34 Ice Cream Desserts

Yes, these are a lot more work than unwrapping a store-bought Choco Taco, but every bite will make you want to dance with joy. You’ll need a hardback book with a 1-in.- wide spine to shape the warm cookies into shells. The shells are best when the weather is dry (humidity softens them).

Recipe: Ice Cream Tacos

With all due respect to Northern California’s iconic It’s-It, this version’s crisp oatmeal cookies are even more addictive. That’s why we’ve made sure you wind up with extra cookies. (To use them all for ice cream sandwiches, double the other ingredients.)

Recipe: Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

These luscious bars of vanilla ice cream swirled with strawberries and a crisp coating remind us of Strawberry Shortcake Bars. The topping softens over time, so try to eat the bars within a few hours.

Recipe: Strawberry Crunch Bars

There’s something immensely pleasing about the way a push-up pop emerges, bit by bit, from its container to be devoured. This version evokes the beloved Creamsicle. You’ll need 8 push-up pop molds (wilton.com).

Recipe: Orange Vanilla Push Pops

Brownies are perfection when combined with peanut-butter-cup/chocolate-swirl ice cream (often called Moose Tracks), but feel free to swap it out for your favorite flavor. Chilling the brownies overnight will make it easier to cut them neatly; they’ll also keep their shape nicely if you cut them in half.

Recipe: Moose Tracks Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches

You'll want to make this amazingly decadent churro and ice cream treat. Right. Now.

Recipe: Churro Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches

Rose water brings out the floral quality in nectarines (who knew they’re in the same botanical family?). For the creamiest texture, serve this the same day it’s made.

Recipe: Nectarine Rose Gelato

“We make a lot of classic flavors, but we’re always thinking about how to make them better,” says Anne Walker of San Francisco’s Bi-Rite Creamery. This mint ice cream, for instance, isn’t fluorescent green, because it’s made with freshly picked mint leaves—not food coloring. And instead of waxy chocolate chips, it has ultrathin shards of chocolate, which instantly melt in the mouth. As for the sauce, this is hot fudge as it’s meant to be. Deeply chocolatey, it acquires an almost chewy quality when poured over ice cream. It’s adapted from a recipe in Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones (Ten Speed Press, 2012; $25), by Anne Walker, Kris Hoogerhyde, and Dabney Gough. To watch a video of this sauce being made, see sunset.com/hotfudge.

Recipes:

Fresh Mint Chip Ice Cream

Hot Fudge Sauce

This ice cream has a delicate flavor; if you prefer a deeper taste, substitute a darker honey. Anne Walker and Sam Mogannam, the couple behind Bi-Rite Creamery and Bi-Rite Market, pick the figs from a tree in their garden, drizzle them with honey from their hives, and roast them in their outdoor wood-burning oven. They’re also delicious over vanilla ice cream.

Recipes:

Honey Ice Cream

Honey Roasted Figs

Here we've combined berries and ice cream, two summer favorites, in this super-easy sundae.

Recipe: Roasted Berry Sundaes

The sweet and salty combo in this sundae is truly amazing. Serve it to special guests, or treat the family to a weeknight splurge.

Recipe: Coffee Sundaes with Salted Peanut Butter Caramel

Zingy lemon-lime sorbet, rich coconut ice cream, fresh ripe pineapple, and toasted coconut--an island vacation should taste like this.

Recipe: Tropical Heaven Sundaes

Inspired by the Hot Date sundae from Poppy in Seattle, this is triply banana: warm banana bread, banana swirl ice cream, and ripe bananas with meltingly soft dates, walnuts, and whipped cream. Add a shot of rum to make it even more provocative.

Recipe: Hot Date Sundaes

Who says sundaes have to be in a bowl? Coffee ice cream gets structural with rum mocha sauce, Kahlúa whipped cream, macadamia nuts, crushed waffle cookies, and cacao nibs. The treat was Inspired by the artfully deconstructed ice cream creations of Food Network star Elizabeth Falkner.

