you think walnuts, almonds or pecans would work? of course i have every other kind of nut on hand!!
Who needs DQ when you got this! Wow! I’m super impressed Ange :)
That looks really good! I love McDonalds McFlurry but I haven’t had one in so long. I like that they have the mini sizes now which is actually a perfect size it seems. I wish I had a food processor to try out all your delicious recipes.
I ate a blizzard just the other day. Wish I would of gone this route though. So much healthier!
Angela, I LOVED Blizzards growing up. It was the Heath Bar Blizzard that had my name all over it. I was really horribly dairy intolerant then and didnt know why I’d end up in pain for day(s) after eating one, but I kept eating them anyway b/c they were so good :)
Havent had a Blizzard in about 15-20 years I’d say but gosh, your version makes me just want to get busy Blizzard making at home!
The cookie dough recipe looks wonderful! That’s how I make my cookie dough. i just made some white chocolate & mango cookie dough bites. I used my “base” cookie dough recipe which I never include dates or coconut oil in it; just cashews, oats, vanilla, agave. Super simple and it works every time. I am going to try your version next!
:)
I ate my fair share of DQ Blizzards back in the day. My children and husband are going to love you after they get a taste of this awesome concoction!
I JUST had a DQ blizzard the other day.. and now I have a healthier alternative! Thank you!
That looks AMAZING! I ran an awesome 6 miles today in beautiful central park, it’s 70 degrees in NYC today! Enjoy the rest of your gorgeous day! :)
I want one of these NOW! I haven’t made banana soft serve in far too long. Luckily, I just froze a bunch of ripe bananas this morning!
Now I am craving a blizzard. Thanks for sharing another great recipe.
seriously, this looks like real ice cream! and i’m sure it tastes like it, too! perfect for a hot day here in new Zealand!
I completely forgot about my love for DQ Blizzards back in the day, until this post reminded me. This look SO good! I will absolutely be trying this very soon.
I second the recommendation to do an Oreo version!
This sounds amazing! I added to my links in my weekend reading material. It’s saved in my reader as a post-running treat for when the weather warms up.
You are a GENIUS!!! Thank You!
Ok this is too funny… my boyfriend and I literally talked about these cookie dough blizzards for about an HOUR last night! I know what I’m making today!!! :)
ANGELA! This looks INSANE!!!
When I opened your blog and saw that beautiful picture of a cookie dough blizzard I could not contain my excitement. AMAZING. I am making this for sure! I worked at DQ and ate wayyyyy more than my fair share of processed cookie dough crap …but a vegan, semi-raw, “clean” blizzard? Yes, please!
I used to work at DQ and I’d make this Blizzard all the time for myself! The original recipe also has hot fudge in there, but I liked to replace it with butterscotch sauce, yum! I think your version sounds absolutely divine and I will be making it this summer!