10 Candy Brand Ice Cream Bars, Ranked

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If you've ever pulled a Snickers bar out of the refrigerator or freezer on a hot summer day, you understand the draw of a chilled candy bar. While room temperature is fine as long as the chocolate doesn't melt, dropping the temp of your favorite sweet treat a few degrees is hard to beat. Candy companies must agree, because they've taken some of the most beloved candy bars on the market and infused them with ice cream for a whole lot of frozen fun.

Almond Joy and Reese's are the latest candies to get the ice cream treatment, but they're hardly the first. The Snickers Ice Cream Bar first hit shelves in 1989, and since then, more and more candy bar-inspired confections have filled freezers across the country.

While Snickers was one of the first, does it hold up? To find out which candy bar transitioned to ice cream treat the smoothest, I tried 10 different varieties and found quite a gulf between the worst and the best. Some candy bars lend themselves better to ice creamification, but others simply missed the mark altogether. Read on to find out which candy bar ice cream treats are must-haves and which are better left on ice.

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The Magnum Ice Cream Company recently released new Reese's Crunchy Peanut Ice Cream Bars and Almond Joy Ice Cream Bars and sent me samples to try out. I purchased the other eight bars from grocery stores in my area. After some quick photos, I sampled each bar. My evaluation was based on flavor, texture, overall quality, value, and how well the ice cream version stacked up to the original. 

Some recommendations are based on first-hand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

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I always try to take value into consideration when ranking products because, as grocery bills continue to rise, price matters. Thankfully, the majority of the ice cream bars on this list fell in a tight price range, with the two newest bars — Reese's and Almond Joy — sitting on the top end. Just below those two, though, was the Crunch ice cream bar, which retails at around $5.19 for a six-pack. It's the third-most expensive ice cream bar on the list and by far the worst.

I like Crunch bars, even if some people don't. In fact, I enjoy all of the candy bars represented here, so there's no candy bias baked into these rankings. Unfortunately, the Crunch ice cream bar missed the mark on a key feature: its crunchy texture. As one of two bars that come on sticks, the Crunch bar is simple: vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate Crunch coating. The "ice cream" itself isn't at all creamy, falling somewhere between icy and a little chewy, and that's because it's actually a "frozen dairy snack bar."

Things only get worse when you realize that the crunchy bits in the chocolate coating are even chewier. Seriously, how could anyone whiff this bad on adding crunch to a Crunch bar? The whole thing is not worth spending money on and, quite frankly, not even worth eating.

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While I love pretty much all candy bars, Twix is one of my favorites, so imagine my disappointment when I dug into this ice cream bar. At around $4.49 for a six-pack, the price is fairly standard, but the formula is not. Twix is hardly a complex candy bar thanks to three ingredients: chocolate, caramel, and a crunchy cookie. Texture is key in a Twix bar, which is where the ice cream version fails so spectacularly.

Each bar promises "rich and creamy vanilla-flavored ice cream with artificial flavor added, smooth caramel, and crunchy cookies" on the packaging. Unfortunately, every element falls short of expectations. The chocolate coating is extremely thin and feels like a cost-cutting measure. The ice cream has all the artificial flavor promised and then some, which might be overlooked if the caramel wasn't a sad little ribbon that's hardly noticeable on some bites. The biggest letdown, though, is the cookie pieces. Rather than a single, solid cookie, Twix ice cream bars use small, egg-shaped cookie chunks nestled in the caramel layer. In addition to being limited in quantity, these cookie pieces lack the crispy, crunchy texture one would expect. In fact, they're not dissimilar to the Crunch pieces in terms of chewiness.

The Twix ice cream bar shouldn't be hard to execute, but this feels like a cheap imitation. Stick to the real thing, because this attempt is, at best, poor.

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Of all the bars on this list, KitKat might be the candy bar least suited to an ice cream transformation. The standard bar is milk chocolate and wafers, leaving little room to add any additional ingredients. Rather than stick with a traditional bar, KitKat went the Crunch route and put this bar on a stick, with better, but still lackluster, results.

The bar features vanilla ice cream with chocolate swirls dipped in a fudge coating sprinkled with wafer pieces. Some elements work, like the wafer pieces, which maintain a nice crispy texture and are present in every bite. The ice cream is creamy, and the swirls add a nice visual element, even if they don't add much flavor. I also appreciate that the fudge coating is thick.

So what's the problem? The KitKat ice cream bar tastes like coffee. It's surely a product of the cocoa used, but there's an undeniable coffee flavor that permeates every bite. It's not bad, but it's also not natural to a KitKat, so more than anything, it feels out of place. Add in the fact that this bar is the only one sold in a five-pack, rather than the standard six, and KitKat is poor value with an unusual flavor profile that does little to match the KitKat candy we know today.

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Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I was sure going into this tasting that Snickers would come out on or at least near the top. However, this bar simply does not hold up to the lofty standards set by the intriguingly named Snickers, one of the most recognizable candy bars in existence. 

At around $4.49 for a six-pack, the Snickers ice cream bar has a lot in common with the Twix ice cream bar because they're made by the same company: Mars Wrigley Confectionery. The outer chocolate coating is depressingly thin; some spots have hardly enough chocolate to cover the ice cream within. The caramel ribbon down the middle would be funny if it weren't so sad. Thankfully, the peanuts offer some texture and additional flavor and are well represented throughout. I will tip my hat to the peanut butter ice cream, which at least makes the entire bar rich and sweet, even if this once again feels like someone brought in the accounting team to trim as much good away as possible for cost-saving measures.

Good overall flavor pushes Snickers into the middle of the list, but this ice cream bar made me sad. If you're expecting anything grand from this frozen confection, don't; chill a regular Snickers bar instead and save yourself the heartbreak.

