Ice cream sandwiches have come a long way since the days when pushcart peddlers in downtown New York City invented and sold their frozen confections for just a penny. In honor of National Ice Cream Sandwich Day (and culinary innovation) on August 2, The Daily Meal rounded up some of the most outrageously drool-worthy concoctions ice creameries are now serving up across America.
Famous original doughnut ice cream sandwich, Holey Cream, New York City
This creation is only for true gluttons - it starts with a freshly made doughnut (the folks at Holey Cream in Manhattan fry them up all day, so they don't get soggy) that's split in half and stuffed with two scoops of ice cream, any flavor you desire. Holey Cream sells Sedutto's ice cream and frozen yogurt in a bevy of flavors, including red velvet cupcake and pretzel.
Foie gras ice cream sandwich, Humphry Slocombe, San Francisco
Unfortunately for foie gras fans, this renowned ice cream shop stopped serving its signature ice cream sandwich on July 1, following the statewide foie gras ban. However, the creation is so outstanding that it still deserves a spot on this list. Creamy, decadent foie gras ice cream is sandwiched between two homemade gingersnap cookies.
Story: Ice cream sandwich toppings gone wild
Banana-rum ice cream sandwich, Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen, St. Helena, Calif.
This casual eatery from renowned Northern California chef Cindy Pawlcyn serves up one heck of an ice cream sandwich. The base is homemade banana bread, layered with banana rum ice cream and garnished with almond toffee.
Blu-Laventine ice cream sandwich, Chunk N Chip Cookies, Orange County, Calif.
This food truck sets up shop in various locations throughout Orange County, serving up unique and innovative ice cream sandwiches. One of the most intriguing combinations, the Blu-Laventine, includes snickerdoodle cookies and blueberry lavender ice cream. If that's not really your scene, perhaps the Cuba Libre with snickerdoodle cookies and guava and goat cheese ice cream is more your taste.
Giant ice cream sandwich, Sweet Action Ice Cream, Denver, Colo.
This ice cream shop is known for serving up totally unique flavors, such as goat cheese beet swirl, banana Reese's Pieces, Stranahan's whiskey brickle, and peanut butter chocolate stout swirl. Their giant ice cream sandwich includes a gargantuan serving of your ice cream of choice sandwiched between your cookie flavor of choice (choose between flavors such as lemon ginger, vegan almond cardamom, and chocolate butterscotch pretzel).
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