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Ice Cream Cones

We tasted five supermarket sugar cones and waffle cones (after much debate, we decided to save cup-style “cake” cones for another day), both plain and filled with vanilla ice cream.

Published June 1, 2012. Appears in Cook's Country TV Season 6: Backyard Barbecue
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WinnerJoy Waffle Cones

Tasters enjoyed this big, generous cone, which “looks pretty” and is “not too sweet, but just sweet enough,” with “vanilla, toasty,” “nutty” flavor and a texture that’s “really crunchy and crisp”—“but not too hard.” A paper jacket over the bottom stops drips—though ours didn’t leak even without the paper.  
Sugars: 5 g (30% by weight)Net Weight: 199 g (each cone: 16.6 g)Price at Time of Testing: 12 cones for $2.49
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Tasters enjoyed this big, generous cone, which “looks pretty” and is “not too sweet, but just sweet enough,” with “vanilla, toasty,” “nutty” flavor and a texture that’s “really crunchy and crisp”—“but not too hard.” A paper jacket over the bottom stops drips—though ours didn’t leak even without the paper.  
Sugars: 5 g (30% by weight)Net Weight: 199 g (each cone: 16.6 g)Price at Time of Testing: 12 cones for $2.49
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What You Need to Know

Food historians have debunked the story that ice cream cones were invented at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, but they haven’t yet been able to determine when they did originate. Horn-shaped wafers filled with ice cream, called “cornets,” appear to have been served nearly 100 years earlier in Paris, while dessert wafers, rolled or flat, date back to the Middle Ages. We tasted five supermarket sugar cones and waffle cones (after much debate, we decided to save cup-style “cake” cones for another day), both plain and filled with vanilla ice cream. 

Despite their name, “sugar” cones are no sweeter than “waffle” cones. While the ingredients are similar, sugar cones are smaller and symmetrical. Waffle cones hold more ice cream and have an angled, wrapped opening and a more pronounced “waffle” texture. Sold in boxes of 12, the cones came nested in foam clamshells and sealed in plastic bags to preserve freshness.

Tasters preferred cones that were less sweet, for better contrast with the sweet ice cream. We set aside ice cream–filled cones for 20 minutes in 74-degree weather and found that all stayed commendably crisp and leak-free, even as the ice cream turned soupy. Our favorite cone even comes with its own paper jacket to help keep things neat. While we recommend all five products, we listed them in order of (slight) preference.

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Everything We Tested

Recommended

WinnerJoy Waffle Cones

Tasters enjoyed this big, generous cone, which “looks pretty” and is “not too sweet, but just sweet enough,” with “vanilla, toasty,” “nutty” flavor and a texture that’s “really crunchy and crisp”—“but not too hard.” A paper jacket over the bottom stops drips—though ours didn’t leak even without the paper.  
Sugars: 5 g (30% by weight)Net Weight: 199 g (each cone: 16.6 g)Price at Time of Testing: 12 cones for $2.49
Tasters enjoyed this big, generous cone, which “looks pretty” and is “not too sweet, but just sweet enough,” with “vanilla, toasty,” “nutty” flavor and a texture that’s “really crunchy and crisp”—“but not too hard.” A paper jacket over the bottom stops drips—though ours didn’t leak even without the paper.  
Sugars: 5 g (30% by weight)Net Weight: 199 g (each cone: 16.6 g)Price at Time of Testing: 12 cones for $2.49

Joy Sugar Cones

“A classic” ice cream cone, this one was “nice and crisp,” with “an almost whole-grain texture,” “good crunch and light vanilla/anise background flavor,” and “brown sugar” and “nutty and toasty” notes. We all agreed that it “tastes great with ice cream.”  
Sugars: 3 g (25% by weight)Net Weight: 142 g (each cone: 11.8 g)Price at Time of Testing: 12 cones for $2.45
“A classic” ice cream cone, this one was “nice and crisp,” with “an almost whole-grain texture,” “good crunch and light vanilla/anise background flavor,” and “brown sugar” and “nutty and toasty” notes. We all agreed that it “tastes great with ice cream.”  
Sugars: 3 g (25% by weight)Net Weight: 142 g (each cone: 11.8 g)Price at Time of Testing: 12 cones for $2.45

Keebler Waffle Cones

“Wafer-like and quite tender,” this cone was “slightly more delicate” than others, with an “open,” almost foamy texture that tasters described as “a hybrid cake cone and waffle cone,” which meant it softened slightly during our melting test. Tasters noted a “caramelized” sweetness: “Much like eating a cookie,” it “tastes like sugar.”  
Sugars: 4 g (34% by weight)Net Weight: 141 g (each cone: 11.8 g)Price at Time of Testing: 12 cones for $2.75
“Wafer-like and quite tender,” this cone was “slightly more delicate” than others, with an “open,” almost foamy texture that tasters described as “a hybrid cake cone and waffle cone,” which meant it softened slightly during our melting test. Tasters noted a “caramelized” sweetness: “Much like eating a cookie,” it “tastes like sugar.”  
Sugars: 4 g (34% by weight)Net Weight: 141 g (each cone: 11.8 g)Price at Time of Testing: 12 cones for $2.75

Keebler Sugar Cones

“Crisp and buttery,” this cone “lacks the caramelized sugar cone taste I associate with sugar cones,” with “more of a white sugar flavor” and just a “hint of vanilla.” (In fact, unlike the rest in the lineup, Keebler cones use white rather than brown sugar.) In sum, a bit “neutral”; “Not much flavor, just sweet.”    
Sugars: 4 g (43% by weight)Net Weight: 113 g (each cone: 9.4 g)Price at Time of Testing: 12 cones for $2.75
“Crisp and buttery,” this cone “lacks the caramelized sugar cone taste I associate with sugar cones,” with “more of a white sugar flavor” and just a “hint of vanilla.” (In fact, unlike the rest in the lineup, Keebler cones use white rather than brown sugar.) In sum, a bit “neutral”; “Not much flavor, just sweet.”    
Sugars: 4 g (43% by weight)Net Weight: 113 g (each cone: 9.4 g)Price at Time of Testing: 12 cones for $2.75

Comet (Nabisco) Sugar Cones

“Dark” and “toasty” (some said “almost burnt”) and “very sweet,” with “slight caramel” taste and “a hint of vanilla” flavor, this “hearty” cone had “great crunch—almost too much” and was “maybe a tad too thick.” But overall, it was “pretty classic.”   
Sugars: 4 g (33% by weight)Net Weight: 148 g (each cone: 12.3 g)Price at Time of Testing: 12 cones for $2.79
“Dark” and “toasty” (some said “almost burnt”) and “very sweet,” with “slight caramel” taste and “a hint of vanilla” flavor, this “hearty” cone had “great crunch—almost too much” and was “maybe a tad too thick.” But overall, it was “pretty classic.”   
Sugars: 4 g (33% by weight)Net Weight: 148 g (each cone: 12.3 g)Price at Time of Testing: 12 cones for $2.79

*All products reviewed by America’s Test Kitchen are independently chosen, researched, and reviewed by our editors. We buy products for testing at retail locations and do not accept unsolicited samples for testing. We list suggested sources for recommended products as a convenience to our readers but do not endorse specific retailers. When you choose to purchase our editorial recommendations from the links we provide, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices are subject to change.

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