I think it's obvious that ice cream sandwiches are becoming a staple dessert in many states. A scoop (or two) of creamy ice cream sandwiched between two decadent cookies. How can one resist? But what about stuffing ice cream between two waffles? Or in a taco? If this sounds too good to be true, keep scrolling to find where to treat yourself to amazing ice cream sandwiches minus the cookies in Chicago.
1. Pizzelle Panino from Cafe Spiaggia
Location: 980 N Michigan Ave #2, Chicago, IL 60611
Hours of Operation: Mon-Fri 8am-3pm (counter hours)
Price: $9
We're starting off a bit fancy with the Pizzelle Panino. A pizzelle is an thin and slightly crispy Italian waffle made from flour, eggs, sugar, fat, and some type of flavoring. This elegant dessert contains toasted milk gelato between two pizzelle and is dipped in gianduja (a chocolate hazelnut spread) then finished with Maldon salt.
2. Gelato Churro Waffle Sandwich from Mad Social
Location: 1140 W Madison St, Chicago, IL 60607
Hours of Operation: Mon-Thurs 5pm-10pm, Friday 5pm-11pm,
Sat 10am-11pm, Sun 10am-4pm
Price: $9
Mad or genius? Mad Social's twist on the classic sandwich is switching out cookies with a deep fried churro waffle. The ice cream flavors change from time to time. For the month of June, they are featuring Superman ice cream.
3. Donut Ice Cream Sandwich from Stan's Donuts
Location: multiple locations in Chicagoland area
Hours of Operation: vary with location
Price: $4.99
Donut and coffee for breakfast? More like donut and ice cream. Go to Stan's Donuts and choose from over 40 donut flavors that you can use as the sandwich "bread" to hold either chocolate or vanilla ice cream.
4. Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich from Snow Dragon Shavery
Location: 2618 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60614; 809 Davis St, Evanston, IL 60210; 700 E Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
Hours of Operation: vary with location
Price: $5.49
Macarons are one of my favorite desserts. These sweet, little bite-sized desserts are great for any occasion and I never imagined that they could be perfected further. Somehow Snow Dragon Shavery has successful upgraded not only ice cream sandwiches, but also macarons by combining the two together.
5. Ice Cream Submarine Sandwich from Parlay at Joy District
Location: 112 W Hubbard St, Chicago, IL 60654
Hours of Operation: Mon-Wed 4pm-12am, Thurs-Fri 4pm-2am, Sat 10am-3am, Sun 10am-12am
Price: $25
Twenty dollars for ice cream? Might seems a bit much, but look at the size of that ice cream sandwich! Parlay is known for their giant eclair stuffed with six scoops of ice cream, but this masterpiece isn't quite done just yet. This eclair sandwich is then topped with whipped cream, nuts, cherries, fresh strawberries, bananas, chocolate chips, banana chips, chocolate covered espresso beans, and finally drizzled over with chocolate sauce. Now that's a mouthful.
6. Wildfire Ice Cream Sandwich from Wildfire Restaurant
Location: multiple locations in Illinois (5), Minnesota (1), and Virginia (1)
Hours of Operation: vary with location
Price: $7.95
Not only does the Wildfire Ice Cream Sandwich have Snickers flavored ice cream, it is held together by two slices of fudge brownie. Plus, caramel sauce and hot fudge served on the side. Candy in ice cream between brownies with caramel and fudge for dipping... Enough said.
7. Tacolato from Parlor Pizza (Dessert Dealer)
Location: 1824 W Division St, Chicago, IL 60622 and 108 N Green Street, Chicago, IL 60607
Hours of Operation: Mon 11:30am-12am, Tues–Thurs 11:30am-1am, Fri 11:30am-1:30am, Sat 10:30am-1:30am, Sun 10:30am-12am
Price: $8
Tacos for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and now dessert thanks to Parlor Pizza's delicious ice cream creation, the Tacolato. You can choose from one of their creations or build your own dream Tacolato where you get to choose the shell, ice cream flavor, and your favorite toppings.
Chicago has a great variety of ice cream sandwiches so if you live here or just visiting, make sure to head over to one of these places. If you can't wait and want to try some homemade ice cream sandwich creations, check out a few of these recipes at home that include traditional cookie sandwiches and more whimsical creations like Rice Krispie Ice Cream Sandwiches.
#SpoonTip: Tax is not included in the price.