COOKIES + ICE CREAM + NATIONWIDE SHIPPING = DESSERT PERFECTION
The ice cream sandwich just might be the very best summertime dessert in existence. Just think about it: Ice cream is insanely delicious on its own, but something about handheld ice cream makes it even more fun and exciting to eat (see: ice cream cone). When you take a big, creamy scoop of ice cream and squeeze it between two soft cookies (or any other kind of baked good) something truly magical happens.
We may have grown up with those paper-wrapped, brick-shaped ice cream sandwiches of vanilla ice cream between two chocolate wafers (biscuits?), and while those are certainly tasty and definitely remind us of childhood, truly great ice cream sandwiches start with top-quality, super-premium ice cream, and it’s enveloped in the best cookies that money can buy.
Read More: The Best Mail Order Ice Cream
What is the Top of an Ice Cream Sandwich?
We didn’t realize it until right now, but we’ve never really thought about what the flat, hole-poked, stick-to-your-fingers chocolate-flavored tops and bottoms of the ice cream sandwiches we grew up with (you know the kind) are called. They’re not cookies and they’re not biscuits, although it appears as if they’re officially referred to as “chocolate wafers.”
There are actually a lot of different varieties of ice cream sandwiches around the world. Many countries use thin, crisp wafers, and in Asia you’ll find ice cream sold between two halves of sweet hamburger-style buns. But in the U.S. many of the best ice cream sandwiches of all use cookies, and some get very creative.
Some of the most popular ice cream sandwich cookie flavors include:
- Chocolate brownie
- Chocolate chip
- Chocolate wafer
- Macaron
- Sugar cookie
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Baked Bear
San Diego’s The Baked Bear’s wildly creative, monstrous ice cream sandwiches have become the stuff of local legend. Their cookies are baked from scratch daily, and are available in a wide array of varieties ranging from gooey butter cake to sea salt peanut butter chocolate. And as for the ice cream, it’s made using only the highest-quality ingredients, and flavors include butter brittle cake and blackberry crumble. Mix and match them to your heart’s content!
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!
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.
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.
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 – and they’re all shipping nationwide on Goldbelly!