I’ve been experimenting with ice cream pie for a couple years now, and I wanted to take this experimental recipe and pair it with one of my favorite experimental romcoms, “(500) Days of Summer,” as part of my Summer of Scoops series.

This vegan, gluten-free cookies and ice cream pie makes 8 slices or “servings.”

Crust Ingredients
1 6.8-ounce package vegan, gluten-free chocolate sandwich cookies with vanilla filling
2 tablespoons vegan butter or margarine

Ice Cream Ingredients
2 cups vegan milk (creamy oat is preferred)
1 11.2-ounce carton vegan creamer
1 teaspoon chocolate extract
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 5-ounce package vegan, gluten-free crunchy chocolate cookies

Instructions
I recommend making the crust before or at the same time you chill your bowl or fill your pints (depending on what kind of ice cream maker you have). Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a 9-inch pie pan.

Run the cookies needed for the crust through your blender until you have a nice crumb.

Melt your butter.

Mix the cookie crumbs and melted butter together, then press them evenly into your greased pie dish.

Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes. Let it cool for 20 minutes on the counter then put it in the fridge until you are ready to add the filling.

Ice cream time! Pour the milk, creamer, chocolate extract, xanthan gum and 4 cookies into a blender.

Pulse until all of the ingredients are evenly mixed.

What happens next depends on your ice cream maker. If you have a more standard one, you’ll pull your chilled (for 24 hours) bowl out and pour in the mixture to make the ice cream.

If you have one like mine, you pour the mixture into 2-3 pints then freeze them for 24 hours.

After that time, you put the pint into your ice cream maker and let it do its magic on the ice cream setting.

After putting each pint through the ice cream cycle, use a big spoon to dig a hole in the middle and pour in a quarter cup or so of broken cookie pieces.

Make sure you dig all the way down to the bottom to ensure your cookie pieces are evenly distributed throughout the ice cream. (Get more of my ice cream 101 tips here.)

Run the pint through the mix-in cycle if you have an ice cream maker like mine. If you have a basic ice cream maker, just pour the broken up cookies in towards the end of its spin cycle.

Repeat the ice cream and mix-in processing steps for each pint if you have an ice cream maker like mine. Be sure to reserve 8 cookies for the top of your pie.

After your ice cream has processed, let it fully soften on the counter for a few minutes.

Once softened, pour the ice cream into your chilled pie crust. Spread the ice cream out with a spatula so it is evenly distributed across the crust.

Top around the outer edge with the 8 reserved cookies. I had some smaller cookies that worked perfectly for this.

Slice and enjoy with “(500) Days of Summer.”

Store any remaining pie in the freezer. Ensure it is covered tightly to prevent freezer burn.

The Easy Route
If you find premade vegan, gluten-free cookies and cream ice cream, you can use that in the pie instead of making your own. You might also be able to find a premade cookie crust, but it might be a little more difficult with the vegan and gluten-free requirements.

Know of a restaurant or store that has vegan, gluten-free cookies and ice cream pie? Please share those details in the comments.

The Pairing
I went into “(500) Days of Summer” when it came out 2009 knowing I would probably love it because of three big things it had going for it: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel and it is a romcom.

Both Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel are their usual charismatic selves, with a dash of mesmerizing melancholy in this film that fleshes out all the highs and lows of being in a relationship.

It deviates from the standard romcom, setting out in the opening scenes that it’s about a relationship between Tom (Gordon-Levitt) and Summer (Deschanel) that is rocky at best, doomed to fail at worst.

I love how this movie blends different genres. There are aspects of romance, comedy, drama, animation and more, even musical, in the film.

My favorite sequence in “(500) Days of Summer” is the musical-esque dance number Tom does, complete with an animated bird.

On top of that sequence set to “You Make My Dreams Come True,” the film has an incredible soundtrack, and it’s one reason why I love the movie so much.

For starters, “Sweet Disposition” by Temper Trap is always a mic drop moment for me. Moody British new wave and American alternative songs from the 1980s and ’90s, two Regina Spektor songs and more make this movie both timeless and a product of its time.

Speaking of that, certain aspects of the movie made me cringe a bit when I rewatched it earlier this week, from a moment of storytelling that could be considered transphobic to some dialogue that is borderline or overtly homophobic or misogynistic. Luckily, this mostly happens with side characters that I don’t care too much about.

One side character I love in this is Rachel (Chloe Grace Moretz), Tom’s way-too-smart-for-her-age younger sister.

Separately, the sequence where they recreate iconic scenes from classic European cinema while Tom is at the movie theater is also very Cat-coded and I only wish they did more. Luckily, there are more film references scattered throughout this movie.

“(500) Days of Summer” is an unconventional romcom for film lovers that I highly recommend.

If you decide to make cookies and ice cream pie and/or watch “(500) Days of Summer,” let us know! Tag us in your Instagram posts & stories, threads, tweets or TikTok videos: @veg_out_recipes