If you’ve ever drizzled store-bought Magic Shell over ice cream, you know it is truly magical! But did you know it only takes a couple of ingredients to make it at home? This Homemade Magic Shell is rich and smooth and sets up perfectly over your favorite ice cream for that satisfying snap. Once you try it you’ll never go back to the bottle!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Chocolate – You can use chocolate chips or a nice bar chocolate. I prefer Semi-sweet or dark chocolate but this will work with milk chocolate as well.
- Coconut oil – This is what makes the magic, since coconut oil is solid at room temperature, and when frozen, it makes the chocolate quickly melt in your mouth. You can use refined or unrefined coconut oil. Refined coconut oil does not have any coconut flavor. If you use cold-pressed, unrefined coconut oil, expect to be able to taste mild coconut flavor. It’s not overpowering though-I actually love the mild coconut taste with the chocolate.
How to Make Homemade Magic Shell
- Combine the chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Heat in the microwave in 20-30 second increments, stirring between each heating, until melted and smooth. Enjoy!
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished Magic Shell Topping in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within 30 days for best results.
- If your house is on the warmer side it will remain pourable. If it solidifies, just pop it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds and stir before use.
Bonus Recipe: Ice Cream Cookie Crunchies
These crunchy cookie pieces, coated in a chocolatey shell, make a great ice cream topping, mix in for homemade ice cream, or addition to an ice cream cake. You can also press them into muffin tins to make little dessert cups.
Ingredients
- 2/3 standard package of Oreo cookies (2 1/2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs)
- about 1 cup of homemade Magic Shell Topping (or one 7.25-ounce bottle store-bought)
Instructions
- Crush Oreos. You’ll need 2 1/2 cups cookie crumbs.
- Add Magic Shell Topping just a little at a time and mix well. You may not need to use a full cup.
- Use as desired. If you’re using as a layer in an ice cream cake, Don’t make a full thick layer of these crunchies or it might be hard to cut! Instead sprinkle them so there’s some give to cut nice slices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This will work with white chocolate, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, etc. If you can find cherry chips, you’ll have a cherry dipped cone like your favorite nostalgic DQ treat. However, you may need to add extra coconut oil to achieve the desired consistency with some of these other chips. Start with what’s written in the recipe here and add more little by little until it’s smooth and drizzles nicely. It’s also helpful to smear a thin layer on a piece of parchment paper and place in the fridge for a few minutes for it to solidify. Taste it and adjust as needed!
You can certainly try! Your topping may just take a longer to set up and have a softer texture once solidified, not the snap Magic Shell is known for. While coconut oil is 100% fat, butter includes water, so it changes the consistency just a bit, but tastes super delicious.
Yes, any neutral oil will work. Vegetable oil or avocado oil. You’ll want to just add a little at a time until you get the consistency you like since it’s a bit different than coconut oil.
Yep! Add a bit of peppermint, orange, or almond extract after melting. Be careful to add just a little at a time or the mixture may seize. You could also try flavoring oils, which are less likely to affect the texture negatively.
Dipped Cones
You can also use this recipe to make dipped ice cream cones. Try making the magic shell with a variety of chips for fun flavors! TIPS:
- Make sure your ice cream is packed solid down the cone so it doesn’t fall out.
- Use very cold ice cream fresh out of the freezer.
- It’s also fun to pour down the bottom of a waffle cone for a fun surprise!
Homemade Magic Shell Ice Cream Topping
Instructions
- Combine chocolate and 2 tablespoons coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Heat in the microwave in 20-30 second increments, stirring each time until smooth. 2 tablespoons is the minimal amount of coconut oil you'll need, but depending on your preference, you can stir in more at this point. The more coconut oil you add, the thinner the consistency and shell. My personal preference is a total of 4 tablespoons coconut oil to 1 cup chocolate chips.
- Drizzle over ice cream, dip frozen/cold treats in the chocolate, or use in the Homemade Ice Cream Cake Crunchy recipe (see Notes below).
Notes
- Store finished Magic Shell Topping in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within 30 days for best results.
- If your house is on the warmer side it may remain pourable. If it solidifies, just pop it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds and stir before use.
Homemade Ice Cream Cookie Crunchies
Ingredients
- 2/3 standard package of Oreo cookies (or 2 1/2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs)
- 1 7.25-ounce bottle Magic Shell ice cream topping (or almost 1 cup of homemade Magic Shell Topping)
Instructions
- Crush the Oreos so you get 2 1/2 cups Oreo crumbs.
- Pour the Magic Shell topping over the cookie crumbs a little at a time (you may not use all of it) and mix well to combine. Use as an ice cream topping or the filling for ice cream cakes or pies.
Questions & Reviews
I am a new follower of your site and I am loving the variety and great ideas and dedication you ladies put into this. Thanks for your hard work!
Yum and yum! Thank you!
The rest of the cookies will get lonely and sad. LOL! You crack me up, Kate!
I used to be obsessed with Mint Magic Shell, and then they stopped making it (way back in the dark ages….the 1980s…), so I used to add mint extract to regular Magic Shell – but I’ll bet that has alcohol in it so would make the homemade stuff seize up. But gosh, there is NOTHING better than a bowl of stirred-up vanilla ice cream (not soft serve to begin with – it has to be the regular stuff), coated with an even thick layer of mint magic shell, which you then break up and stir back into the ice cream. This recipe just jerked me right back to the carefree days when I could eat all of this joy in a bowl and not feel guilty about going back for seconds! Ahhh….youth…Can’t wait to make both the crunchies (which I MIGHT try to ‘mint up’ a bit with either mint oreos if they still make them or the extract) and the chocolate sauce.
I love your obsession with mint!! Why don’t you try to make some Magic Shell using mint chips and then mix it with mint oreos?? Good luck. Please let us mint lovers know how it turns out.
I tried to read through all comments and I didn’t see that oreos mixed in with FUDGE SAUCE also works. I’ve made an ice cream cake using this and got tons of compliments! I’ve never heard of the magic shell way, though I’m not a big fan of the stuff anyway. I don’t like that it gets hard when it touches cold stuff.
Any kind of oil will work to make magic shell, not just coconut oil. I used canola oil last week because that’s what I had on hand, and it worked great. Also, for those who are wanting to make cherry hard shell, why not try cherry chips? I saw them in my grocery store this week with the other chocolate chips. I can’t remember the brand name, but they are reddish pink (same color as the DQ topping) and shaped like chocolate chips.
Oooh!!! That’s brilliant. I’ve never seen them, but I’ll go look for it right now.
Is it possible to store the crunchies for future use, or do they need to be used right away? Not sure how much the Oreos would soak up the magic shell and if that would affect texture or something . . . ??
My guess is yes, although I’m not sure for how long. Maybe keep it refrigerated and then bring it back to room temp before using? Sometimes I wish Alton Brown or America’s Test Kitchen lived at my house so they could solve all these problems for me. Except that Alton Brown kind of scares me sometimes… 🙂
I worked at DQ for 3 years and we just stored the cake crunch in an airtight container on the shelf. We went through it pretty fast, so I don’t know a shelf life, but if you make a small batch it’d probably be just right for a cake or two!
Can you use the regular Wilton colors? Or do you have to use the candy colors? I tried using the regular colors with the Wilton candy melts and they seized and clumped the candy. The Wilton candy food colors worked great though.
I’d be safe and go with the candy food colors.
You are officially my hero!
Yum! I’m way too much of a cheapskate to buy an ice cream cake, so now I can make my own! Thanks. 🙂