Ice cream sandwiches are a frozen treat of ice cream sandwiched between two freshly-baked cookies.
Ice cream sandwiches come in all shapes, from rectangular to round to square, and sizes, including mini, regular, and super size. Classic ice cream sandwiches are made with ice cream and two chocolate wafers. Modern versions may have frozen custard, gelato, and soft serve sandwiched between any kind of cookies.
The Chinese in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) first made ice cream. It wasn’t until the turn of the 20th century that the ice cream sandwich made its debut. The sweet treat was sold from a New York City pushcart for one penny. It was a hit.
Ice cream sandwiches remain a popular dessert and snack. There’s even a day devoted to celebrating this hand-held treat. August 2 is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day.
Image Credit: bhofack2/Istockphoto.
What is the Top of an Ice Cream Sandwich?
Traditionally, ice cream sandwiches are slabs of vanilla ice cream sandwiched by chocolate wafers, a thin chocolate sponge cake, or freshly-baked cookies. Nowadays, ice cream sandwiches come in many cookie and ice cream flavor combinations. Any cookie or baked goods may be used to make an ice cream sandwich.
Image Credit: Cavan Images/Istockphoto.
What are Some Popular Ice Cream Sandwich Flavors?
Some of the most popular ice cream sandwich cookie flavors include:
- Chocolate brownie
- Chocolate chip
- Chocolate wafer
- Macaron
- Sugar cookie
More modern ice cream sandwiches replace the cookies with babka, brownies, churros, donuts, and Rice Krispie treats.
Any ice cream can be scooped and sandwiched between the cookies to make an ice cream sandwich, including popular flavors like:
- Vanilla
- Chocolate
- Cookies and cream
- Mint
- Peanut butter
- Strawberry
Image Credit: picalotta/Istockphoto.
Best Mail-Order Ice Cream Sandwiches
If you’ve been eating those same mass-produced ice cream sandwiches your whole life, you’ve really been missing out! But thankfully, some of America’s absolute best ice cream sandwiches are shipping straight to your door.
Flour Shop
Sculptor and cake artist Amirah Kassem opened Flour Shop in 2017 in New York and desserts have never been the same. Famous for Instagram-worthy explosion cakes, her ice cream sandwiches are equally festive and fun.
Flour Shop’s Ice Cream Sandwich 6 Pack includes a choice of Rainbow Explosion (sprinkle cookies with sprinkled vanilla ice cream then rolled in rainbow sprinkles), Cookies n’ C.R.E.A.M. (chocolate wafers, cookies & cream ice cream and rainbow sprinkles), and Chocolate Chip (chocolate chip cookies with cookies & Cream Ice Cream and chocolate chips), or an assortment of all three.
Image Credit: Flour Shop.
Bridgeman’s Ice Cream
Family run Bridgeman’s in Duluth, Minnesota, started out in 1883 with Henry Bridgeman selling fresh milk door to door. In 1936, his sons, Chester and Roy, opened up an ice cream shop. Their ‘Bridgie’ ice cream sandwiches are a sweet taste of nostalgia.
Bridgeman’s Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches Sampler includes four fun flavors: Brownie Caramel Crunch. Cookies ‘N Cream, Peppermint Bon Bon, and Raspberry Fudge Torte sandwiches between two chocolate chip cookies.
Image Credit: Bridgeman’s Ice Cream.
Graeter’s Ice Cream
Graeter’s boasts the world’s only French Pot Freezer. Since 1870, the Cincinnati, Ohio, ice cream shop has been churning out their custard-like ice cream 2 gallons at a time.
Graeter’s “Chip Wheelies” Ice Cream Sandwiches feature their artisanal French pot ice cream in flavors like Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate Chip, and Vanilla sandwiched between two freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.
Image Credit: Graeter’s Ice Cream.
IT’S-IT Ice Cream
Back in 1928, George Whitney had the brilliant idea to place a scoop of vanilla ice cream in-between two fresh-baked oatmeal cookies, and to then give it a dunk into dark chocolate. Over the next 40 years these treats sold like hotcakes to visitors at San Francisco’s Playland-at-the-Beach, and its popularity has only grown since then. Now IT’S-IT ice cream sandwiches are available in flavors including cappuccino, strawberry, and even pumpkin.
Image Credit: IT’S-IT Ice Cream.
Cream’Wich
The Cream’wich brings together two beloved Southern California institutions: Katella Bakery, which has been baking cookies from scratch since 1964; and Manhattan Beach Creamery, which makes ice cream in small batches using top-notch ingredients. With their powers combined, the end result is an ice cream sandwich that’s downright life-changing.
Image Credit: Cream’Wich.
Anderson’s Frozen Custard
Since its founding in 1946, Anderson’s has become a Buffalo-area destination for its small-batch, homemade, hand-spun, award-winning ice cream. This classic ice cream sandwich encloses a generous portion between two chocolate sandwich wafers, and is what all those supermarket ice cream sandwiches dream of being.
Image Credit: Anderson’s Frozen Custard.
La Newyorkina
Renowned pastry chef Fany Gerson founded La Newyorkina in 2010, and it’s her playground where she mashes up the best of New York and Mexico’s flavors. To that end, she’s created two ice cream sandwiches, one to salute each culture: Her Babka Ice Cream Sandwiches enclose chocolate or vanilla ice cream between two thick slices of chocolate cinnamon babka, and her Churro Ice Cream Sandwiches use crisp, cinnamon-sugar covered round churros!
Image Credit: La Newyorkina.
Nye’s Cream Sandwiches
Since 2010, Nye’s Cream Sandwiches in Wilmington, North Carolina, has steadily gained fame for its whimsical ice cream sandwiches in flavors like Coconut Chocolate (toasted coconut ice cream and chocolate ganache cookies), Strawberry Shortcake (strawberry ice cream and sugar cookies), and Key Lime Pie (Key lime ice cream and chewy graham cookies.
Image Credit: Nye’s Cream Sandwiches.
Revival Ice Cream
Revival Ice Cream is taking ice cream to the next level—they want to make the best ice cream in the most sustainable, thoughtful way with the freshest, in-season, locally sourced California ingredients that meet the highest standards. Their stunning ice cream sandwiches are available in flavors including Bee’s Knees (caramelized honey with crunchy honeycomb candy) ice cream with chocolate cookies, vegan pistachio, and eucalyptus mint chip.
Image Credit: Revival Ice Cream.
Cream + Sugar
What started as artisanal ice cream on the dessert menus of Fine Dining Restaurant Group’s Jackson, Wyoming, restaurants has turned into Cream + Sugar, a small-batch ice cream company making ice cream in fanciful flavors like huckleberry, salted caramel, and chocolate. To make their beloved mini ice cream sandwiches, all the ice cream is made with dairy from regional farms and the cookies are fresh-baked daily.
Whether old-timey favorites or new-school works of genius, these ice cream sandwiches are all truly incredible
This article originally appeared on Goldbelly.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org
Image Credit: Cream + Sugar.
More from MediaFeed
8 Pumpkin Desserts That’ll Put You in the Mood for Fall
Image Credit: bhofack2/istockphoto.