Image via Complex Original
While enjoying sorbet at a dessert bar, self-serve frozen yogurt, and picking up some helado on the walk to the park are some of the ways we satisfy our frozen treat cravings as adults, there was once a time when we would chase our dessert. If you were outside playing and saw an ice cream truck a few blocks down, you'd jet back inside to ask your parents for money. It was amazing how fast you could go from your house to the corner of the street when you just faintly heard the signature song of the ice cream man in the distance.
Whether you were strictly a snow cone kid or you had a different kind of ice cream sandwich every day of the week, you've most likely sampled every item on this list of The 25 Best Ice Cream Truck Treats of All Time.
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25. Sonic The Hedgehog Bar
Maker: Blue Bunny
Even if you weren't a gamer or a comic book fan, you wanted the Sonic the Hedgehog on a stick. Those ice cream bars were indeed delicious, but the quality control was off in whatever factory they were being produced. Sonic's green bubblegum ball eyes were never placed in the right spots. We ate him anyway; no discrimination here.
24. Big Sundae Cups
Maker: Wonder Ice Cream
If you only had a couple of quarters, chances are you had to settle for a sundae cup when the ice cream truck came around. The first scrape with the included miniature wooden spoon always included a few ice crystals that formed the top layer of the treat. You'd continue scraping away until you got to the fudge or strawberry filling before you realized, hell, those two quarters were 50 cents well spent. Long live the struggle cup!
23. Lemon Ices
Maker: Popsicle
Quite possibly the most refreshing item available from the ice cream shop on wheels were lemon ices. You usually had the option of lemon or cherry, but if your ice cream man was awesome, watermelon would be written on the board, too. Some opted for the old-school feel of eating hard lemon ices with a wooden spoon, but the slushie kind made it easier to eat and get your playground on at the same damn time.
22. Crunch Bar
Maker: Nestle
The Crunch ice cream bar just made sense. Take a candy bar that everyone loves and use it as a coating for everyone's favorite dessert. The crunchy rice bits in the milk chocolate went too well with the vanilla ice cream, making it necessary to indulge in this sweet treat at least once a week. AT A MINIUMUM.
21. King Cone
Maker: Good Humor
If your ice cream man didn't dish out the soft-serve ice cream, but you really wanted a cone, the King Cone was the confection for you. The sweet, crunchy sugar cone held the creamy vanilla ice cream that was paired with chocolate and peanuts. If you were lucky, you may have had the option of the Triple Chocolate Brownie version. Did it get more boss than that?
20. Firecracker
Maker: Popsicle
Firecrackers were the only appropriate ice cream truck choice on Memorial Day or the Fourth of July—lest you be charged with treason. The red, white, and blue, or the cherry, white lemon, and blue raspberry combination had your tongue go from deep red to purple all in the spirit of patriotism. Or, you know, just Thursday afternoon.
19. Creamsicle
Maker: Popsicle
Citrus and dairy don't seem to go well together, but somehow the combination worked in the Creamsicle. The orange sherbet that blanketed the vanilla ice cream was a duo that seemed to be the ice cream treat Mom would choose for herself, though you always managed to grab a bite. And then another. Sorry Mom, we owe you one.
18. Giant Neopolitan Sandwich
Maker: Assorted Brands
The ice cream sandwich got an upgrade and went from one ice cream flavor to three. If you didn't discriminate against any particular ice cream flavor, Neapolitan ice cream sandwiches were your frozen sandwich pick. Indulging in one of these was like enjoying three different treats in one. The only drawback? Chocolate cookie fingers. The neopolitan sandwich struggle is real.
17. Snow Cone
Maker: Popsicle
If you took some crushed ice from the ice maker and poured some Kool-Aid over it, you'd essentially have a snow cone, but that didn't stop the popularity of the these treats. Since the turn of the 20th century, snow cones have been the go-to cool down snack for kids and adults alike. Though finding a vendor who makes them on the spot is preferable, the ice cream truck always came through in a pinch. Heck yeah, dyed ice!
16. Push Up Pop
Maker: Nestle
The original frozen confection on a stick, the Push-Up Pop was the most efficient way to enjoy an ice cream treat on the go. And thanks to the evolution of the junk food industry, the treat that was once just orange sherbet can now be found in many ice cream flavors. HALLELUJAH.
15. Candy Center Crunch Bar
Maker: Good Humor
How do you make a classic ice cream bar better? You add a block of chocolate in the center. If you liked Crunch bars, then you loved Good Humor's Candy Center Crunch bar. If both are on the menu, you knew which one was the preferred choice. After you had one of these, Crunch bars just never seemed good enough.
14. Toasted Almond Bar
Maker: Good Humor
Chocolate and strawberries aren't for everyone, so Good Humor added the Toasted Almond bar. Sticking with the signature formula of crunchy coating, vanilla ice cream, and a special flavor center, this bar has a cake and almond shell with almond flavored ice cream in the middle. Somehow those elements came together to create something far more awesome than the whole. Put 30 seconds on the clock, and this bad boy was as good as gone.
