Reviews
5 Best Cool Treats
Summer is for warm sun that threatens to melt your frozen sweet treats. We found five delicious desserts that are sure to cool you down on the hottest 417-land days. Channel your inner kid, and dig in!
By Katie Pollock Estes
Jun 2014
Photo by Kevin O'Riley
1. Lavender Float
Elle’s Patisserie, 1454 E. Cherry St., Springfield, 417-832-2171, ellepatisserie.com
Why We Love It: This is a grown-up version of a root beer float, but it still makes you feel like a kid when you get that oh-so-perfect bite that has the ideal ice cream to soda foam ratio. At Elle’s, the lavender float starts with homemade small-batch lavender ice cream and is finished with sweet and smooth cream soda.
Bonus: Sip this pretty little concoction under the shade of the covered patio outside everybody’s favorite little purple building on Cherry Street.
2. Mint Custard Bars
Andy’s Frozen Custard, multiple 417-land locations, eatandys.com
Why We Love It: Andy’s offers tasty little rounds of flavored custard that are frozen hard, coated in chocolate shell and served on a stick. They call it a frozen custard bar. We call it portion control. Don’t miss the mint custard wrapped in dark chocolate. It’s a hand-held version of one of our favorite flavor combinations, and it hits the spot every time.
Bonus: These bars come in a handful of flavors including coffee, vanilla, salted caramel and chocolate.
3. Pineapple Whip
Pineapple Whip, three Springfield-area stands, pineapplewhip.com
Why We Love It: Every year, we and the rest of Springfield anxiously anticipate the opening of the beloved Pineapple Whip carts with their shimmying hula girl calling to us like a straw-skirted siren. She brings in summer every year, and we race to the line for cake cones filled with sweet and juicy whip. We are suckers for the original pineapple flavor, but there are office debates over which back-up flavors are our favorites—grape, strawberry-kiwi or peach-mango.
Bonus: Stick around to lick your cones full of whip right there in the parking lot, among happy kids, cute couples and all the other Pineapple Whip fans.
4. Lemon Sorbet
Benissimo! Gelato and Sorbet, available at local grocery stores, benissimogelato.com
Why We Love It: Sometimes you just want to enjoy your frozen favorites from the comfort of your own patio, and for that we love the lemon sorbet from Benissimo! Gelato. This sorbet is the perfect marriage of sweet and tart, and it’s scrumptiously refreshing. It’s made in Springfield and sold by the pint at local groceries like Hy-Vee, Price Cutter and MaMa Jean’s Natural Market.
Bonus: You can even get this tasty treat served up in push-pop form at Farmers Market of the Ozarks.
5. Dipped Cone with Nuts
Braum’s, multiple locations, braums.com
Why We Love It: Something about soft serve ice cream escaping through the fractures in a hard chocolate shell just screams summer to us. And at Braum’s, they take the lowly dipped cone to the next level by piling the ice cream high in a big, fat waffle cone and sprinkling chopped peanuts (if you request them) over the chocolate before it hardens.
Bonus: If you aren’t in the mood for soft serve, you can get any of the ice cream flavors at Braum’s dipped in that tasty hard shell.
