This Decadent Chocolate-Dipped Dessert Has Sugary Roots In San Francisco

If you grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, chances are you've had an It's-It. These are likely a core memory for some of you, and for good reason. This most-coveted of all school-store treats consists of smooth ice cream placed between two oatmeal cookies, encased in a chocolate shell. It lends a nostalgic homemade ice cream sandwich feel, even though it's made in a factory in Burlingame, California, just south of San Francisco.

Although the OG is definitely the vanilla It's-It, they come in a variety of different flavors. The cappuccino It's-It makes you genuinely consider eating ice cream for breakfast, while chocolate puts you into cocoa overload. Many people say the mint chip is best, though. Seasonal varieties come out around holidays, and flavors like green tea or pumpkin let you walk on the wild side. The cookies, although a little crumbly, are soft enough to bite through without all the ice cream squishing out, and the chocolate shell helps keep drips at bay — at least, a little. These are big sandwiches, often feeling like a full meal, so you have to work fast before they get too melty. If you're worried about finishing a whole one, fear not! It's-It Minis are also an option.

If you've never heard of It's-It before, they're mostly a West Coast commodity from a company that doesn't spend on advertising. But the sandwiches have been around longer than you've been alive (unless you're 100 years old), with the It's-It origin story likely starting on a beach in San Francisco in the early 1900s, after a cow race. And, yes, you read that correctly.

The It's-It was one of the earliest popular ice cream sandwiches, taking the place of a less flavorful version that came decades before it. Original ice cream sandwiches were called "hokey pokeys," and featured a square of ice cream tucked into paper or wafers. It wasn't until 1928 that George Whitney brought cookies into the mix. He was the founder of Playland-at-the-Beach, a popular amusement park in San Francisco. Seeking a new confection, he put a scoop of vanilla ice cream between two freshly baked oatmeal cookies and dipped the whole thing in dark chocolate. He was supposedly so excited that he decreed, "This is IT!"

However, there's another fun take on where the name came from. Playland-at-the-Beach used to hold cow races, and one day, a noble beast with the name "It" won. When Whitney asked about the winner of the recent race, someone replied, "It's It." The wordplay tickled Whitney so much that he named his new ice cream sandwich after the cow. Wherever the name came from, it took off like crazy in the following decades.

By the time Playland-at-the-Beach closed in 1972, it had become clear that It's-It had staying power. New owners began producing the sandwiches on their own. At first manufactured out of a small shop in the SoMa district, production soon moved to a larger factory in 1976. It continued to thrive, and by 2011, over 14 million It's-Its were being sold annually. So, although it's one of those old-school ice cream treats that make people nostalgic, it's still a thriving California brand for young and old alike.

If you're wondering how to get your hands on one of these babies, there are a few ways to go about it. If you're a Bay Area local and miraculously haven't managed to try one, you can make a visit to the It's-It factory in Burlingame to change that. There, you can pop into the retail shop and buy It's-It merch as well as the brand's other ice cream products. You can even customize a mix-and-match case to try all the different flavors. If you don't want to make the trek, you can get local delivery at a five-case minimum, which is perfect for parties, school events, and office gatherings.

You can also buy It's-Its in many grocery stores, but there's a catch. You'll only find them in stores west of the Rocky Mountains, including retailers like Safeway, Target, and Walmart. You can also find them in smaller specialty markets along the West Coast, so check the It's-It website for a full list of distributors.

If you're still jonesing to try these frozen beauties on the East Coast, you're not out of luck. It's-It offers overnight delivery of online purchases anywhere in the contiguous United States; including a variety pack that lets you try a 42-sandwich assortment of seven different It's-It flavors for under $130, after shipping. Those of us who grew up loving this San Francisco original will be quick to tell you they're well worth the price.