Whether you prefer the gooey goodness of a classic cone topped with a giant scoop of full-fat ice cream, or the sub-zero jolt of biting into the perfect popsicle, there are many delightful local options to sate your sweet tooth and help beat the heat when the thermometer pushes past 75 degrees (or any time — who are we kidding!).
ROLLED ICE CREAM
Watch your dessert come to form at Yummy Ice Cream Rolls, Spokane's first purveyor of Thai-inspired ice cream. Yummy's ice cream masters pour liquid cream onto a steel plate kept at 10 degrees below zero and mix in all the extra toppings as customers watch, scraping and mixing the cream as it freezes on contact. The treat is then flattened out into a big sheet and artfully scraped into thinly rolled cylinders that are placed in a bowl and topped with whatever else you crave. Yummy Ice Cream Rolls are also served inside Poke Express on the lower South Hill and at a third location in Spokane Valley.
Also try: Freezia, 740 N. Cecil Rd., Suite 110, Post Falls
ICE POPS
These popsicles aren't even close to the average grocery store variety, no matter how "all natural" the box proclaims. Two purveyors of homemade popsicle goodness have taken Spokane by storm of late with their adorable vendor carts seen at farmers markets and events across town. Mandolyn Hume's Fannie's Ice Pops has been slinging fresh and innovative flavors from a pedal-powered cart since 2014, and she also stocks her pops at My Fresh Basket, Main Market Co-op and Rocket Market. Look for the Fannie's cart weekly at the Kendall Yards Night Market and the Fairwood Farmers Market, serving flavors like strawberry rhubarb, chocolate avocado, lemonade lavender and the fresh combo of cucumber, apple, mint and lime.
Also try: Poppy Gourmet Ice Pops at the South Perry Thursday Market; poppyicepops.com
ARTISANAL ICE CREAM
Coeur d'Alene native Annie Stranger moved back to the Inland Northwest after a decade in New York City to be closer to family and soon began to pursue a long-held dream of making her own small-batch, organic ice cream. Her delectable flavors are now sold by the pint at My Fresh Basket and Rocket Market. Stranger's mobile ice cream shop is regularly seen at area farmers markets and events. Sweet Annie's ice cream is made from grass-fed organic milk and cream from Pure Eire Dairy in Othello, Washington, with other raw ingredients sourced from regional growers and producers. Look for unique and seasonal combinations, like strawberry rhubarb crumble, buttermint white chocolate, black sesame and roasted pistachio and rum.
ALSO TRY
Sweet Peaks Ice Cream • 415 W. Main, Spokane • 108 N. Fourth St., Coeur d'Alene • sweetpeaksicecream.com
Brain Freeze Creamery • 1238 W. Summit Pkwy., Spokane • 1230 S. Grand Blvd., Spokane • brainfreezecreamery.com
