How to Make Choco Tacos at Home

Why limit your taco consumption to breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Because it's Summer Camp Week, we're revisiting how to make tacos for dessert.

Here is why I like the Choco Taco:

1. Its name rhymes. (Just like Gabriella’s!)
2. It’s wildly messy to eat, so it’s a good test: If you have fun with it and laugh and genuinely enjoy making a fool out of yourself, you’re in good shape. If you get frustrated and pissed off because your hands are sticky and you’re bothered by the fact that eating ice cream from a taco shell cone makes little sense, you’re due for a yoga class.
3. It’s a way to enjoy a homemade ice cream cone without having to buy a cone mold or a waffle iron. You just need some simple ingredients and books. (Hopefully you have books.)

More: For dinner, make chicken tacos to complement your chocolate ones.

This is the perfect dessert for a summery taco party. You can make the shells a day in advance and have guests fill their own; you can make the shells during the party and have your kitchen smell like an ice cream parlor; or you can make them entirely in advance and keep them in the freezer. 

More: Stuck with leftover ice cream? Make yourself an ice cream cake with whatever you've got on hand.

Original Choco Tacos are filled with fudge-swirled vanilla ice cream and topped with chocolate and peanuts. But it’s your taco party and you can do what you want: Use any kind of ice cream and top it with whatever nuts, sprinkles, or other toppings your taco-loving heart desires. Just don’t forget the napkins!

Choco Tacos

Makes 6 to 8

For the shells:

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg whites

For the fillings and toppings:

10 ounces dark chocolate chips
3 tablespoons coconut oil
4 to 6 cups ice cream 
1/2 cup crushed nuts, plus any other desired toppings (like sprinkles)

To make the taco shell batter, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in the milk, almond extract, and vanilla extract. Then whisk in the egg whites. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix to form a smooth batter.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and grease the bottom with butter. Spoon in 3 tablespoons of the batter and use an offset spatula to gently spread it out into a 5- to 6-inch circle. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the bottom begins to brown. Flip and cook on the other side for 1 to 2 minutes more, until slightly brown.

Quickly remove the disk from the pan and carefully fold it over the spine of a book. Press down gently and let it cool. Then repeat the process with the remaining batter. 

To make the chocolate topping, place the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave it in 30 second increments, stirring after each, until it melts. Let the chocolate cool slightly before topping the tacos. 

Let the ice cream soften a bit, scoop it into the taco shells, drizzle them with as much chocolate as you wish, top with nuts, and enjoy!

If you're making these in advance, stick them in the freezer uncovered for a few minutes until the chocolate hardens, and then wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them until you're ready to eat.

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photos by Molly Yeh