Remember the blissful summers of childhood? No school, running through sprinklers, and begging your parents for a dollar or two before chasing the ice cream truck around the neighborhood. There’s nothing like a sticky commute in mid-July rush-hour traffic to make want to trade it all for that carefree life.
Luckily, nostalgia sometimes comes on a stick. We rounded up all of the classic ice cream treats from our childhood and ranked them from most craveable to most disappointing to our matured adult tastebuds.
Our panel of tasters are some of Reviewed’s ever-opinionated staff:
• Cindy Bailen, Staff Writer
• Patty Camerota, Assistant Social Media Producer
• Jonathan Chan, Staff Writer
• Michael Desjardin, Senior Staff Writer
• Samantha Gordon, E-Commerce Editor
• Jackson Ruckar, Photo/Video Producer
• Jeremy Stamas, Video Production Manager
• Andrew Winson, Data Entry Manager
1. North Star Ice Cream Sandwich
“One bite and I remembered why I love these. That sticky chocolate cookie and the generic vanilla are legit creamy and sweet in the right way.” -Samantha
“This is what memories are made of.” -Patty
“There’s something really special about the way this looks—the paper wrapping, the straight lines, the stark contrast of the dark cake and bright ice cream filling. I also like that it’s soft, so it’s easy to eat, and the whole thing mixes together in your mouth to create a perfect combination of flavors. Side note: remember the kids who would lick the ice cream around the sides first and then eat the rest of the sandwich? I hated those kids.” -Jeremy
“Hard to be impartial, because it tastes like childhood.” -Andrew
“Each bite was reminiscent of childhood and summertime.” -Cindy
Tragically, you can’t buy North Star ice cream online. In-store only.
2. Dove Bar (Dark Chocolate)
“Can’t go wrong here. The dark chocolate is so melty and delicious and the ice cream is basically gelato.” -Samantha
“This had the best chocolate of the bunch, with its dark, strong flavors. The chocolate was thick, though, so it was hard to eat without making a mess, and the ice cream wasn’t anything special.” -Jeremy
“Almost exactly like a Klondike bar, except smaller, cleaner to eat, and more expensive.” -Andrew
“Luxury in an ice cream bar.” -Cindy
“Love the dark chocolate shell on this one—it’s so much richer than the garden-variety chocolate often found in ice cream bars.” -Michael
You’ll have to trek to the store for these!
3. Drumstick (Vanilla Fudge)
“This is the one treat in our roundup that lived up to my childhood memories. The alternating combinations of wafer, ice cream, chocolate, and nuts kept me eating.” -Jon
“Every layer offers something delicious, and well, the surprise nugget of chocolate on the bottom? What a score.” -Patty
“The cone beats the ice cream and coating hands down.” -Cindy
“Ah, the classic Drumstick. I love how chewy the cone is, and there’s really no beating that fudge nugget at the bottom. Yeah, I said “fudge nugget.” What are you gonna do about it?” -Michael
Get it from Amazon Fresh for $6.49
4. Magnum Ice Cream Bar (Double Chocolate)
“This one was, honestly, too indulgent. The chocolate coating-to-ice cream ratio was skewed toward the chocolate. If you have a chocolate craving, this will more than satisfy it though.” -Samantha
“I prefer chocolate ice cream, but this had way too much chocolate going on.” -Jeremy
“Very rich-tasting, but a bit of a chocolate overdose for me. I would have preferred it with vanilla ice cream.” -Cindy
Get it on Amazon Fresh for $4.49
5. Klondike Bar (Original)
“In face of so much competition, the original Klondike back seems like a bland throwback. However, I can’t deny that there’s something satisfying about unfolding that foil paper.” -Jon
“This has a similar nostalgia factor to the ice cream sandwich, but the chocolate just isn’t that good. It had a too-sweet after taste and didn’t pair all that well with the ice cream.” -Jeremy
“Boooo. These are boring, flavorless, and messy. What would I do for a Klondike bar? Nada.” -Patty
“Just the right amount of chocolate shell. The only downside here is these things get messy fairly quickly.” -Michael
Get it from Amazon Fresh for $4.49
6. Choco Taco
“If you haven’t had one since you were a kid, don’t. It’ll ruin the illusion that this was ever good.” -Samantha
“Disappointing. This was just underwhelming in its size and level indulgence. Equal parts chocolate, vanilla ice cream, and wafer, the lack of anything standing out cause this treat to turn to bland mush.” -Jon
“Pretty meh overall, soggy and mediocre cone. I was disappointed in this as I remember it as a childhood classic.” -Jackson
“This was nowhere near as good as I remember it being. I’m truly saddened by this development.” -Michael
Get it from Amazon Fresh for $4.99
7. M&Ms Ice Cream Cookies
“These were rough. Really rough. The cookies tasted like cardboard and the ice cream was weak in flavor.” -Michael
“It wasn’t that bad, but if I wanted an ice cream sandwich, I’d much rather use good ice cream and cookies that I actually liked and make my own.” -Samantha
“The ice cream is mediocre, the cookie is mediocre, and both of them together isn’t enjoyable to eat. I thought this would be my favorite, but it ended up being at the bottom.” -Jeremy
“Unimpressed. Nothing special about the ice cream. The cookie was kind of dry, and hard, on top of which biting into the cold mini-M&Ms was an unpleasant squeaking sensation like biting into cold pieces of wax.” -Andrew
Oh, man. Available in-store only.
8. Good Humor Oreo Bars
“I always expect the cookie crumbles on these things to be crunchy, but they’re always mushy and soft. I wouldn’t choose this for dessert even if it was the only choice.” -Samantha
“The brand Oreo makes me think about a crunchy cookie with cream in the middle, but this popsicle turned mushy only after a few minutes at room temperature. The lack any jaxapositioning textures made me just shrug my shoulders.” -Jon
“The Oreo flavor did come through nicely, and I appreciate the cookie crumble texture on the outside (reminds me of my favorite part of an ice cream cake). But unfortunately this pop isn’t very craveable.” -Patty
“I didn’t taste the Oreo at all… It was more like ice cream with the dust that’s left over when you finish a sleeve of Oreos.” -Jackson