Your Holiday Spread Might Be Missing Ice Cream
More ice cream makers are getting in the spirit with festive, limited-edition flavors.
JIM GOLDEN/Photo courtesy of Salt & Straw
When it comes to the holidays, a number of classic desserts come to mind. There are yule logs, fruit cake and a seemingly endless list of cookies. What’s less talked about is a treat that’s typically associated with summer: ice cream.
Just like peppermint and gingerbread starts making its way into seasonal drinks and snacks, traditional holiday flavors have also been popping up in the freezer aisle. In recent years, more and more ice cream makers have been reworking Christmas treats into frozen confections. The trend is not surprising given the nostalgic nature of the season.
“The holidays are when I personally started cooking, when I was four years old in Montana. I remember making gingerbread cookies, almond brittle and hundreds of other cookies for the holidays,” says Tyler Malek, co-founder and head ice cream maker of Portland’s Salt & Straw.
If you’re in the mood for a festive scoop, look no further than your local supermarket. A number of brands are available on grocery store shelves, including Häagen-Dazs, which brought back its beloved peppermint bar in both pint and ice cream bar form. Tillamook also has a limited-edition peppermint bark, along with a frosted sugar cookie. Milk Bar’s new holiday ice cream offerings include candy cane cookies and cream and a gingerbread latte.
Even those not traditionally in the ice cream game have hopped on the bandwagon (or shall we say sleigh?). Little Debbie’s released two pints inspired by its iconic Christmas tree cakes, available exclusively as Walmart. (Not to be out-holidayed, the store also sells gingerbread ice cream sandwiches and Christmas tree ice cream bars under its Great Values brand).
Lots of other retailers have their own in-house holiday treats, too. Target sells pints of peppermint bark and hot chocolate under its Favorite Day line; Publix launched nine new seasonal flavors, including snickerdoodle and coffee-infused Santa’s White Christmas; and Aldi has a trio of dye-free ice cream pops in the shape of snowmen, reindeer and Christmas trees.
But if you’re looking to get pints delivered to your door or have a sweets-loving friend or family member you still have yet to shop for, plenty of pints are available online for shipping.
Malek sought to capture his favorite cozy traditions for Salt & Straw’s 2023 holiday collection. The resulting five pints feature classic flavors and ingredients like gingerbread and almond brittle, but with Malek’s signature whimsical spin. There’s even a collab with Dwayne Johnson (yes, that Dwayne Johnson) — the actor’s Teremana tequila is featured in the custardy, nutmeg-spiked eggnog. The Rock also whipped up ice cream cakes, which are available in Salt & Straw shops.
Malai’s ice creams are inspired by founder Pooja Bavishi’s Indian American background and the winter collection is no exception. It features four indulgent flavors, including baklava, red chili chocolate, toasted nutmeg and milk and cookies with a twist. The latter features a combination of regular chocolate chip cookies and chocolate chili cookies folded in a milk masala ice cream.
The Columbus, Ohio ice cream baker’s coveted holiday pints are back with something for everyone. There’s also an eggnog (featuring Uncle Nearest Whiskey) and a peppermint (this one is swirled with white chocolate ice cream). Rum Ball nods to the boozy holiday candy, the Buckeye Frenzy pays homage to owner Jeni Britton Bauer’s Midwest roots and the Merry Berry features amaretti cookies and raspberry coulis folded into berry buttermilk ice cream.
The St. Louis-based creamery goes beyond Christmas with its seasonal pints. Along with wintry flavors such as a marshmallow-studded hot cocoa, cranberry pistachio and coconutty vegan sugar cookie, Clementine’s has two limited-edition Hanukkah flavors: sweet noodle kugel layered with baked Manischewitz egg noodles and plump currants, and sour cream apple latke packed with homemade potato pancakes and baked apples.
Pastry whiz Sam Mason works his magic on time-honored holiday sweets for Oddfellows’ latest set. The flavors run the dessert-table gamut — there’s a carrot cake cheesecake, frosted sugar cookie, tiramisu, s’mores brownie and wild berry crumble. But true to Mason’s Michelin-starred background, each pint has some unique elements, like a graham soil or fudge variegate.
The holiday capsule from the innovative San Francisco creamery is anchored by two seasonal flavors: pumpkin galette (pumpkin spice ice cream, brown butter caramel, tart crust) and Christmas Story (Tahitian vanilla ice cream, peppermint bark and sugar cookies). It also comes with four other decadent pints, including a malted milk chocolate and, because we all need a pick-me-up during the holidays, Vietnamese coffee. If you’re looking for a showstopping dessert to bring to a party, Humphry Slocombe also makes a layered ice cream cake with the malted chocolate and Christmas Story ice creams.
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