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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:
- Its name rhymes. (Just like Gabriella’s!)
- 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.
- 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!
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











Comments (25)
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5 months ago Rebecca Van Orden Berkowitz
I did it and they were a huge hit!! My kids requested a taco menu for their b-day party, so I decided to do one better and used your recipe to make choco-tacos (30 of them!!!). Molly, I'm curious to know if your shells hardened, because mine did not. But my feeling was that on a true choco-taco the shell is not crunchy either so I was cool with that. It also made the shells super easy to work with! My tips that I would like to share...1) Buy the round "Edy's" Ice cream, cut the container down the middle with a serrated knife, then peel away the carton and slice into taco slices!! 2) I used inverted muffin pans to hold them once they were filled with the ice cream.
I also did what another commenter suggested and first coated the inside of the shells with the chocolate. Then I drizzled the tops with it and chocolate sprinkles! They were delicious!! Thanks so much for the great recipe! I wish I could share a picture!!
5 months ago Rebecca Van Orden Berkowitz
Oh and BTW the book trick was perfect! :)
6 months ago josefernandez
Instead of using books, if you make tacos at home a lot, it's worth considering to invest in a taco holder. I love this one I found 4 months ago http://amzn.to/2awlTAu because it's similar to a rack, so air is allowed to circulate, which won't soften it if you choose to grill or fry them sometimes.
over 1 year ago Lynn Mahony
Me thinks I need to stock up on my cookbook collection so that I can make enough of these lovelies to feed an army. Shhh! Don't tell the health inspector ;-)
over 1 year ago Skiingstella
These were fun but an immense amount of work and I wasted half the batter trying to get the right consistency for the shells to harden. 3TBSP of batter made a GIANT taco shell. I found the most success by cutting back to 2 TBSP, swirling it around the pan and cooking for a solid 4-5 minutes each side on a lower temperature (so it wouldn't burn). The shells that were slightly undercooked never hardened. When I premade these, the ice cream softened the shell and the texture was weird and chewy in the end. Next time I will make the shells ahead but leave the stuffing and topping for my guests to partake in.
over 1 year ago MStubbee
I think I would take some of that chocolate sauce and line the inside of the tacos with it, freeze a few minutes to harden and THEN add ice cream in. More chocolate shell! These do look amazing, can't wait to try them this summer.
over 2 years ago Nancy Bathurst
Does anyone have a suggestion for a filling other than ice cream? I am thinking a mousse or a filling like they put in cannolis.
over 2 years ago Nazima, Franglais Kitchen
ooh good idea! We did a lychee mousse recently that was superb - and could be piped in though I wonder if it would set quick enough to avoid it running out. Perhaps a flavoured mix of cream and mascarpone with fruit in it?
over 2 years ago Heather
What a fantastic idea! I love the books you chose to feature...A Homemade Life is perfect for this recipe :)
over 2 years ago Lisa Cope Lucci
maybe just draping some wax paper over the books before the shells are "laid to rest" would resolve everyone's issues! :)
over 2 years ago Marc
That would do the trick.
over 2 years ago Marc
They look like they would taste great! One issue though, as a professional pastry chef I notice a major health code violation with the shells drying out over the book spines. That would get you written up in two seconds if the health department saw it. They do have equipment that you can buy for that part of the procedure. I don't want to take away from the post, as I said they do look very tasty. Just an FYI regarding sanitation.
over 2 years ago Mirka Parenteau
Did you not read the "homemade" part? I don't think the health department is coming to ring my doorbell... and I don't see why a professional restaurant would try to dry their taco shells on books... They would probably have the right equipment.
over 2 years ago Marc
Mirka, you missed the point of my comment. I'm not attacking the author of this post. Just giving helpful info.
over 2 years ago Nazima, Franglais Kitchen
These look so pretty - wafers shaped like tacos - love it. The finished products look perfect for summer parties.
over 2 years ago Ileana Morales Valentine
Brilliant. And the photo of the taco shells resting on the spines of food books makes me happy.
over 2 years ago Carey Nershi
You beautiful glorious genius. Life: COMPLETE.
over 2 years ago Sarah Jampel
Sarah is Food52's senior staff writer & stylist.
I will never cease to be amazed by the fact that you dried the tacos on books. Never.
over 2 years ago Lindsey S. Love | Dolly and Oatmeal
omg, i'm having some serious ice cream truck flashbacks! but i totally love the idea of making your own!
over 2 years ago Catherine
I think I love you.
over 2 years ago Marian Bull
I love the idea of having these casually stored in my freezer, to taco whenever I feel like taco-ing.
over 2 years ago foodgays
these look amazeballs. and love the fact you used books to shape the tacos - so something we would do in our kitchen :)
over 2 years ago Catherine Lamb
Oh, happy day!
over 2 years ago lyndsay sung
I LOVE THESE! molly, i'm SOLD! you brilliant little ice cream crammed into tacos genius you!! xo
over 2 years ago Allyn
You just managed to combine so many good things that I can hardly stand it. The fact that the shells harden on books(!) is just the icing on the cake... or the crushed pineapple that needs to go into a banana split choco taco.
Showing 25 out of 25 comments