Recipe: Coffee Chocolate Crunch Fantasia Sundaes

Lush, demure, and dreamy: Matcha green tea ice cream meets sake-poached plums under a cloak of candied-ginger whipped cream.

Recipe: Japonica Sundaes

Store-bought vanilla ice cream swirled with sweet-tart rhubarb compote, plus shortbread "crust" crumbles, gives new meaning to pie à la mode. Use other berries in this “pie” if you like.

Recipe: Bluebarb Pie Sundaes

Ice cream pies make ideal desserts for big holiday dinners, because you can make them days in advance and just haul them out of the freezer right before serving. Plus, they’re easy to make. This nutty, chocolate confection is a surefire crowd-pleaser.

Recipe: Toasted Almond Choco Toffee Ice Cream Pie

This treat celebrates one of our favorite summer fruits. A cheesecake pan was used to make this pie, but you can use a 9-in. pie pan and sprinkle the almonds on top.

Recipe: Apricot Almond Swirl Ice Cream Pie

The high sugar content of jams and preserves keeps the fruit from freezing rock-hard in this yummy treat.

Recipe: Strawberry Frozen Yogurt Pie with Balsamic Syrup

Kulfi, a dense, almost chewy Indian ice cream, inspired this pie. Opt for pistachios in the shell for greener color.

Recipe: Pistachio Cardamom

Add the whipped cream to this delectable pie just before serving; the freezer is not kind to it.

Recipe: Malted Milk Ball Ice Cream Pie

What's more adorable (or delicious!) than a miniature ice-cream pie? If you want to make one big pie, use a 9-in. cheesecake pan.

Recipe: Summer Fruit Mini Ice Cream Pies

Ice cream pies make ideal desserts for big holiday dinners, because you can make them days in advance and just haul them out of the freezer right before serving. Plus, they’re easy to make.

Recipe: Candied Orange Walnut Ice Cream Pie

Making this crowd-pleaser couldn’t be easier—just stir together seasoned pumpkin pie filling and ice cream and spoon into a gingersnap crumb crust.

Recipe: Pumpkin Ice Cream Gingersnap Pie

Give the favorite campfire treat a decadent twist.

More: How to make s'mores sundaes

It's like a grown-up's milkshake. A cookie or two on the side is a nice addition.

Recipe: Vanilla Ice Cream 'Drowned' in Espresso (Affogato al Caffè)

If you've never made one of these classic confections, you'll be tempted now. The bottom layer is genoise, a light, rich cake. Ice cream goes on the cake, then the whole thing is cloaked in meringue and put in the oven. The meringue turns golden but insulates the ice cream, so it stays frozen

Recipe: Strawberry-Lemon Baked Alaska

These soft, yielding cookies have a double dose of chocolate. They're the perfect foil for rich, gooey peanut butter ice cream.

Recipe: Peanut-Butter Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches

Studded with vanilla seeds, this ice cream has intense flavor.

Recipe: Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Mexican chocolate, usually described on the package as "Mexican chocolate drink mix," is a spiced chocolate bar that's commonly melted for hot chocolate. It gives the ice cream a pudding-like texture.

Recipe: Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream

Bursting with fresh peaches, this ice cream would be a special treat on a hot summer evening when served with some buttery shortbread.

Recipe: Easy Dreamy Peachy Ice Cream

Silky smooth, luscious, and surprisingly good with chocolate sauce.

Recipe: Coconut Avocado Ice Cream

These shakes, made from high-quality vanilla ice cream and brandy, are a super simple way to cool down and relax on hot summer afternoons.

Recipe: Brandy Shakes

Anne Walker and Sam Mogannam, the couple behind Bi-Rite Creamery and Bi-Rite Market, love to host ice-cream socials at their home in Sonoma. For this vibrant sorbet, they supplement farmers’ market berries with those from bushes in their backyard—if their two young daughters haven’t already stolen them.

Recipe: Raspberry Sorbet