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Homemade Drumsticks ice cream cones topped with a smooth chocolate shell are a delicious summer dessert or fun treat anytime. Use your favorite ice cream flavor and toppings, and get the kids to help make them! They’re so much better than store bought!
Every summer, I let the kids pick out their favorite frozen treats when we go shopping. Their selection varies each time, but a box of Drumsticks seems to hop into the cart more often than any of the other ice cream novelties available. If you’ve never had a Drumstick before, it is simply a waffle cone lined with a thin layer of chocolate and filled with ice cream, then topped with a chocolate shell.
I admit that I have a soft spot for these tasty chocolate covered cones too, as I ate them every summer growing up. We love making homemade ice cream, ice cream sandwiches and ice cream sandwich cakes, so we decided to use our own easy recipe for DIY Drumstick ice cream treats using real ice cream. Although the process was a little tricky, our homemade drumstick ice cream cones were pretty amazing!
The kids and I first tried making our own Drumsticks a few years ago, but they didn’t quite turn out like we expected. Since then, we have perfected the process. Now, making these homemade chocolate covered ice cream cones for dessert is a summer tradition!
Table of Contents
Ingredient Notes
Here’s a quick list of what you need. Full amounts are in the printable recipe card below.
- 8 waffle cones — you can buy these in the store or make your own.
- Ice cream — Use your favorite flavor or multiple flavors
- Semi sweet chocolate chips — for melting chocolate
- Toppings — Chopped peanuts, crushed cookies or candy sprinkles
- Coconut oil or Magic Shell — for the chocolate coating
Ice Cream Cone Holder
Before you start, you’ll need to have something to hold the ice cream cones while you make the drumsticks. I use a narrow popsicle or ice pop mold, which works really well. You can also use tall glasses or whatever you have around the house to hold them. Or, create a drumstick holder by poking large holes in a clean box that’s small enough to fit in the freezer.
How to Make Homemade Drumstick Ice Cream Cones
First, melt the chocolate chips. You can do this on the stove or microwave. Then, pour a little bit into the bottom of the sugar cones. I found that it was easier to get the chocolate to the very bottom of the cones by using a knife. Then, I just spread some chocolate around the inside of the cones for a little extra chocolate flavor.
Freeze or refrigerate for a few minutes to let the chocolate firm up. Then, carefully pack each cone with ice cream using an ice cream scoop. You’ll want to place the cones back into the freezer for a few minutes to keep the ice cream cold.
Next, make your DIY Magic Shell. Or, get out a bottle from the store if you have it. Melt some chocolate chips with coconut oil, and stir until smooth. The coconut oil keeps the chocolate liquid at room temperature. When you top it over ice cream, it’ll harden — just like magic!
Quickly dip each ice cream cone into the melted chocolate until the ice cream is covered. Immediately, dip the cones into whatever toppings you have. We had a variety of topping — chopped peanuts, crushed Oreo cookies, mini M and M’s and sprinkles, or jimmies. Pop the ice cream cones back into the freezer to let the ice cream firm up. Then, you can enjoy your own homemade Drumstick cones!
Recipe Tips
The chocolate coating needs to be thin — melted chocolate just doesn’t work right. You can make your own DIY magic shell by combining chocolate chips with coconut oil or vegetable oil.
Or, grab a bottle of Magic Shell from the store! Melted chocolate candy coating work too. It’s a little thicker than Magic Shell, but thinner than plain melted chocolate.
So why are Drumsticks so much fun? Well, I think everyone loves to get to the ice cream underneath that sweet first layer of chocolate. Then, you get more chocolate around the inside of the cone.
Finally, you get to that amazing nugget of solid chocolate at the very bottom, and it’s like all your efforts are rewarded. So, if you decide to make your own Drumsticks, there are a lot of trips to the freezer, and several steps to follow, but oh, is it ever worth it! The kids and I had so much fun making our own frozen treats, and they were even better than the ones from the store. Really!
Homemade Drumsticks
Ingredients
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips divided
- 8 waffle cones
- 1½ quarts ice cream
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- toppings
Instructions
- Melt the 1 cup of chocolate chips, and pour some chocolate into the very bottom of each cone. You can also spread some around the entire inside of the cone.
- Place cones in freezer until chocolate is solid.
- Fill cones with ice cream, and carefully push the ice cream to the bottom of each cone. Top cones with more ice cream, using an ice cream scoop, then return to freezer until frozen hard.
- Melt remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, and stir until smooth. Quickly dip each cone into the chocolate coating so that ice cream is covered. Or, dip into Magic Shell, from the store
- Top with candy sprinkles, chopped peanuts, crushed cookies or your favorite toppings, and freeze until firm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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First published in June 2015.
I love drumsticks! So glad to have found a recipe so I can make them whenever I want to!!