Over 40 Years Ago This Item Changed Dairy Queen As We Know It

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Many Americans hold a special place in their hearts (and stomachs) for Dairy Queen. The quick-service dessert chain has been slinging frozen treats since 1940 when Dairy Queen opened its first ever restaurant in Joliet, Illiniois. Since then, legions of fans have come to equate the company with delectable items like dipped soft serve cones, ice cream parfaits, and of course, Dilly Bars, which can easily be made at home with a copycat recipe. There's also the beloved Blizzard, which is so closely associated with the DQ brand that it might seem like it has been part of the menu since the very beginning. But, Blizzards weren't actually available until 1985, a full 45 years after the initial launch.

Samuel Temperato was a Missouri-based franchisee who owned 67 Dairy Queen locations when he came up with the genius concept of the Blizzard, but his inspiration actually originated from other local businesses' frozen custard products. Temperato took the signature DQ soft serve ice cream, added cookie and candy pieces, blended everything together, and showed customers how thick the mixture was by turning the finished dessert upside down with no spillage — a practice many locations still use today. It's unclear how quickly the Blizzard spread from Temperato's many locations, but DQ sold over 175 million Blizzard treats across the year it was created alone, launching an ice cream phenomenon that arguably became the company's most well-known product.

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Today, you can order a Blizzard at Dairy Queen in dozens of different flavors, but when the treat debuted, customers could only choose between Heath Bars, Snickers, M&Ms, and chocolate sandwich cookies. When they first launched, DQ wanted to use Oreo cookies as a mix-in but the company passed on the opportunity, so the ice cream giant used Oreo's rival cookie, Hydrox instead. Once Oreo saw how incredibly popular Blizzards were right out of the gate, the cookie company reconsidered, and DQ was finally able to market an Oreo Blizzard. The flavor is a simple mix of soft serve and cookies, and notably, it is now the best-selling Blizzard flavor at Dairy Queen locations.

But customers who want their Blizzard with tons of texture and different layers of flavors have plenty of options too. Aside from blitzing cookie pieces and crushed candies, DQ can blend fruit, sauces, cake, nuts, and even coffee into the soft frozen dessert for more personalized treats. And, while the company keeps a set list of Blizzard options on its menu, it began promoting "Blizzards of the Month" in 2003, offering seasonal flavors like pumpkin pie in the fall and cotton candy in the summer.