What Is The Best Summer Treat?

We've been on a search this summer to find our summer time favorite treat. We've made some (click on the links for how we did it!) and we've gone to a few new shops and local stores to try out new treats.

There are so many to choose from:

• Snow Cones. Although the paper cone shaped holder can use some improvements (mine always seems to get soggy), these are a traditional and sugary delicious summer time treat.
• Lemonade. Who doesn't love lemonade? I prefer the traditional yellow lemonade; I like the tartness of it. Hubby prefers pink lemonade which is a little sweeter. The boys will take either one; since water and milk are their usual drinks, anything different is a treat. 
• Ice Cream. I used to love when the ice cream truck came by. Now I see the trucks and they're all kinds of shady looking! The kids get to go to the truck a few times a summer. We even made our own ice cream! (Check out the Ice Cream In A Bag post for directions!) There's soft serve, Dip N Dots, hard serve/scoops, sundaes, and even frozen yogurt. There's many different ways to eat it too: scoops, waffle cones/bowls, sugar or cake cones, in a bowl. 
• Popsicles. There are so many varieties out there! They're super easy to make too! If you want a relatively healthy recipe, check out the Popsicle post.
• Root Beer Floats and Ice Cream Sodas. (If you don't know the difference, check out the post!)

• Frozen fruit. (Check out my Chocolate Frozen Bananas and Summer Time Snacks posts!)

• Frozen Cheesecake on a Stick! I had this at a local festival this summer for the first time and it was delicious! Of course it's hard to go wrong with cheesecake and chocolate!

 

• Ice Cream Sandwiches.

• Hawaiian Ice/Shaved Ice. These are pretty similar to Snow Cones (in my opinion), except they're in a cup or a bowl, not in a cone shaped holder. Personally, I like the texture of the shaved ice and the ability to eat with a spoon better.
• Iceballs. I just discovered these this summer after hearing about them from a friend. These are a combo of two great summer snacks: ice cream and shaved ice. There is a layer of shaved ice, a layer of ice cream, and another layer of shaved ice (usually in a round ball, hence iceballs). You get to pick your flavor of ice cream and shaved ice to create your perfect combo! If you have a shaved ice machine, you could make these at home!

Rainbow ice cream and shaved ice.

Strawberry ice cream and shaved ice.

• Frozen lemonade.
• Iced coffee.
• Flurries or Blizzards.
• Milkshakes.

Iced coffee (let's say, for example, a Mocha Frappuccino) is always my favorite. My non-coffee favorite actually depends on my mood. I have to say though, the iceball is probably at the top of the list, followed by a chocolate ice cream soda. When I asked the boys what their favorite was, they replied "all of them".

What is your favorite summer treat?

LINKS:
Washinton Post, The Ice Cream Truck Song