Homemade Ice Cream Bars
These homemade ice cream bars will evoke childhood memories of your favorite store-bought ice cream bars, whether made with plain vanilla or chocolate ice cream that’s frozen on a stick and dipped. But these are better. And so easy. Here’s how to make them.
Equipment
- 8 wooden craft sticks
Ingredients
- 1 quart your favorite store-bought or homemade ice cream, softened
- 1 1/4 pounds bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 tablespoons mild olive or vegetable oil
- Chopped almonds, cookie crumbs, shredded coconut, crushed English toffee, jimmies, funfetti, or toppings of your choice
Instructions
- Line a 9-inch (23-cm) square metal baking pan with plastic wrap, allowing the wrap to hang over about 4 inches (10 cm) on 2 opposite sides. Smooth the plastic wrap so that it fits the contours of the pan and is as unwrinkled as possible.
- Using a rubber spatula, spread the softened ice cream in the prepared pan, smoothing it evenly. Fold the overhanging plastic wrap over the ice cream, then wrap the pan securely with more plastic wrap. Freeze until firm, at least 2 to 3 hours.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the pan from the freezer and unwrap the outer layer of plastic wrap. Using the overhanging plastic wrap, lift the slab of ice cream out of the pan and place it on a cutting board.
- Grab a long, sturdy knife and cut the ice cream into 8 equal rectangles. Use a metal spatula to separate the rectangles and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them at least 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Insert a wooden popsicle stick into a short side of each rectangle. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, at least 2 to 3 hours.
- In a heatproof bowl, combine the chocolate and oil. Place over but not touching a pan of barely simmering water and heat, stirring gently, until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is barely lukewarm, 15 to 30 minutes.
- Place your desired toppings in separate bowls. Remove the ice cream bars from the freezer. Working quickly, lift 1 bar by its stick. Dip the ice cream bar in the chocolate, turning to coat the ice cream partially and letting any excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. Sprinkle with the topping. Return the bar to the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining ice cream bars.
- Freeze the ice cream bars, uncovered, until the ice cream and coating are firm, at least 2 to 3 hours. Consume immediately or wrap each bar individually in plastic wrap and return to the freezer. Originally published August 30, 2016.
Notes
*What You Need To Know About The Best Type Of Ice Cream For
Homemade Ice Cream Bars If using store-bought ice cream, you want to select a hard, dense ice cream rather than one that has a lot of air whipped into it and, as a consequence, is super soft. We’ve found Breyers and Edy’s brand ice creams to be a little too soft to set up properly as ice cream bars. In terms of the best FLAVOR of ice cream for your bars, that means different things to different people. To some, ice cream bars mean creamy vanilla ice cream cloaked in either dark or milk chocolate. To others it means something a little more creative. What we’re trying to say is ice cream bars are a very, very personal thing. Which is exactly why we love this easy homemade ice cream bars recipe, which essentially allows us to make whatever combination of ice cream, chocolate, and coating we fancy. So go on. Recreate the ice cream bar of your childhood. Create the ice cream bars of your dreams. Or do both. And then kindly let us know in a comment below which creative collision of ice cream, chocolate, and coatings you concocted.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 barCalories: 655 kcalCarbohydrates: 65 gProtein: 8 gFat: 40 gSaturated Fat: 24 gMonounsaturated Fat: 12 gTrans Fat: 0.1 gCholesterol: 56 mgSodium: 102 mgFiber: 6 gSugar: 51 g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Recipe © 2015 Williams-Sonoma. Photo © 2015 Weldon Owen. All rights reserved.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Well, I think I was just chosen as Grandmother of the Year with these homemade ice cream bars! What a simple treat to make and keep in the freezer.
For a speedier product, I used store-bought vanilla ice cream. All of the freezing times after pressing the ice cream into the pan, cutting the ice cream into bars, and dipping them in chocolate should definitely be observed. My ice cream took at least 2 to 3 hours to refreeze after each process. I pulled the plastic wrap out of the pan and cut the pops on a cutting board. Work fast! I used chopped nuts and sprinkles on the chocolate.
I think next time I’ll do more than 1 quart of ice cream to make the pops thicker. I feel the sticks will stay in place better if the ice cream is a little thicker. This is a fun treat for the summer months!
What a great idea! These are prefect for kids and they can customize their own toppings!
Exactly, Eden! So glad you like! Love to hear what you decide to use as toppings!
These look incredible! Love how many topping options there are!
Many thanks, Eden! Yes, there’s no limit to the topping options when you let your creativity have free reign!
This isn’t too difficult, but if you’re going to use store-bought ice cream, it’s still way more time-consuming than the method I always use (learned from a better homes and garden cookbook published in the 1950s): buy the ice cream in a cardboard container, the “brick” rectangle-type size, not the round type. Take off the top and push the sticks into it in a grid with a bit sticking out of the top for the handle. The ice cream needs to be hard enough to slice, so pop if back in the freezer if needed. Then, snip the container at the corners and fold down the paper and slice around the sticks. Then dip as desired. You can make the bars thinner or wider, based on preference, just put the sticks in accordingly. I like them thinner, like a popsicle, just because I find them easier to eat, but to each her own!
Thank you, Sonja!