Introducing a brand-new series: Throwback! I’m thrilled to launch this — you may remember the Insta survey we ran earlier — and now we’re officially bringing back the best bits of the ’90s. After revisiting sand art and tie-dye s’mores, we’ve been having so much fun re-living favorite childhood treats and trends. This series will celebrate all of that nostalgia with fresh, creative twists, and it won’t be limited to food alone.
To kick things off, we made Dunkaroos ice cream. Dunkaroos ranked as one of the most popular nostalgic snacks in our survey, so we recreated the flavor in a homemade ice cream that really captures the original taste. It’s sweet, fun, and packed with sprinkles — exactly what you’d expect from a Dunkaroos-inspired treat.
If you’re wondering whether Dunkaroos are still available to buy: yes — they’re sold in some markets. We used a few store-bought Dunkaroos as a garnish, but the batches we found weren’t quite at their prime, so we also baked our own Dunkaroos-style cookies to fold into the ice cream. Below is the recipe so you can make your own nostalgic Dunkaroos ice cream at home.
For the cookies:
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup finely ground graham cracker crumbs
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons milk
For the vanilla buttercream:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles
For the Dunkaroos ice cream:
2 cups half and half
2 cups heavy cream
1 (5.3 ounce) container Greek yogurt
3/4 cup boxed funfetti cake mix
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles
1/2 cup Dunkaroos cookie crumbles
About 1/2 to 3/4 cup vanilla buttercream frosting (recipe above)
1. Cream together the butter and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, graham cracker crumbs, and baking powder. Add the dry mixture to the butter, then mix in the vanilla, lemon zest, and milk. Wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
3. On a well-floured surface, roll the dough to 1/4-inch thickness and cut into shapes. If making cookie crumbles for the ice cream, any shape works since you will break them up later. For ice cream sandwiches, cut matching 3–4 inch circles. Bake on parchment-lined sheets for 5–10 minutes, until just lightly browned at the edges.
4. For the buttercream, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, then whip until fluffy. Gently fold in the sprinkles and set aside.
5. Whisk together the half and half, heavy cream, Greek yogurt, sugar, and vanilla for the ice cream base. Chill the mixture for at least an hour.
6. Churn the chilled mixture in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s directions.
7. After churning, gently fold in the funfetti cake mix, sprinkles, and cookie crumbles—be careful not to overmix or the sprinkles’ colors will bleed.
8. Transfer the ice cream into a freezer-safe container and pipe swirls of vanilla buttercream between layers. Cover and freeze overnight to firm up.
9. For ice cream sandwiches, press ice cream into an 8-inch pan lined with parchment, freeze until hard, then use a round cutter that matches your cookies to cut circles. Keep the cut pieces frozen until ready to assemble.
Photos by Jeff Mindell | Recipe by Theresa Rountree | Styling and creative direction by Kelly Mindell
This is childhood, turned into ice cream. If you have other favorite 90s treats or nostalgic ideas, share them in the comments — we’d love to recreate more classic flavors. Don’t forget to tag your 90s-inspired photos on Instagram with #studiodiythrowback!
p.s. Check out our Sand Art Nails project for another playful throwback craft.