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If you spend any time outdoors in Arkansas during summer, you desire one thing. A cold summertime treat! You need something to cool you off when Arkansas always shows up with that heatwave. Ice cream, snow cones, malts, and milkshakes are just about the only thing that can quench that internal feeling.
This roundup of over 30 Arkansas summertime treats will highlight sweet treats and summer eats around the state and frankly should have its roadmap designated for a summer cruise.
Photo used with permission from Burton’s Creamery
Ice Cream Shops
For many, ice cream shops hold very specific summer memories. Whether a favorite flavor, sharing a cup with a grandparent or making a consistent stop on an annual vacation, homemade ice cream right off the spoon is usually the quintessential taste of summer.
The Soda Jerk | Searcy – featuring Loblolly Creamery ice cream, coffee and more
Hawkins Variety Store | Murfreesboro – old-time ice cream counter in a general store
Loblolly Creamery | Little Rock and Benton – small batch ice cream and other sweet treats
Pure Joy Ice Cream | Siloam Springs – handmade and locally sourced ice cream and sorbet
Creme & Sugar | Searcy – hand-dipped ice cream as well as frozen yogurt and shaved ice
Paradice Cream | Mountain Home & Harrison – small batch ice cream with dairy-free & vegan options
Dairy Bars: Malts, Milkshakes & More
Often combined with a great burger and a fried side, malts and milkshakes are all over Arkansas in small dairy bars and drive-up windows. Don’t let the lack of fancy keep you from approaching these buildings. Why mess up a good classic summer treat if it’s been working for more than 70 years in many of these spots?
Dairyette | Mt Ida – banana splits and chocolate-dipped cones
Cruizzers | Mena & Ashdown – hand squeeze cherry limeades
Ray’s | Monticello – shakes, malts and frosted drinks
Tacker’s Shake Shack | Marion & Manila – shakes, sundaes, shivers and so much more
The Purple Cow | Little Rock, North Little Rock, Hot Springs & Conway – known for their purple shakes
Used with permission from Sno Worries Sno Cones
Snow Cones and Shaved Ice
Shaved Ice and Sno Cones are usually synonymous with summer nights. And, when Hurricane Katrina moved some Cajuns north, anyone can enjoy the creamy ice in the snowball style. Don’t underestimate the weird flavor combinations from Tigers Blood, Frog in a Blender and Swamp Punch, drizzled with that sweet cream or sprayed with sour juice.
Photo used with permission from Paleteria Las Estrellas
Other Cold Treat Specialties
There are always a few treats that never fit a category, but their taste and desire are unquenchable. A tall glass of liquid gold over ice or an ice cream treat in a new way is available in all four corners of Arkansas. Rolled ice cream, mangonada, and strawberry puddings have taken over the summer dessert menu, treats that bring cultural experiences to the mainstream consumer.
Vargas Fruiteria | Rogers, Springdale, Fort Smith – rolled ice cream
Keisha (Pittman) McKinney lives in Northwest Arkansas with her chicken man and break-dancing son. Keisha is passionate about connecting people and building community, seeking solutions to the everyday big and small things, and encouraging others through the mundane, hard, and typical that life often brings. She put her communications background to work as a former Non-profit Executive Director, college recruiter and fundraiser, small business trainer, and Digital Media Director at a large church in Northwest Arkansas. Now, she is using those experiences through McKinney Media Solutions and her blog @bigpittstop, which includes daily adventures, cooking escapades, #bigsisterchats, the social justice cases on her heart, and all that she is learning as a #boymom! Keisha loves to feed birds, read the stack on her nightstand, do dollar store crafts, cook recipes from her Pinterest boards, and chase everyday adventures on her Arkansas bucket list.
wow! Thanks to you I now have a long bucket list for the summer! At our summer weddings, we are seeing lots of sweet treats …this was full of wonderful ideas!
[…] festival was at the top of the list of things we missed most in 2020. Celebrating unique tastes, frozen treats, and outdoor entertainment highlights many summer memories, and 2021 is bringing back some of our […]
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wow! Thanks to you I now have a long bucket list for the summer! At our summer weddings, we are seeing lots of sweet treats …this was full of wonderful ideas!
[…] festival was at the top of the list of things we missed most in 2020. Celebrating unique tastes, frozen treats, and outdoor entertainment highlights many summer memories, and 2021 is bringing back some of our […]
[…] 7. Go out for milkshakes or dipped cones at the local Tastee Freeze. Satisfy your summer sweet tooth! […]
[…] Cold Summer Treats […]
[…] miss an opportunity to end your fun summer adventures with a frozen treat around […]