The sun is shining, the weather’s hot, and school is out for the summer. While most of us haven’t felt that summer excitement in quite a few years, it’s always fun to reminisce about all the fun activities and tasty summer treats we were surrounded with as kids.
For us, summer wasn’t complete without chasing down the ice cream truck over the hot pavement in our bare feet for that perfect summer dessert. Or maybe you remember clutching a handful of dimes in your wet hands as you dripped in line for a fudge pop at the swimming pool snack stand. Some of us also have fond memories of heating up s’mores over a summer campfire or packing a bag of animal crackers to munch on during the Fourth of July event at Lititz Springs Park. Even if none of these activities sound like your childhood summers, there’s likely at least one summer treat that you remember your parents or grandparents making for you.
At Wilbur Chocolate, our memories and history have a direct link to our sweet tooth. With every bite of chocolate, we want to remember those fond summer desserts that give a real flavor of the local Americana. Join us on a trip down memory lane with a few of our favorite chocolate treats!
Icebox Cakes
Some of you may be too young to remember these—the fact that it’s called an “icebox” cake should be hint enough as to what time period it’s from. For those of you that do remember eating this tasty summer dessert, you probably know how simple it is to make.
With no baking involved, making this dessert won’t heat up your home in the summer like a normal cake would. Typically made with whipped cream, chocolate wafers (or graham crackers), and pudding, the best part about this summer dessert is that it’s so customizable. We suggest checking out this tasty chocolate and peanut butter recipe and topping it with some of our chocolate covered fruit or nuts.
Pudding Pie
No one wants to eat anything too heavy when it’s hot out. That’s why the pudding pie is such a perfect chocolate treat when you’re reminiscing about food! It’s creamy, light, and an absolutely scrumptious option to finish off a meal.
When you’re looking for something this easy to make, we suggest giving the mocha cream pie recipe a try. A brownie based pie layered with chocolate pudding, this decadent treat is topped with whipped cream and garnished with our cocoa powder—it really can’t get much sweeter than this.
S’mores
Catching fireflies, listening to the crickets, and summer campfires go hand-in-hand. But no camping trip was ever complete unless s’mores were involved.
We consider s’mores the epitome of childhood snacks. Gooey chocolate coatings mixed with the perfectly toasted marshmallow, all sandwiched between fresh graham crackers. You may have sticky fingers after devouring these chocolate treats, but it’s so worth it. If you haven’t tried this trick yet, adding some Nutella® or an Bronze Medal Wafer to your s’more can really take it to another level.
Banana Splits
The old-fashioned ice cream and soda shops may be long gone, but banana splits are still a popular and delicious dessert choice. Besides, can you really go wrong with bananas, hot fudge, and ice cream?
Banana splits are one of those summer treats that are really easy to make at home where you can stay cool in the air conditioning. As long as you have a banana, you can add any type of ice cream, and even customize whatever toppings you want on it. We suggest following this classic recipe and adding some of our chocolate covered snacks into the mix.
Fudge Pops
Popsicles of any kind are a staple summer treat, but our favorites are the classic fudge pops. We may be biased here at Wilbur, but nothing is more tasty and refreshing than frozen chocolate.
Creamy and extremely simple to make, we suggest following a recipe like this one instead of buying them premade. They won’t be healthy (because let’s face it, it’s a chocolate dessert!), but you’ll at least know all of the ingredients that go into making them. Plus they’re simple enough that your kids will have a blast making them too. All you need is milk (or cream), a few tablespoons of cocoa powder, sugar, chocolate chips, and a popsicle mold.
Homemade Choco-Tacos
If you were a kids in the 80s, you may remember the brand name “Choco Tacos” that were made with a waffle cone, ice cream, fudge, and peanuts. These were a staple on ice cream trucks, at summer camps, and in freezers during slumber parties.
Whether you picked off the peanuts and chocolate to eat individually or crunched right into the whole thing, we found you can recreate some of that chocolate treat nostalgia right at home. This homemade choco taco recipe is a great recreation of this summer dessert, and tastes even better when you melt some Wilbur Chocolate Coating over it!
Ice Cream Sandwiches
We’ve saved the best for last—ice cream sandwiches. Chewy, sweet, and the perfect local Americana snack to grab from the freezer, there are quite a few variations you may remember. There’s always the classic chocolate wafer, but we prefer the cookie sandwich variety.https://www.wilburbuds.com/chocolate/chocolate-covered-items/chocolate-covered-snacks
While everyone has their own tried and true chocolate chip cookie recipe, we found that this ice cream sandwich recipe offers a few tips for making the perfect cookie and ice cream combo. These sandwiches are even better when you add in our cookie drops to the recipe!
At the end of the day, nostalgia will make any summer treat taste better. Having been around since 1884, Wilbur knows a little something about taking a trip down memory lane with flavors. Our high quality chocolate is rich with flavor and history, and we love sharing that with fellow chocolate lovers. For more recipes or chocolate treats, stop in and visit us in Lititz, PA today!
