The Ice Cream Hack To Turn A Pint Into Individual Bars

Although a pint of ice cream is commonly considered to be a Friday night's single serving, you could potentially share it with your friends and family. Better yet, you don't even need to dirty up any bowls for individual servings so long as you have a few popsicle sticks and a large knife.

This hack starts with inserting four popsicle sticks into the top of an open pint. Be sure to use a well-frozen pint for easier cutting and less mess. Next, take a large knife and cut the pint (yes, even the paper tub) into quarters, with each quarter containing a popsicle stick.

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Just like that, you've got four ice cream bars, ready for immediate serving or even decorating. For instance, you can easily temper chocolate and use it to coat or drizzle over the ice cream bars. Top with your favorite sprinkles or crushed nuts, and you're ready to enjoy. Got something larger than a pint? Use bigger popsicle sticks and add six or more to get even slices of ice cream.

If ice cream bars aren't your vibe, no worries; we've got a second method for turning a pint of ice cream into handheld treats. Similar to the first hack, you'll need a large knife and a well-frozen pint of ice cream — but put it on its side this time. To keep the pint from rolling out from under your knife, you can either cut one side off to make a flat surface, or you can press the tub against your cutting surface to create a flat spot.

Once your pint is stable, you can cut it into three to four rings of ice cream. You can potentially cut thinner rings for additional servings, but keep in mind that the thicker the rings, the sturdier they are. At this point, you can either leave the rings as is or insert popsicle sticks.

Again, the ice cream portions are now ready to be eaten. You can coat them with chocolate and sprinkles, or you can serve them alongside your favorite baked goods. Best of all, since you've cut the ice cream into rings, it's already the perfect shape for a cookie sandwich. Roll it in sprinkles, and you're good to go.

Now that you've got the basics down, we can talk about all those extra little tips that'll make the process even easier. For instance, you should make sure when buying a pint of ice cream that it's actually made of paper. Plastic just isn't going to cut it -– pun intended.

When it comes to cutting your ice cream, whether into bars or rings, you should use our hot knife hack to efficiently slice through. Either dunk or rinse your knife with hot water, patting it dry to prevent the ice cream from sticking and ruining your clean cuts. Once your ice cream is cut, you should place it on a tray and return it to the freezer.

If you plan to decorate your ice cream pops, you should keep them in the freezer as much as possible. Melting chocolate? Have the ice cream in the freezer. Dipped and drizzled? Put the ice cream back in the freezer. Doing so will keep the ice cream from melting, but also helps set the chocolate coating. After all, what was the point of all this if the ice cream is melting off the stick before you even take a bite?