Here's everything worth knowing about ice cream cones and how to pick them, what they are, how to store them, and what to use instead, plus 10 recipes to cook tonight.

What are ice cream cones?

Ice cream cones are crisp, edible holders made from a thin sweet batter baked or pressed until firm. Most fall into three styles: the flat-bottomed cake cone, the rolled sugar cone, and the deeper waffle cone.

Cake cones are pale and light, almost styrofoam-crisp, with a flat base that stands on its own. Sugar cones are darker and denser, rolled to a sweet point. Waffle cones are the thickest and most fragrant, carrying that toasted-sugar smell.

In baking they are far more than a scoop holder. Cooks use them as edible cups, as crunch in a topping, and as ready-made shapes for novelty cakes and party desserts.

Ways to Use Ice Cream Cones

The best-known trick is baking cake batter right inside a flat-bottomed cone. Fill it two-thirds full, stand the cones in a muffin tin so they do not tip, and bake.

You get a cupcake that looks like a scoop of ice cream, the idea behind Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes and the classic Cake in Ice Cream Cones: Heloise's Edible Cup.

That same shape makes cones a decorator's shortcut. Inverted and frosted, a pointed cone becomes the hat in Witch Hat Surprise or the stem on a Pumpkin Shaped Halloween Cake, and a few become the floppy hat and collar in Clown Cupcakes.

Crushed, cones turn into a topping or a quick crust. Blitz them into coarse crumbs and scatter over sundaes for crunch, or press the crumbs into a pan as a sweeter, lighter stand-in for a cookie base.

A pointed sugar cone also stands in for a fried cannoli shell when you want a no-fry version, as Cannoli for Kids! does.

Keeping Cones Crisp and Common Mistakes

Cones go soft the instant they meet moisture, and that is the mistake behind most soggy disappointments. The fix is a seal.

Brush or dip the inside with melted chocolate and let it set before you add ice cream or a wet filling. The thin chocolate layer is a waterproof barrier that buys you far longer before the cone wilts.

For baked cone cakes, the batter itself is the risk. Overfill and it rises over the rim and topples the cone, so stop at two-thirds and expect them to dome as they bake.

Store cones bone dry. Humidity alone softens them on the shelf, so keep the bag sealed and tuck in the silica packet if there is one. A stale, bendy cone will not crisp back up reliably, unlike a cookie.

Substitutes

If a recipe wants a cone as a vessel, a small cup or ramekin does the job without the crunch, and a bowl-style cone or a tulip wafer holds a bigger scoop. The bowl trades the handheld shape for stability and more room.

For crushed-cone crunch in a topping or crust, swap in crushed sugar cookies or vanilla wafers. They bring similar sweetness, though they lack the airy snap of a true cone.

When the cone is structural, as in a witch hat or clown topper, there is no real substitute for the shape. Reach for a different cone style before you abandon the design.

Buying and Storing Cones

Cones live in the cookie and baking aisle, sold in sleeves or boxes. For baked cone cakes, choose flat-bottomed cake cones; their sturdy base and wide mouth stand up in the tin where a pointed cone cannot.

Check the box for cracks and crumbs before buying. Cones break easily in shipping.

Sugar and waffle cones run sweeter and richer, so match the style to the dessert rather than grabbing whichever is nearest. Sealed, cones keep for months at room temperature, rarely spoiling but going stale and soft over time.

Once a sleeve is opened, press the air out and clip it shut, or move them to an airtight tin. Keep them away from the fridge and any steamy corner of the kitchen, since cold, damp air turns a crisp cone limp fastest.

Quick facts

In Chinese

雪糕筒

British (UK) term

Ice cream cones

en français

cornets de crème glacée

en español

conos de helado

Recipes using ice cream cones

There are 10 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 10 recipes