The ice cream sandwich is one of those treats that just hits the proverbial spot. It’s got all the doughy, creamy goodness of milk and cookies in one cool, handheld bite. The classic, rectangular version and the ubiquitous Chipwich are most common, but any flavor of ice cream between baked goods qualifies. You can find them on everything from biscuits to brioche and donut halves to brownies, and easily make them yourself.
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Ice cream sandos first popped up in the U.S. around 1900 as “hokey pokeys,” rivaled only in cuteness by Australia’s “cream between” sandwiches of yore. Modern ice cream sandwiches can be found across the globe, like bánh mì kẹp kem topped with peanuts in Vietnam, brioche con gelato, a breakfast item in Italy and colorful wafer potong ice cream in Singapore.
We went in search of one-of-a-kind ice cream sandwiches across Pennsylvania. Check out these special sando makers across the state:
Speedy’s Tasty Treats
Speedy’s Tasty Treats keeps things interesting with new flavors all the time and a great rotation of ice cream sandwiches, which includes a classic chipper of chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies filled with a variety of changing soft serves (pistachio, banana and coffee, for example). Speedy’s ice cream flavors of the day swap out fun, limited time choices like teaberry, coconut cream and chocolate peanut butter so there’s always something new. Seasonal staple sandwiches include springtime’s strawberry soft serve and fall’s pumpkin flavor held between two fresh baked sugar cookies. Its season starts in mid March, after which it’s open for business seven days through October. Keep tabs on its active Facebook page for the cool ice cream sandwich du jour! 1000 Main St., Ford City; (724) 763-3291.
Leona’s
Leona’s in Pittsburgh creates small-batch ice cream sandwiches with seasonally shifting flavors for a decadent variety all year long. Its ice cream is handmade with real dairy, yet 100% lactose-free, so all bellies can enjoy. You’ll find Leona’s artful ice cream sandwiches in over 55 locations throughout the Pittsburgh area like markets, cafes and breweries. Despite its continuous flavor turnover, there are a handful of Leona’s flagship flavors available year-round, including brownie sundae ice cream on chocolate chunk cookies, cinnamon ice cream on oatmeal lace cookies, key lime ice cream on graham cookies and the awe-inspiring black sesame on salted tahini chocolate chunk. For a scrumptious s’mores style sando, try chocolate marshmallow ice cream between graham cracker cookies. Multiple locations; (412) 709-5275.
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The Double Dipper
The Double Dipper in Erie is a family-owned shop selling ice cream, ice cream sandwiches and ice cream pies, like banana split, strawberry hot fudge and maple pecan. Its ice cream sandwiches are a huge hit, with over 1,000 sold in the 2023 season. They have plain, sprinkles and krunch kote (a nutty, sprinkle topping), but we suggest going all in with the double dipped ice cream sandwiches. It’s a vanilla/chocolate twist ice cream sandwich on a stick, popsicle-style, dipped into a chocolate hard dip and then coated in krunch kote. To try it, head to The Double Dipper any afternoon or evening of its season, which runs April through September. 5320 Buffalo Rd. A, Erie; (814) 790-5058.
Fox Meadows Creamery
Fox Meadows Creamery is a family-owned creamery and dairy farm offering “cow to cone” goodness. The numerous handcrafted flavors include classics, like Madagascan vanilla, Wilbur chocolate and coffee, fruity vine-ripened raspberry, nutty brown butter almond brickle and Nutella, plus creative featured flavors, like Belgian cookie butter, lemon lush and strawberry rhubarb crumble. For a superstar ice cream sandwich, try the Baked Fox, a customizable pressed hot/cold delight. You choose the shell from chocolate chip cookie, chewy brownie, chocolate cake roll and strawberry shortcake plus specials like apple fritter, whoopie pie, shoofly pie, oatmeal cookie, sugar cookie and monkey bread. Then, choose an ice cream flavor. From there, Fox Meadows presses the two, yielding a warm-on-the-outside, cold-and-creamy-on-the-inside sando like no other. Visit Fox Meadows Creamery any day but Sunday at its Farmstead and Leola locations. 2475 West Main St., Ephrata and 193 East Main St., Leola; (717) 721-6455.
Lancaster Sweet Shoppe
Lancaster Sweet Shoppe is paradise for the sweet-toothed. Breathe in the confection-scented air and choose from its revered house made dessearts, like ice cream, stroopies (stroopwafels) and Groff’s chocolates. Mix your muses with the one-of-a-kind stroopie ice cream sandwich. You choose an ice cream flavor and Lancaster Sweet Shoppe loads it between two thin, chewy, waffle cookies for a top-notch PA Dutch-inspired sweet. Go stroopie crazy with chai stroopie ice cream or play with flavors like butter pecan, raspberry, and espresso Oreo caramel. You may need a dozen or so visits to get your stroopie sando just right. 141 North Duke St., Lancaster; (717) 869-5955.
