We All Scream For Ice Cream: Happy National Ice Cream Day!
Earlier this week we celebrated National French Fry Day, and this weekend we celebrate another important holiday in the H&D calendar: National Ice Cream Day on July 19! Whether you prefer an old-fashioned cone, modern soft serve flavors, or making your own frozen treats at home, we've got the scoop on where and how to get your fix from four of our personal favorites:
Photo: @normal.club
To say we’re fans of Salt Lake City-based Normal would be a serious understatement. If anything, we’re super fans, and we simply can’t get enough of owner/pastry chef Alexa Norlin’s inventive and playful twists on traditional favorites. Take her salted vanilla bean soft serve dipped in Solstice dark chocolate or all dressed up with Funfetti cake bits, strawberry ganache, raspberry cotton candy, and an edible candle (the recipe for the composed cone created to celebrate Normal’s 3rd birthday). We could (and do) eat Normal’s vegan coconut sorbet with house-made honeycomb and dark chocolate bits by the pintful, and don’t even get us started on the Normal Choco Taco—Norlin’s take on the frozen treat features a house-made waffle taco, horchata ice cream, dark chocolate dip, and chocolate pearls. Suffice to say, every item on the menu is insanely delicious.
Photo: Salt & Straw
What originally began as a neighborhood gathering place for good scoops with good friends in downtown Portland, Oregon, has since expanded to ice cream outposts in Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, Miami, and more. All of Salt & Straw’s recipes are made by hand with the best local ingredients sourced throughout their various cities. Creative flavors that rotate monthly and consistent deliciousness are hallmarks of their ice cream. Some of our favorite scoops include their classic sea salt with caramel ribbons and their honey lavender. Their special July scoops of the month are a love letter to fresh summer berries: Meyer lemon and blueberries, birthday cakes and blackberries, and goat cheese marionberry habańero. Make ours a double.
Photo: Milk Bar
Christina Tosi’s wildly popular Milk Bar chain is the OG of weird but wonderful desserts. It all started with her idea to make a soft-serve ice cream that tasted like cereal milk. The resulting Cereal Milk Soft Serve is made with milk, cornflakes, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt to replicate the taste of milk at the bottom of a bowl of cornflakes. Served in a cup and topped with a sprinkle of cornflakes, it’s the perfect blend of sweet and salty. We also love Milk Bar’s iconic birthday cake: a three-tier, rainbow confection made with vanilla cake, birthday frosting, crunchy birthday bits, and sprinkles. Happy birthday to us!
Photo: FoodieCrush
If you prefer to scoop your own, check out this recipe for easy no-churn homemade ice cream from our friend Heidi at FoodieCrush. All you need is heavy whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, and a little patience. Make a vanilla base and then add your favorite mix-ins like mini marshmallows, graham cracker crumbles, chocolate chunks, fresh fruit, nuts, etc. It’s the coolest treat for a hot summer night.