Eating a Snow Cone brings me right back to my childhood. Snocones are a classic summer treat that is easy to make at home!
Raise your hand if you have fond memories of eating snow cones as a kid…or maybe you still love eating them. My husband used to have a guy that would ride a bike with a cart through his neighborhood, selling snow cones. Now you can create new memories with your kids by making snow cones with them!
How do you make homemade snow cones?
To make homemade snow cones, crush ice into tiny pieces, scoop it into paper cones (or use cups or bowls), and drizzle with flavored syrup. Top with more crushed ice and more syrup. Add sprinkles or small candies to the top as an added bonus then serve!
What kind of syrup can you use on snocones?
You can make a homemade syrup with only three ingredients like in my snow cone syrup recipe here. Otherwise, you can purchase flavored syrups online or at your local grocery store. You can even use coffee syrups such as Torani. When I was little, we used to sprinkle kool-aid powder over the crushed ice.
What is the best ice for a snow cone?
We found that hard ice was the best ice for snow cones. My family loves ice so we have this countertop ice machine that makes perfect little ice pellets. But we found that the ice was a little too soft when used directly from the ice machine. So, we put the ice pellets in gallon size freezer bags overnight so that they were more solid by the time we crushed it.
How do you crush ice?
To crush the ice for these snow cones, we used this Cuisinart Snow Cone Maker. It is easy to use and comes with cone cups and a scoop. Put the ice in the chute, turn the machine on and press down on the handle.
It does an excellent job of shaving ice into small bits that are just like what I remember a snocone having when I was a kid.
You could also crush ice in a blender, or food processor. Another option is to crush the ice by hand. You can put ice in a clean, sturdy cloth or a gallon size bag and smash it with a mallet.
How much ice for one snow cone?
Two cups of the pellet ice cubes from our ice machine makes 1 3/4 cups of crushed ice. The amount of ice you need will depend on the size of your cones (or cups) and how much you pack the ice. We found that 1 3/4 cups was enough to make one 6 oz snow cone.
How much syrup do I need?
There are several factors that go into how much snow cone syrup you will need. Figure out what size your paper cones (or snoballs if you put the ice in a cup) will be and how many servings you plan to make. Here are a few measurements to get you started:
- 4 oz snow cone – 2 tablespoon of syrup
- 6 oz snow cone/snoball – 3 tablespoon of syrup
- 8 oz snoball – 4 tablespoon of syrup
- 10 oz snoball – 6 tablespoon of syrup
Classic SnoCone
The Classic SnoCone is what you think of when you picture a snow cone. It has three stripes of color/flavor that blend together a bit where they touch. Fill the paper cone with ice. Drizzle blue raspberry syrup on one side, yellow pineapple syrup in the middle, and red cherry syrup on the other side.
Top the snow cone with a ball of packed iced. Then drizzle more of the three syrups on top.
TropRocks Snow Cone
This TropRocks Snow Cone is super fun to eat because the Pop Rocks on top add an exciting twist! Fill a paper cone with ice. Drizzle red tropical punch syrup on one side, clear coconut syrup in the middle, and yellow pineapple syrup on the other side.
Top the snow cone with a ball of packed iced. Then drizzle with more of the three flavored syrups. Finally, sprinkle strawberry and tropical punch Pop Rocks on top!
Stars ‘N Strips Snow Kone
A Star ‘N Strips Snow Kone is the patriotic version complete with edible stars on top. Fill a paper cone with ice. Drizzle red cherry syrup on one side, clear green apple syrup in the middle, and blue raspberry syrup on the other side.
Add a ball of packed iced to the paper cone. Drizzle with more of all three syrups. Finally, sprinkle edible silver glitter stars on top!
Want to make more fair food? Try these recipes next:
These kid-approved Mini Corn Dogs are hand dipped in a sweet, honey flavored cornmeal batter and deep fried until golden and crispy.
Indian Tacos, also know as Navajo tacos, are a Native American taco made on tender, crispy fry bread topped with taco meat, lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes.
Fluffy Shave Ice drizzled with flavored syrup is the best way to cool off on a hot summer day! Top your snoball with gummies, sprinkles, or whipped cream.
Make this easy Funnel Cake Recipe and surprise your family with fair food at home! Just add your favorite toppings to these sweet, crispy funnel cakes.
Snow Cones
Ingredients
- 8 cups ice cubes
- 12 tablespoon snow cone syrup
- Optional: additional toppings of choice
Instructions
- Crush the ice cubes using a snow cone maker, blender, food processor, or by hand.
- Fill four 6 oz paper cones with crushed ice. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of snow cone syrup.
- Top with a ball of crushed ice. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of syrup.
- Add any additional toppings of choice. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Snow Cone Flavor Combinations
- Classic Snow Cone: blue raspberry, yellow pineapple, and red cherry
- Trop Rocks: red tropical punch, clear coconut, yellow pineapple, and pop rocks
- Stars ‘n Stripes: red cherry, clear green apple, blue raspberry, and star sprinkles
Noemi C Lyons says
I would like to know ” HOW TO MAKE CAJUN RED HOT CINNAMON SNOW CONE SYRUP?? “
Tonia Larson says
Hello Noemi,
We have another recipe for how to make snow cone syrup: https://www.thegunnysack.com/snow-cone-syrup/ . You can use LorAnn Hot Cinnamon oil to flavor the syrup. It’s sold in some craft stores, speciality kitchen stores and on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Jaa1qX It’s strong to follow the manufacturers instructions for the amount to add.
~Tonia
JJ says
Where is the gold tray that holds the snow cones from?
Tonia says
Hi JJ,
It’s something we made ourselves from items we had around the house because we wanted to be able to showcase the snow cones in the photos.
~Tonia
Akshay says
It looks so yummy why do they don’t sell it in Canada it’s so yummy and it’s so cool I like the colour