An Old-Fashioned Treat – Coke Floats
Coke Floats are an old-fashioned summertime treat made with Coca-Cola and vanilla ice cream. Serve with a straw and a long handled spoon.
Wow. What a full-of-fun, fast-paced two weeks we’ve had. Our two precious grandchildren are packing up to go home today after two weeks with us. And, wow, did those two weeks fly by!
Most of the past two weeks were spent exploring the northern part of the state of Arizona, including the Grand Canyon. It was a tremendous experience for all of us and I’ll be sharing a post on that trip soon. But after flying back and forth, and walking miles each day, this Nana is worn out. Even so, I’d do it all over again in a minute. Nothing like grandkids.
One of the things that I think the kids truly find entertaining, other than sightseeing around huge canyons and meteor craters, of course, is when BeeBop and I talk about the “old days.” You know – when we were kids – before cell phones and computers.
And since we both grew up in very small southern towns, our old days talk can be somewhat quaint. One day I was talking about things my sisters and I did during summer vacation when we were children.
Our vacations involved some work in the garden and preserving vegetables, etc., but we had loads of fun, too. And almost every day in the late afternoon we had a little snack. A real southern treat. Coke with salted peanuts.
I realize that many of you have never heard of this peculiar southern treat. But those folks around my age who grew up anywhere in rural south Georgia will know exactly how to do this.
Take an 8 ounce Coca-Cola in the bottle. It has to be a bottle. No cans. Drink a few swallows so that there’s some room in the bottle.
Now pour in a small package of salted peanuts. No more than an ounce. Drink the Coke and munch the peanuts. It’s a sweet and salty treat that I still enjoy, being the country girl that I am and all.
So while talking about Coke and peanuts, I found out that my grandchildren have never had Coke in the 8 ounce bottles. What! I knew I had to remedy that right away so I went straight to the store and picked up a six-pack.
Of course, it was more of a novelty than anything else, but they so enjoyed those little bottles of Coca-Cola. And at the end of the week there was one little bottle left. Hard to split that between two, so I came up with another childhood favorite for them to try – Coke Floats! According to them, they’d never enjoyed this particular treat either but were willing since it involved ice cream.
How to Make Coke Floats
As simple as pie – just scoop some vanilla ice cream into a glass, pour over the Coke and enjoy! I added a little whipped cream and a cherry just for good measure.
After these last two weeks talking about our childhoods, BeeBop and I are now officially dinosaurs :-)
More Beverage Recipes on Lana’s Cooking:
- Watermelon Cherry Limeade
- Strawberry Lemon Limeade
- A Summer Refresher – Infused Water (Agua Fresca)
- Southern Sweet Tea
Have you tried this recipe? I’d really appreciate you giving it a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card or in the comments section.
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Classic Coke Float
Ingredients
For each serving use:
- 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
- 4 ounces Coca-Cola
- Whipped Cream
- Cherry
Instructions
- Scoop the ice cream into tall glasses.
- Slowly pour over the Coca-Cola.
- Top with whipped cream and a cherry.
Notes
- Serve the float with a small plate underneath to catch any drips.
- Chill the glass and the soda. Place the glass in the freezer for up to a half hour before making your float and use cold soda. This will keep all the ingredients nice and cold and slow the melting!
- Pour the soda slowly to create less foam.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
More Recipes for Floats …
- 9 Ice-Cold Summer Floats from Bon Appetit
- 11 Ice Cream Float Recipes from Taste of Home
- Shakes and Floats Recipes from AllRecipes
Such a great post, my kids gonna love this <3
I love this old-fashioned treat and it’s seriously been soooo long since I’ve had Coke, too. This hot weather definitely calls for a Coke float!
Thank you, as always!! I knew something was missing from the July 4th menu. I’m going to stick a little paper flag in the cherry.
Have to try these. Jayden is gonna love them. Cola is a rare treat for him :)
I never actually made floats… such a terrible gap in my culinary education. Now that I found your recipe I can finally fill it :-). These floats look absolutely delicious!
I found this post though Pinterest. The photo was so beautiful that I just had to come here to read the recipe! And I am so glad I stopped by – love your site!
I would like to invite you to share your recipes on a new photo based recipe sharing site that launched in May. The idea is simple: all photographs are published within minutes of submission. And, of course, the images link back to the author’s site. It’s called RecipeNewZ (with Z) – http://recipenewz.com
Hundreds of bloggers have already joined. I hope you too get a chance to visit and try it out. It would be a pleasure to have you on board :-)
Yay, so much fun!! I want one. :)
Do I recall that Mama frowned upon us when we put peanuts in our co-cola’s? That it was somehow not exactly ladylike? Hummmmm….
Side note – I was always of the impression that the Coca Cola bottlers used the same amount of syrup in the 6 ounce bottles as the 10 ounce bottles. Thus, the smaller bottles had more of a jolt and were preferred. Wonder if there is any truth to that.
Looks like ya’ll had a great time.
Miss P
I’ve only had root beer floats… these coke floats look amazing.
Co-cola and peanuts was one of my favorite treats, and I still enjoy it when I can! Thanks for sharing this!
Great photos and great recipe – my girls are going to love these!
Mary x
I hope they enjoy them!
What fun to read your post today, especially since I’ve just enjoyed a week with my grandson and felt the love! Absolutely had many a Coke with peanuts….I will remember to do this and the Coke floats with him next time. We talked about the old TV but I was able to share the time BEFORE my family ha TV and we small children would peek in the neighbors’ window to see it! I appreciate the day brightener, thank you!
That’s so funny, Eileen! We always had television, but there were only three channels :-)
It sounds like you had such a wonderful visit with your grandchildren. My kids are always enthralled with stories about the “old days”, too. They still have a hard time comprehending what black & white TV was all about. These coke floats are such a fun treat.
Ha! Mine don’t have any idea what a rotary dial phone is!
So glad to hear you had a great time with the grandkids. I think having one of these would make me feel like a grandkid…so I think it’s a must don’t you Lana? :)
Definitely a must, Barbara. What’s life if you can’t indulge in a treat once in a while, right?
Oh my goodness!! My one son would love the Coke and peanuts – definitely going to have to “surprise” him with that one! I haven’t made Coke floats for them in ages so I guess I am gonna have to do that too :-)!
Sounds like you had a fabulous two weeks!!
Nancy, we did have a fabulous time with them.
Can’t wait to hear your son’s reaction to the Coke and peanuts. That’s a real oldie and one that little southern country girls (and boys) know very well.