Dipped Ice Cream Cones with Homemade Magic Shell
Homemade ice cream cones are made even better when dipped in homemade peanut butter, chocolate, and vanilla magic shell style dipping sauces. Sure to become a summer staple, make a dozen now and enjoy all season long.
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Blue Bunny® Ice Cream. All opinions are mine alone.
Do your favorite summer desserts involve semi-homemade, single-serve ice cream treats? Then, you must take a closer look at these dipped ice cream cones!
Start with crunchy waffle cones, fill them with your favorite ice cream flavor, and hand-dip them in homemade peanut butter, chocolate, or vanilla magic shell sauces. Top them with sprinkles or crushed nuts for an extra special treat.
They are so easy to assemble and customize just for you. Add more ice cream, double the shell thickness, or add sprinkles and nuts. Make a dozen and keep them in your freezer all season long.
Blue Bunny® Ice Cream
Blue Bunny® has been delighting families with ice cream treats for over 80 years. After pairing up with them last summer and creating these Shortbread Ice Cream Sandwiches, I jumped at the opportunity to work with them this spring to celebrate the release of their new line of seasonal flavors for 2017.
This year’s feature flavor is Blue Bunny® PB ‘N Cone™. It’s a creamy vanilla ice cream with ribbons of peanut butter and crunchy pieces of chocolate dipped cones. It is the perfect flavor for making ice cream cones coated and dipped with homemade sauces! Who doesn’t love the idea of ice cream cone ice cream in an ice cream cone?
Homemade Ice Cream Dip (aka Magic Shell)
The homemade ice cream dipping sauces in this recipe post are the kind that hardens instantly when exposed to cold. The secret ingredient: coconut oil. It easily melts when warm, but instantly hardens when cold, making it the perfect base for homemade magic shell.
I’ve included the ingredients to make chocolate, vanilla, and peanut butter. I couldn’t choose and you should have to either. Each sauce recipe will make enough to coat and dip between 4 – 6 cones. If you make all three you’ll easily have enough to make a full dozen., with sauce leftover.
Once piece of advice: don’t use a fancy double boiler. Having to stop and clean it when you change flavors is annoying. Instead place a large glass or metal bowl over a small pot of simmering water and stir while the sauce melts. It’s easier to scrape the sides of the bowl to get it all mixed together and you can allow it to cool in the same bowl.
Go ahead and melt all of the sauces one right after the other. Since the goal is not to melt the ice cream, the sauces must be allowed to cool before use. Room temperature is ideal, but at the minimum it should not feel hot to the touch.
How to Make Dipped Ice Cream Cones
While the technique for making these cones is easy, I definitely learned from my mistakes the first time I made them. Here are a few tips to make your process go more smoothly.
Nobody likes a drippy ice cream cone. A little bit of homemade magic shell is perfect for preventing drips from escaping the bottom of the cone and add an extra layer of flavor. Hold the cone at an angle (opening up) and drip about a teaspoon of the sauce into the cone while rotating it. The sauce won’t harden on the cone, but freezing them 3 – 5 minutes after assembly will do the trick.
I found it most efficient to do each cone in an assembly line of sorts. Use a parchment lined cookie sheet to hold the cones as you work through each step with all the cones before moving on to the next step.
Once you have each one assembled them all, place them on the baking sheet and freeze them for at least 3 minutes to allow the lining the inside of the shell to harden.
If you want to store them for later, give them about 30 minutes in the freezer to fully set up then store them in a freezer safe, air tight container. They should keep 2 – 3 months in your freezer if you don’t devour them first.
Dipped Ice Cream Cones with Homemade Magic Shell Recipe
These kid approved hand dipped ice cream cones with homemade magic shell should be a summer staple. They are a great treat to make in advance for a picnic, BBQ, or just to have on hand to indulge in whenever you need a satisfying sweet treat.
Looking for more iconic summer treats? See this blackberry white chocolate pots de creme, homemade strawberry shortcake, or my adults only pina colada sangria popsicles. For more tasty ideas check out my desserts, treats, and snacks page.
If you like this recipe, please give it a FIVE-STAR rating, leave a comment, and share it on your favorite social channel!
Dipped Ice Cream Cones
Ingredients
Chocolate Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate*
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
Vanilla Bean Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 cup chopped white chocolate*
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 3 inch section of vanilla bean
Assembly
- 46 ounce tub of ice cream
- 12 waffle cones
- sprinkles or crushed nuts (optional)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan bring 2″ – 3″ of water to a simmer.
- Measure the ingredients for each sauce into a different medium sized glass or metal mixing bowl. Select bowls that are large enough to sit on top of your sauce pan without touching the water.
- Processing each sauce one at a time heat the sauce ingredients by placing the mixing bowl on top of the simmering water. It should rest above the surface of the water. Heat until smooth and melted, stirring and scraping the sides of the bowl constantly. As they are done, set them aside to cool to room temperature. (Approximately 15 minutes depending on the temperature of the room.)
- When the sauces have cooled prepare each cone one at a time. Each sauce should be enough to make 4 cones total.
- ++Starting with the first sauce, coat the inside of the waffle cone.**
- Add one or two scoops of ice cream into the cone, packing it down firmly so that it stays, but gently enough as to not break the cone.
- Dip the cone into the same sauce that is on the inside (or mix it up!)
- Wait 5 – 10 seconds for it to set, then dip again.
- Immediately sprinkle or roll in sprinkles or crushed nuts.
- Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Go back to ++ and repeat with each cone until you have used all of them.
- Place cones into freezer for at least 3 – 5 minutes to allow the coating in the cone to solidify. If making for later, allow to firm up for 30 minutes then store in a freezer safe zip top bag.
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is for general information purposes only. For the most accurate information, calculate using your select brands and exact measurements.
What a fun idea – I’ve always had dipped cones but not with ice cream already in ! I love this! #client
Thank you Mary!! We used to get something similar from the local dairy bar in the town where I grew up. It was a bright red shell and if I remember right it tasted like pure sugar. In my book these cones (with this ice cream) are definitely an upgrade!
Love these dipped ice cream cones, they look so cute! I would definitely go for the peanut butter!
Pretty – Thank you! The peanut butter does a great job of balancing the sweetness of the ice cream. It’s my favorite of the three.