Weckerly’s
From its inception in 2012, Weckerly’s hit the ground running and never looked back. It’s gone from the back of a neighborhood cafe in West Philadelphia to a “micro creamery” with an in house bakery shipping nationally from North Philly, all while retaining its inspired, small batch feel. Flavors like Lemon Berry Graham with sweeet cream ice cream with lemon zest, house made berry jam swirl and graham cracker crumbs between soft graham cookies, and People’s Choice, layers of Caphe Roasters coffee ice cream and cookies & cream ice cream with cocoa cookie crumbs between chocolate chocolate chip cookies, have allowed Weckerly’s to reach ice cream sandwich super stardom. You can visit Weckerly’s Fishtown Scoop Shop, or find its beloved sandwiches in retailers across the greater Philadelphia area.
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Franklin Fountain
Philly’s beloved Franklin Fountain brings an old-timey soda fountain experience to visitors, with extravagant sundaes, authentic root beer floats, a New York egg cream and cherry lime rickey. Friendly, bow-tie wearing staff keep the long lines moving along, and soon enough you’re off with your cone, scoop, sundae or split served in a cute little takeout carton, fizzy concoction or ice cream sandwich. Franklin Fountain’s ice cream sandwiches include traditional (but no less delicious) chocolate chip cookie and brownie sandwiches in addition to the PA-repping pretzel sandwich, a pretzel bun with a slab of your choice of ice cream. Franklin Fountain also rotates seasonal sandwiches, like a snickerdoodle and sea salt caramel sandwich and the fall favorite pumpkin lebkuchen with pumpkin ice cream on traditional German spice cookies made with almonds, honey, candied orange peel and spices. 116 Market St., Old City, Philadelphia; (215) 627-1899.
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Zsa’s Ice Cream
At Zsa’s Ice Cream’s cute Germantown shop, you’ll find all kinds of delectable ice cream treats, including customizable ice cream sandwiches and constantly rotating seasonal sando batches. The best way to keep track is through its Facebook and Instagram pages, where you’ll see releases like the Strawberry and Ice Cream Sandwich with strawberry ice cream between chewy, brown sugar sugar cookies and a shimmery coating of strawberry jam, My Beeting Heart held pink velvet ice cream with mild beet coloring between chewy, fudgy cocoa crinkle cookies, and Zsa’s April Fool’s prank-gone-right was cream cheese ice cream on mini everything donut. Zsa’s partners with bakers and confectioners like Okie Dokie Donuts and The Biscuit Lady for hyper-local sweetness. For a bit more customizability, try Zsa’s Sandwich Zsa-ffle, with your choice of flavor and topping inside a sweet, chewy handheld waffle sandwich. 6616 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia; (215) 848-7215.
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iSwich Gourmet
iSwich Gourmet was born of founder Angela O’Brien’s passion for taking creative twists on classic, gourmet foods. She made the Bananas Foster ice cream sandwich for her long-running “gourmet club,” and it was a hit. iSwich Gourmet sando flavors expertly ride the sweet and savory line with chocolate covered pretzel with salted caramel, make brilliant use of fruits with blueberry lemon, raspberry chocolate, and the aforementioned Bananas Foster sandos and hit a deep chill with mint dark chocolate chip. Made in West Chester, these are available at numerous locations in the northeast U.S. with a big cluster in SEPA including Kimberton Whole Foods, Carlino’s Market and Longwood Gardens. Enter your address and find the closest iSwich Gourmet vendor where you can sink your teeth! Multiple locations; (302) 559-9825.
Sweet Ride Ice Cream
The Sweet Ride Ice Cream shop sits on Penn Avenue in the sweet downtown of West Reading, offering a mix of old school sundaes, shakes and rickeys with new school flavors and items, too. Its bookable mobile options pedal sweet wares via a vintage ice cream bike, mobile ice cream parlor and ice cream truck around town. However you reach them, the ice cream sandwiches are worth trying. You can order a scoop of your choice of ice cream between a chocolate chip cookie, brownie, brookie (brownie plus cookie), waffles or wookie (waffle plus cookie). Keep tabs on the special limited time options as well to try items like warm brioche and pumpkin whoopie ice cream sandwiches, which you can catch online by following its Facebook and Instagram pages. 542 Penn Ave., West Reading; (484) 987-7338.
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Uncle Dave’s Ice Cream
Uncle Dave’s Ice Cream at Shady Brook Farm in Yardley, near Sesame Place and the New Jersey border, serves up scratch ice cream with distinctive flavors like Billionaire Chocolate (“wicked rich” dark chocolate), sweet summer corn and watermelon basil. Its ice cream sandwiches are both traditional with chocolate chip and Oreo options and unique with the apple cider donut ice cream sandwich. The PA staple donuts are baked on site and dusted with sweet cinnamon sugar, then filled with vanilla ice cream for a spot-on sweet treat. Uncle Dave’s is open Wednesday through Sunday. 931 Stony Hill Rd., Yardley; (267) 392-9898.
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Owowcow
Owowcow offers premium scratch ice cream with ingredients sourced from local farms and orchards. Ice cream flavors, like cashew caramel and honey lavender, leap to the next level in Owowcow’s homemade ice cream sandwiches. Follow Owowcow on its Facebook and Instagram pages for sando drops, like the churro ice cream sandwich with two cinnamon sugar churros hugging sweet honey cream ice cream and sandwiches made with soft, chewy coffee cookies rolled in espresso sugar. Find Owowcow’s top-notch creations in Chalfont, Easton, Ottsville and Wrightstown. Multiple locations.
- Feature photo: Matt Dayak
- All other photos: Courtesy of their respective businesses