13. Snickers Ice Cream Bar
Maker: Mars
Hungry and hot? Why wait? For those times when you couldn't decide between ice cream or a candy bar, the Snickers Ice Cream bar made the choice easy—have both. There have been other candy bar turned ice cream bar creations, but none can quite compare to the gooey caramel, peanuts, and vanilla ice cream center of the Snickers variety.
12. Drumstick
Maker: Nestlé
A step up from the King Cone, the Drumstick went the extra mile with its milk chocolate and peanut shell. You knew you'd hit the jackpot when you reached the bottom of the waffle cone and were pleasantly surprised to find a chunk of milk chocolate waiting for you. It was a treat Drake would have undoubtedly appreciated. #Started
11. Fudgsicle
Maker: Popsicle
As simple as it is, the Fudgsicle was probably the most decadent treat one could get at an ice cream truck. Just one flavor on a stick and no special coating, we were ride or die for fudge and popsicle's so-legitimate love child.
10. Original Ice Cream on a Stick
Maker: Good Humor
With no special surprises in the middle and nothing extra in the coating, the Original Ice Cream on a Stick delivered classic taste in a classic ice cream bar form.The milk chocolate shell always broke off in pieces after the initial bite, so you ended up just having vanilla ice cream with bits of chocolate on the side. As annoying as that was, it was all a part of the experience.
9. Bomb Pops
Maker: Blue Bunny
Though not too differeent from Firecrackers, Bomb Pops deserve a place of their own on this list with the endless variety of flavors that Blue Bunny has developed. In addition to the original flavor, you could buy the Jolly Rancher and Hawaiian Punch flavors or go a step up and get the Tear Jerkers Bomb Pop with a gumball in the tip. Can you ride with the big boys?
8. Screwball
Maker: Popsicle
This treat was like finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. You'd give yourself brain freeze just to get to the bottom of the cone and retrieve two gumballs nestled in the apex. Though you could choose the flavor of your ice cream, the flavor of the gumballs was a mystery until you made your way to the bottom. What an adventure.
7. Original Ice Cream Sandwich
Maker: Assorted Brands
Created in the 1940s, the ice cream sandwich continues to set the frozen treat standard. Every ice cream brand has their own kind, but when it comes to the soft chocolate cookies and vanilla ice cream sandwich, no company has steered too far away from the original recipe. This is a case where keeping it simple wins. The ice cream sandwich will dominate forever.
6. Chocolate Eclair
Maker: Good Humor
If the ice cream man doesn't have Chocolate Eclairs on deck, he's not doing his job properly. No self-respecting ice cream pusher would drive around without enough of these Good Humor ice cream truck classics. When you put fudge ice cream in the center of vanilla light ice cream and surround that with chocolate and vanilla cookie bits, you're bound to get something fit for mass consumption. It's safe to say Good Humor nailed it.
5. Strawberry Shortcake
Maker: Good Humor
For those who didn't care too much for chocolate, the Strawberry Shortcake bar was off the ice cream truck charts. No real strawberries were in sight, but the pink cookie bits coating along with the strawberry and vanilla center always hit the spot. Frozen cake concoctions for the win!
4. Chipwich
Maker: Nestlé
The Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich, or simply, the Chipwich, was probably the most difficult thing to eat. The cookie was rock hard on the first bite and sensitive teeth went through hell slicing through the vanilla ice cream, but it was all worth it in the end. After about a minute, the treat warmed up just enough to make it easy to devour in about four big bites. And that's a generous estimate.
3. Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich
Maker: Good Humor-Breyers
It's only right that America's favorite cookie be used as the top and base for one of America's favorite ice cream treats. A close cousin to the Chipwich, the Oreo ice cream sandwich was another coveted frozen treat not just for the cookie, but for the smooth cookies n' cream ice cream filling. No need to dunk this sandwich in milk because if you took too long to eat it, you'd have a milkshake waiting for you in the bottom of the wrapper.
2. Choco Taco
Maker: Klondike
You pushed your way to the front of the ice cream truck line to ensure you'd get your hands on a Choco Taco. You could almost trick yourself into thinking you were consuming a complete meal with the waffle cone shell, vanilla ice cream with fudge swirl, milk chocolate coating, and peanuts. This classic ice cream truck treat was usually the first item to go and if you were slow to get to the truck, you'd probably have to settle for the Chipwich until next time. If you knew better, you'd do better.
1. Klondike Bar
Maker: Good Humor-Breyers
You see the signature foil wrapper and the jingle immediately starts to play in your head. From its 1920s beginnings as a block of vanilla ice cream completely covered in a chocolate shell, the Klondike bar has branched out to include dozens of other varieties to the family. The slogan has been asking us for years just how far one would go to get a Klondike bar. The answer is SO MANY BLOCKS. We'll be sprinting towards the ice cream truck 'till the day we die for one of these bad boys.