TASTE TEST: THE BEST ICE CREAM TREATS
Best Vanilla
Dovebar Vanilla with Milk Chocolate Ice Cream Bars
This bar is proof that simple, done right, is best. Panelists described the thick milk chocolate coating as "velvety" and "melt-in-your-mouth," and one noted that it's like "a truffle on a stick, with a snowy-white vanilla ice cream center." One bite and you might spout poetry, too. ($4.49 for three 2.9-ounce bars, at grocery stores)
Best Cone
Great Value Chocolate-Dipped Vanilla Flavored Ice Cream Cones
Tasters marveled at the "supercrispy" chocolatelined sugar cone and the "whipped, frenchvanillalike" ice cream hidden beneath a milk chocolate coating. Chopped peanuts add a salty crunch, and a bargain price sweetens the deal. ($3.97 for eight 4.3-ounce cones; $3.75 for ten 2.25-ounce cones, at Walmart stores)
Best Sandwich
Trader Joe's 12 Mini Mint Ice Cream Mouthfuls
These addictive, snack-size chocolate wafer sandwiches -- stuffed with refreshing mint ice cream -- reminded tasters of childhood treats: "It's like a York Peppermint Pattie and an Oreo cookie had a delicious mint-chocolaty baby," raved one panelist. Chimed in another, "They're like an ice cream version of Thin Mint cookies." Scout's honor. ($3.29 for twelve 1.25-ounce sandwiches, at Trader Joe's stores)
Best Flavored
Julie's Organic Coffee and Dark Chocolate Ice Cream Bars
Made in small batches by a family-owned company, these organic bars will please even the most sophisticated palates: A crisp dark chocolate shell enrobes rich coffee ice cream. "The intense, nutty espresso flavor is incredible," enthused one taster. ($4.29 for three 3-ounce bars, at select grocery stores)
Best Light
Weight Watchers Ice Cream Candy Bars
This one had us doing double takes at the nutrition label. With just 150 calories and 9 grams of fat, "it's like an indulgent sundae in a bar," one panelist cooed. Filled with creamy peanut butter ice cream, gooey caramel and crunchy peanuts, the bar satisfies both sweet and salty cravings -- without blowing your diet. ($5 for six 2-ounce bars, at grocery stores)
Prices and other details were accurate when we published this article in August 2010.
