Ice Cream Tacos for Cinco de Mayo

We have been celebrating Cinco de Mayo for the past 13 years—not to commemorate the Battle of Puebla, but because it's my son's birthday! We've always considered it a great excuse to eat guacamole or tacos (other people might say margaritas!). This year we decided to try a new birthday dessert that seems to fit the day: ice cream tacos.

You can find many recipes for ice cream tacos, with most of the taco "shells" made from flour tortillas or wonton wrappers. I wondered if my pizzelle iron would make a decent shell, so I made up a batch of chocolate pizzelli (recipe from King Arthur Flour). If you don't have a pizzelle maker, a waffle iron also works, but makes a much thicker cookie. (My waffle iron makes thin, heart-shaped waffles that didn't want to bend into a taco shell; you may have greater success if your waffle iron makes a different shape.)

I won't go into any great detail about how to make the pizzelli; the recipe at the link above gives great instructions, and you'll need to follow the pizzelle iron manufacturer's directions to choose the correct cook time for the cookies.

We found that about 45 seconds was perfect to cook these chocolate pizzelli. Remove them quickly and while they're still warm, bend them over a folded paper plate, as shown above. Allow them to cool while you cook the next batch. Once cooled, store them in an airtight container until you're ready to serve them.

Before you can put together your tacos, you need to prepare your toppings. My son had very specific requests for candies (gummy worms and Twizzlers) but just about any sundae topping would be yummy. Chopped cherries, bananas, blueberries, coconut, nuts, sprinkles, m&m's, chocolate chips, crushed oreos, hot fudge sauce. Once they're ready, now comes the fun part....  

Since the taco shells can be brittle, here's an easy way to get the ice cream in without breaking them. Scoop some ice cream into a ziploc bag and seal it tight, then squish it in your hands for a few seconds to warm it a little. Cut off one of the bottom corners of the bag and squeeze out the ice cream into the bottom of the taco shell. Cover the ice cream with your choice of toppings, working quickly before the ice cream melts! Then enjoy.

Do you celebrate Cinco de Mayo? What are your favorite recipes to prepare today?

¡Viva el Cinco de Mayo!