This Is How You Fix a Messy Summer Ice Cream Cone

Perhaps you have noticed that I have been thinking and writing about ice cream an awful lot. Hot weather calls for cold treats, and though I (a Pacific Northwest dweller) am still lacking consistent access to the sun, I know that it’s hot somewhere, and knowing that is enough.

I am not the only one. Babs—of brunchwithbabs fame—is also thinking about ice cream, and she has had at least two brilliant ice cream-related thoughts, both of which can help you distribute and enjoy ice cream cones.

The first is more of an ice cream cone prep hack: Babs lines a muffin tin with (cheap) cupcake liners, scoops ice cream into those liners, then pops the whole thing in the freezer, where the little scoops sit until serving time. To serve, Babs sticks an inverted cone into each mound of ice cream, then peels the cupcake liner off the top.

The second little hack mitigates mess. Babs shoves a mini marshmallow down in the cone (before inverting it), which acts much like the chocolate the bottom of a Drumstick and blocks leaks to make things a lot neater.

A third hack—which Babs does not mention but I was able to clock with my very sharp eyes—involves scattering sprinkles in the cupcake liners before adding the ice cream. Those scoops come out pre-sprinkled, with the sprinkles frozen into the ice cream, meaning they’ll stay put on the way to your mouth. (Try it with peanuts for Drumstick vibes.)

Ice cream aside, it’s worth noting that Babs is a good follow overall and has other great hacks, recipes, and advice that have nothing to do with ice cream, including a weed killer hack I am excited to try this week. (I may not be getting much sun here in Oregon, but I am getting lots of rain, and the weeds are thriving.)