Incredibly creamy caramel ice cream in a crispy chocolate-coated sugar cone, dipped in dark chocolate and toasted pecans! Don’t forget the surprise dulce de leche center!
Can anyone tell me how in the gosh darn world August got here so quickly??
Seriously! I feel like it was June just yesterday! Although I absolutely ADORE fall, I’m still not ready to accept the sweater weather and shorter days that come along with it. To me, August feels a lot like the Sunday of summer. Just as Sunday is the last day of the weekend, August is the last month of summer. June is the Friday and July is the Saturday. Makes sense, right?
I guess I should stop dreading the inevitable end of summer and just enjoy these last weeks of sunshine while we have them. Luckily, I have these Turtle Drumsticks to help soften the blow of the Sunday month of summer…
As long as I can remember, drumsticks have always been my favorite ice cream treat. They were the perfect ice cream cone–super creamy vanilla ice cream, a sugar cone that never got soggy thanks to its delicious chocolate coating, crunchy peanuts, and a delicious center of caramel to top it all off. Who wouldn’t be obsessed??
A few years back, I decided to make my own drumsticks. Needless to say, I’ve been obsessed with homemade drumsticks ever since. In fact, I’ve already made a Nutella Drumstick, a Salted Caramel Toffee Drumstick, and a Butter Pecan Drumstick. So if these Turtle Drumsticks aren’t quite your jam, I highly recommend checking out my other drumstick recipes!
What I love about making my own drumsticks is the fact that the flavor options are pretty much endless. They’re also pretty fun to make! For these drumsticks, I went with a simple no-churn ice cream recipe. All you have to do is combine some sweetened condensed milk and some dulce de leche. You can usually find cans of dulce de leche next to the sweetened condensed milk in the baking section. If your store doesn’t have any, I’d recommend any caramel dip (like Litehouse) or thick caramel sauce.
The next step to the ice cream is to whip up some heavy cream until they reach stiff peaks. You’ll take about a cup of this whipped cream, stir it into the dulce de leche mixture to lighten it up, then fold this mixture into the rest of the whipped cream. Pour the custard into a freezer-safe container and chill it in the freezer for at least 6 hours.
Now, everyone knows that a drumstick isn’t a drumstick without that iconic chocolate coating along the interior of the cone. So for these cones, I just melted some semi-sweet chocolate chips with a bit of coconut oil to thin it out to a more drizzle-able consistency. Then I grabbed a sugar cone and drizzled 2-3 teaspoons of the chocolate along the interior of the cone, rotating it side to side, upside-down, and right side up to coat every nook and cranny of the inside. I recommend placing the cones in champagne glasses since the narrow opening of the glass keeps them perfectly right side up. This guarantees that you get that nice chocolate “plug” that settles at the bottom of the cone.
Once the ice cream is done chilling, it’s time to fill your cones. But FIRST, you’ll need to make up some parchment paper cones! To make them, you’ll need to cut out a circle that’s 12 inches in diameter. I recommend finding a plate or object that’s about that size, so that you can use it to trace on the parchment paper. Once you’ve got your circle, cut it out, then cut it into four equal quarters. This recipe makes 10 drumsticks, so you’ll need to have 10 quarters.
Once you’ve got your ten parchment quarters, grab one of your chocolate-lined sugar cones and wrap the paper quarter around the cone, using a piece of tape to secure it. Repeat this with the rest of the cones.
Now it’s time to fill the cones! This is where you’ll have to work pretty quickly since the ice cream gets softer the longer it’s out of the freezer. You can also take a break halfway through, and place the ice cream back into the freezer until it’s firmer.
Working with one cone at a time, spoon some ice cream into the cone until it’s just above the rim of the cone. Then scoop a teaspoon-sized dollop of dulce de leche onto the center of the ice cream. Spoon more ice cream on top until you almost reach the top of the parchment paper. Place the cone back into the glass (so that it’s upright) and straight into the freezer. Repeat with the rest of your cones. After all the cones have been filled, allow them to chill in the freezer for at least 2 hours, or until they’re frozen solid.
Once the cones are ready to dip, peel off the paper cone, dip the top half of the ice cream into the melted chocolate, and then immediately into the chopped pecans. Of course, I decided to be extra fancy with my drumsticks by topping each one with a chocolate-drizzled pecan before adding the chopped pecans. Feel free to skip this “boujee” step though!
Guys, do yourself a favor.
Make these Turtle Drumsticks.
NOW.
Turtle Drumsticks
Equipment
- Parchment paper
- An object 12 inches in diameter (for tracing)
- Pen or Pencil
- Scissors
- Tape
Ingredients
Caramel Ice Cream:
- 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup Dulce de leche
- 2 cups heavy cream
Drumsticks:
- 15-20 teaspoons Dulce de leche
- 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 Tablespoons coconut oil or vegetable oil*
- 10 sugar cones
- ½ cup chopped toasted pecans
Instructions
Make the Ice Cream:
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir the sweetened condensed milk and dulce de leche together until combined.
- In the chilled bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Stir 1 cup of the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture until combined. Pour this mixture in with the rest of the whipped cream and fold together until no more white streaks remain.
- Pour mixture into a freezer-safe container, covering the top with aluminum foil. Freeze for 4-6 hours or overnight.
Assemble the Cones:
- Place the chocolate chips and oil in a medium microwave-safe bowl, and heat in the microwave until smooth and melted--I recommend removing the chocolate and stirring every 30 seconds so that you don't risk burning the chocolate**.
- Drizzle 2-3 teaspoons of the melted chocolate into each cone, swirling to coat the interior. Allow excess chocolate to fall to bottom for the chocolate "plug". Set cones upright in a glass and place in the freezer for at least 5 minutes. Reserve the rest of the chocolate for the tops of the Drumsticks.
- Prepare the Parchment Cones:
- Trace a plate (or anything round) that is 12 inches in diameter on a piece of parchment paper. Cut out the circle, then cut it into 4 equal quarters. Repeat process until you have 10 quarters.
- Remove cones from freezer, then wrap each one with a parchment quarter, securing with a piece of tape.
Assemble Drumsticks:
- Take the ice cream out of the freezer. Working one at a time, use a small spoon to scoop the ice cream into a cone, filling to just above the rim of the sugar cone. Spoon a small dollop of dulce de leche onto the center of the ice cream, then scoop more ice cream on top, filling almost to the top of the parchment paper. Immediately return to the freezer, and repeat with the rest of the cones.*** Allow cones to chill in the freezer for at least 2 hours.
- If melted chocolate has hardened, re-melt in the microwave at 30-second increments until smooth. If possible, pour melted chocolate into a smaller, flat-bottomed dish to make dipping easier. Place chopped pecans into a small bowl.
- Again, working one at a time, remove a cone from the freezer, dip the top of the cone into the chocolate. Allow excess chocolate to drip off, then immediately dip (or sprinkle) in chopped pecans. Return to the freezer and repeat process with the rest of the cones. Keep in the freezer until ready to serve.
Notes