A waffle or sugar cone with a scoop or two of ice cream is a quick treat when you're craving something cold and sweet.
But to really indulge, you need a bowl full of goodness. You need a sundae.
The scoopers at Ben & Jerry's say they fill lots of requests for brownie and hot fudge sundaes, but the customer favorite is the Cookie Cookie Sundae.
Katie Hicks, manager of the Broad Street location, describes it as one big cookie on the bottom, a huge scoop of ice cream with another big cookie crumbled around the sides, hot fudge poured over the top and sprinkles and whipped cream for the finale.
"We get lots and lots of people coming in for sundaes," Ms. Hicks said. "On weekends, we'll go through about 100 or more sundaes easily."
Here are some other local ice cream shops' favorite sundaes.
* Ice Cream Show, 129 Walnut St.: Starts with vanilla ice cream topped with hot fudge, fresh pecans, made-from-scratch whipped cream and a cherry.
* Bruster's Ice Cream, 4241 Hixson Pike and 1406 Jenkins Road: A big brownie on the bottom is covered by a big scoop of vanilla ice cream then hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry on top.
* Clumpies, 26 Frazier Ave.: Two scoops of cookie dough ice cream with a choice of three toppings (nuts, Reese's Pieces and hot fudge are a popular mix), then finished with whipped cream and a cherry.
* Marble Slab Creamery, 1913 Gunbarrel Road: Has a brownie on the bottom, then a scoop of Sweet Cream ice cream, hot fudge, nuts, whipped cream and a cherry.
* Kay's, 8804 Dayton Pike, Soddy-Daisy: Made with two scoops of ice cream, hot fudge, nuts if you want them, whipped cream and a cherry.
When a trip to the ice cream parlor isn't in the cards, here are some recipes for creating your own.
Cinnamon Bun Hot Apple Sundae
1 (4-inch) frosted cinnamon roll
3 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream, softened
1/2 cup glazed walnuts
1 can (21 ounces) apple pie filling
1/2 cup butterscotch-caramel topping
Glazed walnuts, optional
Cut cinnamon roll into half-inch pieces; set aside quarter cup for topping. Combine three cups of ice cream, rest of cinnamon roll pieces (not reserved amount) and half cup glazed walnuts in large bowl; gently mix to combine. Freeze at least two hours.
Warm apple pie filling in microwave-safe container or in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Spoon about one-third cup apple pie filling into eight serving bowls.
Top each bowl with one scoop (scant half cup) of the ice cream. Drizzle each with one tablespoon butterscotch-caramel topping, several pieces of reserved cinnamon roll and glazed walnuts, if desired. Serve immediately. Makes 8 servings.
- Blue Bunny Ice Cream
Caramel Corn Sundae
2 cups (each) vanilla, chocolate and butter pecan ice creams
3 cups caramel corn
1/4 cup caramel sauce
1/4 cup toasted peanuts
Scoop vanilla ice cream onto frozen parchment-lined sheet pan. Repeat with chocolate and butter pecan ice cream. Using rubber gloves, coat each ice cream scoop with caramel corn. Repeat until all ice cream scoops are coated. Layer scoops in a sundae glass with peanuts and caramel sauce. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.
- Blue Bunny Ice Cream
Banana Brownie Split Sundae
1 package (21-ounce) traditional fudge brownie mix
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1 egg
1 quart strawberry ice cream
2 bananas, sliced
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed
2/3 cup whipped topping
Heat oven to 350 F. Line 15- by 10-inch baking pan with foil, leaving 2 inches of foil hanging over each end. Lightly grease foil. Prepare brownies as directed on package using water, oil and egg. Spread batter evenly in greased, foil-lined pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool 1 hour.
To remove brownies from pan, lift foil ends; place on flat surface. Cut brownies using 2-1/2 to 3-inch star-shaped or round cookie cutter. Remove from foil with pancake turner. (Save scraps from cutouts for another use.)
To serve, scoop ice cream into bowl; top with banana slices and strawberries. Drizzle with ice cream topping and dollop with whipped topping. Garnish with brownie stars.
- www.cdkitchen.com