The 3 Fan-Favorite Treats Dairy Queen Won't Deliver

We all scream for ice cream — and, in the modern age, we don't even have to leave the house to get it. Dairy Queen delivers, an especially welcome feature on sweltering summer dog days. However, as foodies brainstorm their orders, they should be aware that there are three treats DQ won't deliver: cones, sundaes, and the Peanut Buster Parfait. According to the company's website, the reason behind the delivery ban is that "these products do not travel well and will not arrive looking at all like what you expect." Combining rich hot fudge with creamy ice cream, the temperature-sensitive interplay of the Peanut Buster Parfait hits all the right notes when eaten immediately after assembly. After just a few minutes, however, this hot-and-cold parfait is liable to turn into a melty mess. It fares better on your palate than in the car. 

As for the cones and sundaes, that soft serve base is to blame for the quick melting speed. Ice cream is a structure made of ice crystals, fat globules, air bubbles, and sugars held together and suspended in a semi-frozen state. At room temperature (or, worse, inside a hot car), that structure gradually collapses until the ice cream has reached a liquid state. Due to the large structure of fat molecules, ice cream with a higher fat content melts more slowly than lower-fat ice creams. Hard scoop ice cream has more dense butterfat than soft serve, which helps it resist melting. For DQ's soft serve cones and sundaes, that low heat resistance makes them lousy candidates for delivery — not to mention environmental temperature factors. A sundae is going to melt much more slowly in a cool, air-conditioned DQ dining room than a sundae that has been walked outside on a hot day for delivery. 

Luckily for sweet-toothed fans, many other treats on the DQ menu are available for delivery instead. Foodies can order their favorite Dairy Queen Blizzards, as well as other offerings that come in contained cups, including shakes, malts, and "Cupfection" layered desserts. Also available for delivery are DQ's line of sandwich-style treats, plus DILLY Bars and Buster Bars. To feed a crowd, Dairy Queen ice cream cakes can also be delivered. Pro tip – fans can order an individual "slice" of ice cream cake at DQ with a little know-how. At a Dairy Queen location in Cleveland, the delivery fee is around $5.50. Delivery is extra sweet for DQ Rewards members, who can get free delivery with purchases of $15 or more for orders on the website or in the mobile app every Monday.

Got a hankering for one of the three menu items that can't be delivered? While soft serve isn't really something that can be made at home without the help of a dedicated ice cream machine (sorry, cone and sundae cravers), foodies can whip up a copycat Peanut Buster Parfait at home with just a few ingredients. To do it, mix together a few scoops of peanut butter, powdered sugar, and a block of softened cream cheese. This will create the PB "filling" base of the dessert. A squirt of whipped cream whisked into the mix can provide extra fluffiness. Then, to assemble the parfait, layer a row of crushed OREO cookies into the bottom of a dessert glass, topped by the prepared peanut butter filling, a layer of chocolate sauce, and a top layer of coarsely chopped peanut butter cups. The layers can be repeated as desired to create your ideal sweet-salty harmony.