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Almond Joy and Mounds represent a distinct fork in the road for candy fans. If you dislike coconut, this path is not for you; if you enjoy its flavor, come along for the ride. Retailing at $5.29 to $5.99 per box of six, the Almond Joy ice cream bars are quite enjoyable.

The ice cream at the bar is aggressively coconut-flavored — and just as brilliantly white — and is the flavor driver in this dessert. The outer chocolate shell is thick enough to offer a satisfying snap with each bite, and a smattering of almonds nestled just below the top layer do their job in offering additional flavor and texture.

The only element I struggled with is the layer of chocolate sauce the almonds reside in atop the ice cream. If I hadn't read the package, I wouldn't have known the chocolate sauce was there. I'm sure it's adding something, but I'm not entirely sure what. Still, this is a good ice cream bar if you like coconut, and if you don't, why are you eating an Almond Joy to begin with?

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Mars Wrigley finally got one right. I'm not sure if the same team worked on the Twix and Snickers, while a different, fun-loving one handled the Milky Way, but the results speak for themselves; this is a good ice cream bar.

Of course, it's still not perfect. That same thin layer of chocolate coating could use a boost on the outside, but finally, someone got the memo about caramel. A traditional Milky Way is comprised of nougat and caramel encased in chocolate. The ice cream version replaced the nougat with chocolate ice cream in what can only be described as a stroke of genius.

The less-than-ample outer chocolate layer is quickly forgotten as you bite into rich chocolate ice cream topped with a substantial layer of gooey caramel. No one reinvented the wheel here, but simplicity has always been the key to a Milky Way, and the same rings true for the ice cream bar. At around $4.49 per box of six, this is a bar worth biting into.

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In many ways, the 100 Grand ice cream bar is the leveled-up version of the Milky Way. There are some key differences, starting with price: The 100 Grand is a full 50 cents more expensive. (That's just over 8 cents a bar for the penny pinchers at home.) Minimal additional cost aside, the 100 Grand is just a touch more interesting, which is why it lands at number four on the list.

Comprised of caramel-flavored ice cream topped with a caramel layer and coated in chocolate sprinkled with "crispy crunchies," the 100 Grand ice cream bar is the lovechild of a proper Crunch bar and the Milky Way ice cream treat. The ice cream is creamy, and the caramel flavor is present, but not overpowering. The caramel layer is thicker than the Milky Way's, giving it a chewier texture. Meanwhile, a sweet chocolate shell is filled with crispy bites that, to much fanfare, are actually crispy. Overall, you're definitely getting your money's worth with 100 Grand ice cream bars.

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Regardless of how you pronounce it, Reese's is probably the most popular peanut butter-based candy on the market. The Hershey's product is most commonly found in cups, but I'm munching on an Easter-themed egg as I type this, just one of many different forms the famous candy takes. With the new Reese's Crunchy Peanut Ice Cream Bar, the peanut butter treat has once again taken on a new shape, and the results are fantastic.

Retailing for $5.29 to $5.99, this bar is tied with the Almond Joy for the most expensive on the list, but, like the coconut bar, it's worth it. A hearty layer of milk chocolate encases a peanut butter ice cream topped with a thick layer of Reese's peanut butter, which is in turn dotted with peanuts. I love a proper peanut in any chocolate candy, so when Reese's adds some to its classic recipe, it's like putting icing on an already delicious cake. 

The peanut butter flavor is strong, the chocolate is rich, and there's plenty of every element in each bite. Reese's has found another form to dominate, so all other shapes had better watch out, they could be next.

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The Baby Ruth is a high-quality candy bar that I simply can't divorce from its most infamous movie appearance. Still, this is a candy worth enjoying, and the ice cream version is no different.

If you're more familiar with Snickers than Baby Ruth, just know that they're very similar. The classic candy bar features nougat, caramel, and peanuts wrapped in chocolate. Traditionally, Snickers is a little smoother thanks to the chopped peanuts, while the roasted nuts in a Baby Ruth give it a more distinct flavor, one that serves the ice cream bar exceptionally well.

This bar features nougat-flavored ice cream topped with caramel and whole-roasted peanuts. The result is an ice cream bar that tastes like a Snickers should. The chocolate is thick and rich, just like the caramel layer, and the nuts provide not only a ton of crunch in each bite but also a wonderful salty counterpoint to all the sweetness. The nougat ice cream on its own is solid, if not spectacular, but it works extremely well as the base of this bar. At around $4.99 for a six-pack, the Baby Ruth ice cream bar deserves a spot at your next summer barbecue. Just try to keep it away from the pool.

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No ice cream bar surprised me more than the Butterfinger. I personally love the "crispity, crunchity, peanut-buttery" center that's so adept at finding even the smallest crevice in your molars. It's delicious, but hardly suited to an ice cream bar. It's just so dense, I didn't know how a Butterfinger would translate, and the answer was deceptively simple: Make the dense stuff almost impossibly airy and light.

The thick, milk chocolate outside houses a layer of Butterfinger-flavored ice cream topped with a crunchy Butterfinger layer. That's a lot of Butterfinger. The ice cream tastes exactly like the candy bar, but the star of this show is the crispy Butterfinger layer, which has ditched density for a light, crispy texture that melts in your mouth. There's still a subtle crunch, but this layer is closer to a super-airy wafer than what you expect from a Butterfinger. I love it. 

Finding a way to transform the most iconic part of a candy bar to suit the needs of an ice cream version is exactly the type of vision that was missing from the lower entries on this list. A six-pack of Butterfinger ice cream bars is around $4.99, and now that you've read this, there's surely no excuse not to try them out for yourself and see if you agree.