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Fun Facts about Ice Cream Sandwiches -- National Ice Cream Sandwich Day!

Fun Facts about ice cream sandwiches


Did you know today is Ice Cream Sandwich Day? To celebrate here are some fun facts about ice cream sandwiches and at the end there is a round-up of recipes to try!



10 Fun Facts


  1. Prior to the ice cream sandwich there was the “hokey pokey” that was sold on the streets of London. The vendors would yell “Okey pokey!” when selling them.  They were a slice of vanilla ice cream cut from a larger slab of ice cream.
  2. The first known record for an ice cream sandwich was in 1894 and used sponge cake with ice cream between.
  3. The first ice cream sandwich sold for a penny.
  4. The first ice cream sandwich was made in 1899 by a pushcart peddler in the Bowery neighborhood of New York City. It was vanilla ice cream pressed between two thin graham wafers.
  5. By July of 1900 the pushcart vendor was so busy making the sandwiches to order by pushing them into a thin tin mold that he insisted on exact change because he didn’t have time to make change for people.
  6. By 1902 vendors in Syracuse, New York were selling these new treats. The Post-Standard Syracuse reported in July 1902: “The vendor removes a cover from the top of his cart, then an inner cover, disclosing the freezer, places the thin oblong wafer in a little tin mold made for the purpose, spreads it with loose cream, claps another wafer on top and turns it out into the grimy little paw awaiting it.”
  7. In 1928 ice cream was put between two oatmeal cookies and dipped in chocolate in San Francisco. The vendor had a new success!

  8. Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich
    Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich By Thomson200 [CC0], from Wikimedia Commons


  9. The ice cream sandwich of vanilla ice cream between two rectangular chocolate cookies was invented by Jerry Newberg. He sold ice cream at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. He sold these in 1945 which is when ice cream sandwiches became mass produced.
  10. The rectangular chocolate cookies with ice cream between was patented in 1963 by Jack Delaney, Tim Jones, John Defillippio, and Sam West.

  11. Ice cream sandwich (1)
    Ice Cream Sandwich By Renee Comet (Photographer) [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons


  12. Ice cream sandwiches are the second best selling novelty ice cream in America.
  13. The average number of ice cream sandwiches eaten every second in America is 48.

  14. Wall Food 10021 (15821855591)
    By Michael Stern (Wall_Food_10021) [CC BY-SA 2.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons

  15. Photographs from the Jersey Shore from 1905 show the popularity of ice cream sandwiches sold for a penny.
  16. The eastern part of the country consumes almost 50% of ice cream sandwiches in America.
  17. 30-44 year-olds buy the most ice cream sandwiches.

Ice Cream Sandwiches from Around the World


There are ice cream sandwiches in many countries. They have different names are some are made differently. Here are a few things to know about them.
  • In Australia ice cream sandwiches are called giant sandwich.
  • In Iran they are called bread ice cream and are made with two wafers and with traditional Iranian ice cream.

  • Akbar Mashti
    Akbar Mashti -- Iranian Ice Cream Sandwiches By IDangerMouse [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

  • In Israel they are called Kasata and are a variation on the Italian dessert cassata. It is ice cream between layers of sponge cake.


    Brioche gelato con panna
    Italian Brioche gelato con panna (Brioche filled with ice cream and cream) 
    By Rollopack [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons



  • In Mexico they are called tortas de nieve or emparedado de nieve and they literally are a sandwich. They are ice cream in a roll or between two pieces of bread.

  • Emparedado de nieve, Tequixquiac
    Mexican Ice Cream Sandwich By Marrovi [CC BY-SA 2.5 mx], from Wikimedia Commons


  • In the Philippines pushcarts sell ice cream sandwiches with the bread called pandesal.
  • In Singapore they are called potong which has two wafers holding together a block of ice cream.

  • Durian Ice Cream Burger
    Durian Ice Cream Burger in Sinapore By Ypsilon from Finland [CC0], from Wikimedia Commons

  • In the United Kingdom ice cream sandwiches were popular until the 1980s, but now have declined.
  • In Scotland and Ireland they are called sliders or ice cream wafers.
  • In Uruguay they are called ice cream sandwich or triple sandwich and are usually made with neapolitan ice cream between two wafers.

  • Pückler-Schnitte
    Neapolitan Cuts (Germany?) By ~~ [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

  • In Vietnam they are called bánh mì kẹp kem is commonly sold on the street as a snack. It consists of scoops of ice cream stuffed inside a bánh mì, topped with crushed peanuts.

Recipes to Make Your Own

I asked my fellow Kid Blogger Network blogs for their ice cream sandwich posts.  Here is what they shared!


1) Ice Cream Sandwiches from Oreo Cookies from The Art Kit

2) Peanut Butter & Jelly Ice cream Sandwiches from Spaceships and Laser Beams 

3) Easy Whoopie Pies with Ice Cream from Orgazined 31

4) Easy Ice Cream Sandwich Cake from Organized 31

5) Rocky Road Ice Cream Sandwiches from Printable Crush

Sources: