The ice cream potato is a novelty sweet treat that you probably won’t find outside of Idaho, the ‘potato’ state.
Not actually having any potato in it, an ice cream potato is simply molded ice cream covered in a variety of toppings to visually look like a baked potato.
Even in Idaho, the treat is pretty seasonal as it’s usually found at fairs, festivals, and other events.
Year-round, the ice cream potato can be found at both locations of Westside Drive-In, the establishment that is proclaimed as the dessert’s birthplace.
Westside’s original version of the dessert features a vanilla ‘potato’, rolled in cocoa powder and sliced in half to mimic a baked potato. Filled with whipped cream and topped with cookie crumbles and chopped peanuts, the dessert, served in a pool of chocolate syrup, is available in-restaurant or through the drive-through.
Variations can be found utilizing various ice cream toppings and other sweet treats to mimic other baked potato toppings.
While this treat is fun to grab while I’m in my hometown, I spend most of the year out of state at school. Because of this, I felt the need to bless the foodie community with a recipe to recreate this staple fair food.
Homemade Ice Cream Potatoes
Ingredients
Instructions
Scoop a sufficient amount of ice cream onto the plastic wrap.
Cover the ice cream with the plastic wrap. Then, shape and mold the covered ice cream to be around the size and shape of a potato.
Place the wrapped and molded ice cream in the freezer until firm (about 30 minutes).
While the ice cream freezes, prepare toppings. Remove the frosting from 4 Oreos, keeping the frosting intact. Finely crush the Oreo cookies.
Take an intact frosting disc and cut it into a square shape, mimicking a slice of butter. Stack various squares to create desired thickness.
If not pre-chopped, coarsely chop nuts.
Add the shredded coconut to a bowl with 3-4 drops of yellow food coloring. Mix until well blended. Add more food coloring to reach desired shade of yellow. Try to get to the color of processed cheese!
Put the cocoa powder in a bowl. Remove the wrapped ‘potato’ from the freezer and plastic wrap. Roll in the cocoa powder until completely covered.
Wrap the covered ice cream in fresh plastic wrap. Return to freezer for about 10-15 minutes.
Remove the ‘potato’ from the freezer. Re-roll in cocoa powder.
Begin assembly. Place the potato on a plate and cut in half about 3/4 of the way through. Fill with whipped cream.
Add desired toppings. Sprinkle with cookie crumbles, colored coconut, chopped nuts, and green sprinkles. Top with cubed frosting ‘butter’.
Enjoy!
Congratulations on making your very own ice cream potato! Repeat steps as necessary to make multiple potatoes. Feel free to try using other ice cream flavors, add other ice cream toppings, such as chocolate or strawberry syrup, or experiment to make your own disguised toppings!