The Simple Ice Cream Topping That Lets You Pretend Winter Has Arrived Early

Ice cream is the poster child of summer delights. Its cooling, decadent sweetness is just the thing you long for when the days get hot and the nights need a perfect closer. And yet, every once in a while, you find yourself missing wintry treats — something made purely to envelope the senses in a sentimental warmth. That's when hot chocolate (or cocoa) powder comes in handy. You can't control the weather or fast-forward straight to the snow-covered holidays, but you can always catch glimpses of that winter feeling with just a few spoonfuls of this seasonal staple.

As it turns out, there are many clever ways to use hot chocolate mix beyond just turning it into steaming mugs of Christmas drinks. Ice cream, where chocolate often appears in the form of melted syrup or chips, makes perfect sense. This time, that familiar bittersweet taste arrives in tiny sprinkles, adorning the kind of intensity that you often find at the very core of the beloved hot drink. Sharper, more bitter edges are mellowed out by the ice cream's creamy base, leaving behind a lingering sweetness, so what you'll get at the end is a balanced richness melting with every satisfying spoonful.

The terms are often used interchangeably, but cocoa and chocolate powder are slightly different. Hot cocoa mixes live in sweeter realms, whereas the chocolate version has a much more pronouncedly bitter undertone. No matter what you use, make sure the powder hasn't been sitting in the pantry for too long. The older it gets, the less potent the flavor becomes, and you wouldn't want to end up with a lackluster ice cream that barely tastes any different than usual.

The ice cream base, unsurprisingly, is as versatile as you'd expect. Vanilla ice cream is a given, and you can even go one step further by directly mixing the powder into the base as you're whisking different ingredients together for a full-on hot cocoa ice cream. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to pair the powder with other hot chocolate essentials, either. Toasted marshmallows, caramel syrup, toffee candy, crushed graham crackers, intense spices, and maybe even rum all make excellent toppings should your ice cream need more pizzazz.

Vanilla isn't the only option. Hot chocolate eggnog is a holiday season must-try, whether in the form of a hot beverage or a cold dessert. A few sprinkles of cocoa powder (possibly accompanied by ground cinnamon) on eggnog ice cream might just be your next favorite treat for both summer and winter. If nothing else, peppermint ice cream, with its signature cooling freshness, is a foolproof reminiscence of winter every single time, especially when it's laced with a subtle hint of semisweet chocolate.