. sAlted cAramel n'Ice creAm cookies .

i woke up yesterday to a very grey day . it looked distinctly unpromising . the long run planned for the morning fell by the wayside { after four runs in three days, including this little escapade through the mUd at sAturday's RaceForLife PrettyMuddy, i wasn't sure i was up for doing any run justice } . & . i was enjOying a little lounging on the sofa . & . then up popped the cutest thing from This Is Gold . 

. hAppy nAtional ice creAm dAy . 

i really do need to find out about these days in advance of them happening . a girl has no time to make copious amounts of ice cream when she finds out about them at 8:00am on a sUnday morning ! 

i lOve ice cream . well, i used to lOve ice cream . i could have eaten Ben&Jerry's dry i lOved it that much . there used to be the sweetest Ben&Jerry's stall at the bottom of Knutsford Terrace in hOng kOng that i could never ever walk past without buying a scoop { or two, well ok, maybe three } . last time i was there it was { sadly } no more . replaced by a very hip looking LabMadeIceCream . all very lOvely i'm sure . but Ben&Jerry's it wasn't . & . anyway the ice cream lOve had been a little on hold of late . & . anyway the skies were grey & gloomy . it was much more a crumble & custard kind of day than an ice cream day . 

&

then the skies cleared . & . i remembered that whilst i might not have a stash of double cream in the fridge i did have a few banana's stashed away in the freezer . might this not be a great time to sample the n'ice cream . the trend that seemed to have completely passed me by last year ?  so a little browsing on pinterest & a lot of internal arguing over the merits of chocolate vs. salted caramel . i struck a happy compromise . salted caramel n'ice cream . with . double chocolate cookies { which i think might be what's called having your cake & eating it ! } .

so it might be a day late for pOsting . but when eventually the skies are blue once more . & . you fancy indulging in a { sort of } healthier way . do try these . together . or . separately . i am happy to say they taste lOvely either way .

the n'ice cream recipe is from BeWholeBeYou . i added a touch of cinnamon into mine . & . i used almond milk for a lovely creamy texture . you might also want to add the maple syrup a little at a time according to how sweet you like things . i made mine without as i think the dates on their own were enough . 

the cookie recipe is adapted from TopWithCinnamon . this is such a great recipe as all you need is a tablespoon to measure out the ingredients . perfect for those late night munchies when you need a little something but don't want to make { & then eat . yes . we've all done it ! } a whole batch . the original recipe is a chocolate chip one . i added the cacao powder & replaced the chocolate chips with cacao nibs . but i think it's a recipe you could have fun with trying out different variations . 

i think the next recipe i make needs to be a bit more colourful . time to bring out the sprinkles & maybe some summer fruits i think . 

. have a swEet day .