I know you were all on the edge of your seat waiting for this recipe. And how nice am I, to take my grand ol’ time getting this post up today?

As many of you guessed, the last trial I had in mind used coconut milk.

Full fat, canned, coconut milk. Not coconut milk from a carton + not low-fat coconut milk in a can.

About a year and a half ago, I realized coconut milk could be whipped into coconut whipped cream. I’m sure it was previously discovered, but it was new to me, and quite exciting.

My plan for the last two trials, was to fold in coconut whipped cream to the “smoothie” part.

I decreased the portions for the trials, to avoid plowing through bags + bags of frozen fruit, yogurt, milk, etc. I also left out the crust, since I knew that component already worked.

Currently, my freezer is packed FULL of little ramekins. And every single one has a bite taken out of it. Guess I won’t be serving these to anyone but myself. I may have planned that.

As a side note: A few of you have noticed my photos looking a bit different the past few days. My you are an observant bunch! I switched to a new area in the house to take photos, and am loving it so far. The backlit photos were getting quite old.

The version with the store bought natural “cool whip” was tasty, but with minimal effort and less cost, I recommend just making your own. You can do this with coconut milk or whipping cream.

I chose coconut milk for both versions, since it definitely was needed for the vegan version. If you’ve never had coconut milk, it has a very light coconut flavor. It’s not overpowering in any way, and has a nice natural sweetness to it as well.

After 8 versions, I finally had 2 winners. Definitely worth the effort.

If you’re curious about the color differences, it had nothing to do with the fruit that was used. Each little cup has the exact same amount + type of fruit. The difference is with the vegan version, which uses chia seeds, resulting in a darker color.

The problem with the first few versions, was that the texture was too icy. It was hard to eat, even when slightly thawed. I still was looking for a frozen dessert, but one that wasn’t as icy. I wanted a creamier-iced texture, if that makes sense. Not like ice cream, but not like a popsicle. Somewhere in the middle.

It ended up having the exact same texture that I remember my mom’s original frozen yogurt pie having.

Enough yammering, here are the recipes!

The crust I used was the “dough” from my cocoa coconut energy balls. Below is the recipe again, so you have it all in one place. Another flavor that would add contrast and some zing, is my lemon ginger date bar recipe. Can’t wait to try it with that version!

Cocoa Coconut Energy Balls [makes 12-14 balls]

1/2c raw walnuts
3/4c raw almonds
~12 medjool dates
3T unsweetened cocoa powder
1.5T coconut oil [optional]
2T unsweetened shredded coconut
1t vanilla extract

Process [in food processor, vita-mix, magic bullet, etc] nuts together, until you have small pieces. Be careful not to process to long.
Empty into a bowl.
Cut out pits in the dates by lightly slicing down the middle. Remove pits with fingers.
Process dates into small pieces, until very sticky.
Add nuts + dates back into food processor, along with cocoa powder, coconut oil, coconut + vanilla.
Pulse until mixed together. Do not over process! Scrape bowl once or twice + pulse around again.
When you can form a ball with the dough, it’s done!
Spread evenly into whatever type of pan you’re using. Press into the pan so there are no gaps around the edges. I used a spring form pan, and only pressed it into the bottom. [9” spring form pan, pie pan, or small ramekins, etc. I liked having about 1/4” thick crust. If you have extra, just roll into balls and refrigerate.]

Frozen Fruit Pie Thing gluten free

2.5c 2% plain Greek yogurt or plain whole milk yogurt
2c frozen fruit
1.5t vanilla extract
1/4t salt
3/4c full fat canned coconut milk
3-5T sucanat

Pour coconut milk into a metal mixing bowl and freeze for 15min. It’s very important that the coconut milk is ice cold, but not frozen.
In a blender, blend yogurt, fruit, vanilla, salt, and 3T sweetener together until smooth. Taste and add more sweetener if needed.
With a stand mixer, or hand mixer using the whisk attachment, whisk the coconut milk on high for about 5-7min until peaks form. *You’re looking for cool whip consistency.
Measure out only 1.5c of the coconut whipped cream.
Pour the blended mixture into a bowl and stir in the coconut cream.
Pour into whatever type of pan or cups you’re using, over top of the crust.
Cover and set in the freezer for about 4hrs, until frozen solid. Let thaw for 10min before slicing + serving.

There are quite a lot of options/substitutions with this little dessert, so here they are:

If you don’t feel like making the “dough” crust, make or buy a graham cracker crust. Delicious combination!
Or, go crust-less!
You can use vanilla yogurt if you want, but you most likely won’t need to add additional sweetener and you can omit the vanilla extract. Taste before adding extra.
Whole milk yogurt + 2% Greek yogurt [or full fat Greek yogurt] resulted in the best consistency. You can use low-fat plain yogurt, but it will be a bit icier.
Use pure cane sugar, honey, brown rice syrup, or maple syrup instead of sucanat, if desired.
If you don’t want to use coconut milk, or don’t like coconut, use heavy whipping cream instead.
You will most likely have extra of the whipped topping. Save it in the fridge, in a sealed container and use as a topping for the dessert.
I used a combination of about 1/2 blueberries, 1/4 strawberries,and 1/4 blackberries. This was a great combo!
This recipe should fill a 9” spring form pan, with possibly a little leftover, depending how thick you make your crust. Pour extra into ramekins or any other freezable bowl/dish.
Muffin tins would also work. Press the dough into the bottom and up on the sides, then fill with the mixture. Freeze + use a fork to help scoop them out of the pan.

After letting it thaw for about 10-15min, the texture is frosty, creamy and just right.

And now for the vegan version.

A few of you left suggestions to use soaked cashews or silken tofu. Both great options, but I wanted to see if milk and chia seeds would work, to mimic the thick yogurt texture. I was very happy with the outcome! Because the chia seeds are blended into the mixture and then frozen, there is no sliminess.

Vegan Frozen Fruit Pie Thing gluten free + vegan

2.5c unsweetened non-dairy milk
5T chia seeds
2c frozen fruit
2t vanilla extract
1/4t salt
3/4c full fat canned coconut milk
5-8T maple syrup/sucanat

Pour coconut milk into a metal mixing bowl and freeze for 15min. It’s very important that the coconut milk is ice cold, but not frozen.
In a blender, blend milk, fruit, vanilla, salt, and 5T sweetener together until smooth. Taste and add more sweetener if needed. The chia seeds dumb down the sweetness of the fruit a bit. I used about 6T.
With a stand mixer, or hand mixer using the whisk attachment, whisk the coconut milk on high for about 5-7min until peaks form. *You’re looking for cool whip consistency.
Measure out only 1.5c of the coconut whipped cream.
Pour the blended mixture into a bowl and stir in the coconut cream.
Pour into whatever type of pan or cups you’re using, over top of the crust [directions above].
Cover and set in the freezer for about 4hrs, until frozen solid. Let thaw for 10min before slicing + serving.

*I don’t recommend ground flax instead of chia seeds, because the flavor of ground flax will be too strong.

While this may seem overwhelming to make, it’s only because I talk too much. I just like to be thorough.

The crust takes about 15-20min to make and press in the pan. The smoothie mixture takes about 5 minutes. The coconut whipped cream takes about 5-7min. Mixing the coconut cream into the smoothie mixture and pouring it in the pan takes 2min.

Not bad, not bad.

The end result, with crust, will look something like this.