Aug 14, 2026 - Food and Drink

Ice cream dipped in salty butter? Only at the Iowa State Fair

Jason Clayworth

Front view of a green-and-gold Coney Corner stand with large signage; menu includes hot dogs and footlongs. A tall vanilla soft-serve ice cream cone is held up in the foreground as customers order. — The Butter Dipped Ice Cream Cone. Photo: Jason Clayworth/Axios

Jason here: The Butter-Dipped Ice Cream cone is exactly the kind of gloriously unhinged Iowa State Fair snack that makes you wonder: Why haven't we always had this?

What it is: An ice cream cone dipped in salty butter that hardens instantly from the cold.

My thought bubble: Think butterscotch-dipped cone, but saltier, richer and unmistakably buttery.

The crisp shell gives way to creamy ice cream, making this weird idea work surprisingly well.

Pro tip: Grab napkins. Lots of them. This thing gets messy fast.

If you go: Find it at Coney Corner, outside the northeast corner of the Horse Barn, for $6.

🧈 Butter ranking: One stick = meh. Five = don't miss it.

Aesthetics: 🧈🧈🧈
Creativity: 🧈🧈🧈
Overall taste: 🧈🧈🧈🧈

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Ice cream dipped in salty butter? Only at the Iowa State Fair

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