The Ice Cream Cone Takes Center Stage

We've given a lot of attention to ice cream this summer here at HuffPost Taste. From a pool of over 50 contenders we narrowed down our 13 favorite flavors for this summer. We've been crushing on ice cream with cake pieces and ice cream sandwiches. We tried Ben & Jerry's new SNL-themed flavors and we built an amazing waffle tower ice cream cake. Finally, we took a deep dive into New England ice cream culture, checking out ice cream stands from Maine to Connecticut, visiting a very special Massachusetts-based dairy farm and ice cream stand, and trying our hand at New England favorite Grape-Nuts ice cream. It's true: we're unabashed ice cream fanatics.

With all our love for ice cream, it's miraculous we have any more leftover for the supporting characters. But we do. Oh, we do. We love ice cream toppings, from fudge to caramel sauce, and we really love ice cream cones. Perhaps the unsung heroes of the ice cream world, ice cream cones are often forgotten amidst the excitement of different flavors and fancy toppings. This sugary backbone deserves a second look, however. After all, it's responsible for the magic that is being able to lick (instead of spoon) your ice cream. Not only are there different types of homemade ice cream cones -- included but not limited to the obvious waffle cone -- there are also desserts other than ice cream that put this crunch to use.

We haven't forgotten the humble cone -- in fact, we're celebrating it all on its own. We've rounded up 17 of our favorite ice cream cone recipes and are on the hunt for more. Let us know if you have any favorites, and enjoy these totally awesome ways to eat an ice cream cone.

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