What to Know
- Fosselman's Ice Cream Co. is at 1824 Main Street in Alhambra
- Salt & Straw has locations in Venice, the Arts District, and beyond
- Several local artisanal ice cream makers offer flavors inspired by holiday drinks and traditional desserts, so check at your favorite shop
Once upon a time, egg nog mostly arrived in a cup while cocoa was almost always topped with puffy marshmallows and served hot in a toasty mug.
But along the whimsical, cuisine-experimenting way, beverages began to branch out into other non-beverage-y areas of various menus, with a pronounced crossover into the territory of treats.
Of course, both egg nog and cocoa can be classified as utterly treatful, in their traditional forms, but they have shown a nummy knack for popping up in cakes, cookies, and, indeed, the occasional scoop of ice cream in recent years.
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If you prefer your seasonal libations to be lickable, and easy to place atop a cone or within the creamy folds of a milkshake, then ho, ho, go to Fosselman's Ice Cream Co. in Alhambra or your local Salt & Straw before the holiday season has turned off the twinkly lights.
For both celebrated ice creameries have confections that take their inspiration from the drink side of yuletide celebrations.
At Fosselman's, which celebrated its centennial in 2019? The Egg Nog Ice Cream, with all of its rich custard-y character, has been a must-get-each-December dessert for locals around the San Gabriel Valley and beyond.
And at Salt & Straw, which has a number of locations around Southern California, including in the Arts District and Studio City? There's a Peppermint Cocoa Ice Cream on the festive flavors line-up.
"We use Seely Farm's single-distilled peppermint oil before folding in crushed candy canes from the iconic Hammond's Candies. So pull off your warm woolen mittens, and wrap your chilled fingers around a piping cold cup of this peppermint cocoa ice cream," is the yummy summation of this sweet.
Oh yes: Salt & Straw is also whipping up batches of Dwanta's Teremana Spiked Egg Nog Ice Cream, if you prefer your creamy treat with some spirited kick.
It's true that the standard sips of the season will always remain sippable. But encountering these goodies as cone-topping, super-spoon-able experiences is also something novel at Noël time, a fresh way to find festive fun in a frosty treat.
