We’ll update this list with known or remembered flavors of Guernsey Cow ice cream. Please post your favorites in the comments for this page!
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Butter Brickle
Rocky Road
Strawberry Cheesecake
Pinto Pony
Blue Moon
Black Raspberry
Butterscotch Ripple
Vanilla Fudge
The Guernsey Cow, Exton, Pennsylvania
Famous Cream Caramels and Ice Cream from the World's Largest Guernsey Cow
The Guernsey Cow, Exton, Pennsylvania 
Having been the Ice Cream Maker at the cow for over 25 years I can add to the list of flavors. At one time I did sit down and try to count all the concoctions that were produced. Most of the ideas for flavors came from other people. Every time I introduced a new flavor, some customer would say, “why don’t you make this or make that. The list of over 400 flavors from “A” to “Z” will follow: just teasing!!! I remember the A in Apple Strudel and the Z to Zag Nut and every thing in between. Lots of other stories to follow about flavors.
It’s great that we can all get together at the Cow once again. I’m brother to webmaster Sean, great nephew to my Uncle Pep (a.k.a. Joe Puliti), and grandson of Ilario and Gladys Polite. I started as a dishwasher and busboy and worked my way up to ice cream dipper.
Flavors that bring back memories:
Butter Pecan
Swiss Chocolate
Mint Chocolate Chip
French Vanilla
Brandy Peach
I wasn’t a big fan of Brandy Peach but it reminds me of a regular customer whose name eludes me some 30 years later. This gentleman came in every week to get a hand-packed pint of Brandy Peach. The Cow always had a freezer full of assorted gallons and pints but some customers always wanted a hand-packed container to go even if their flavor was already packaged. I’m not sure why they felt that way. Maybe they thought the hand-packed gave them more, or was fresher, or maybe they just liked to watch the dipper get a workout pint packing. Our Peach Brandy man also stands out because he had had a laryngectomy. When this man placed his order he did so by burping out his words which made an impression on Your Humble Narrator that lasts to this day.
How about Licorice, this flavor was introduced when the front parking lot was resurfaced. The product was very black and flavored with anise. I can remember when kids would order it and decorate their faces with a mustache, side burns etc. Another flavor that was introduced when we put a man on the moon, was Moon Dust. It was a gray product with a malt flavor. Roquefort cheese ice cream was made just once and discontinued by popular demand, mushroom ice cream suffered the same fate.
I am the daughter of Joe Puliti aka Pep Polite, and neice of Larry and Gladys Polite. I worked every summer for many years as my dad’s assistant ice cream maker and a waitress. My job was to make all those containers and stamp the names of each flavor on the lids. I also was the taste tester of many of the flavors but may favorite was always Chocolate Chip. My dad always said that Vanilla was the #1 seller and that was the flavor we always started to make first. I now live at the Jersey Shore but I still run into people that fondly remember “The Cow” and the flavors they liked best!
Grape Nut…wasn’t a big seller, but it was one of my favorites. The hard as rock breakfast cereal would soften in the vanilla based ice cream and give it a nutty texture. Also a Hot Fudge Sundae made with Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream was a heavenly treat after being up to my elbows in the 3-gallon ice cream cans all day long on a hot summer Sunday afternoon. Peppy’s famous gratuitous phrases for pushy customers were “Help your fat” and “Maximillian” (for Thanks a million) Which were spoken so quickly as to be partially unintelligible.
I was always crazy for butter brickle. I’m not exactly sure what the “brickle” part was but I think it must have been hardened butterscotch chips. I was also assistant ice cream maker for quite a few years in addition to my other duties as bus boy, dishwasher, counter boy, and cook. I did pretty good imitations of Elmer, Vince and Willy which always got a laugh out of Peppy. I thought the moon dust flavor was great – I probably consumed a large portion of that run.
Butter Brickle was a very popular flavor and it was a by product of the Heath Candy Co. They made a candy called The Heath Bar and when the bar went through the wrapping machine, bits and pieces of the candy fell on the floor. Somebody came up with the idea of saving and packing these pieces and try to find a market for this product. Fortunately some salesman at Heath Company got the idea of selling these pieces to the ice cream industry. The Butter Brickle name was adopted and the rest is history.
Ranger Joe Ice Cream
Ranger Joe was a breakfast cereal long time ago. One Sunday a father and his small son were lined up to be waited on and as the little boy was tugging on his dad’s sleeve. He kept asking his dad to ask if we had Ranger Joe ice cream. The little boy kept repeating his request from his father. Naturally the father became annoyed and when they were next in line the father reluctantly asked the dipper if we had Ranger Joe. Naturally we didn’t at the time. The father hit the little boy over the head and screamed at him and said “I told you so” Needless to say, the next time I made Ice Cream, I made a batch of Ranger Joe hoping the father and son would return.
That’s a neat story, Pep. Here’s a link to some information on Ranger Joe cereal that apparently started in nearby Chester, PA.
January 4, 2008
Ice Cream Flavors containing Alcohol: Rum Raisin, Egg Nog, Grass Hopper and Turkish Coffee and each has a story.
The number one selling alcoholic flavored ice cream was Rum Raisin. It was very popular with senior citizens. I normally made this ice cream with raisins soaked in a sugar solution with artificial rum flavoring and a little yellow coloring. At Christmas Time I altered the formula, soaking dry raisins in 150 proof Bacardi rum over night and using this concoction to flavor the product. It was very potent to say the least. Fortunately children never order rum raisin ice cream. The one problem I had with this flavor was that the rum lowered the freezing point of the product and it was very soft, so it could only be served in dishes and not on cones. I did not tell anyone about my little secret, but my brother once said. “What the hell are you doing back there with all that booze?” Must say we had a lot of happy customers at Christmas time.
My son August just asked if they had any “normal” flavors at The Guernsey Cow. I assured him that they did. The fresh fruit flavors in the summer were pretty amazing in retrospect. I remember baskets of fresh strawberries, peaches and cherries from local orchards. Now this would be considered artisan / gourmet cuisine and retail for outrageous prices.
Other specialty flavors that were fun to make, although time consuming were the “swirls”…butterscotch and fudge. It was quite an ingenious machine where you put vanilla ice cream in an outer vessel and the swirl ingredients in an inner vessel. By turning a hank crank out came the combined ingredients in the classic swirl pattern. All you had to do then was disassemble the 200 piece stainless steel contraption and hose it down with 2000 degree water.
I grew up in Havertown, and during the late 60’s/early 70’s, we would go to French Creek for picnics. The day wasn’t complete without a stop at the Cow. One of my earliest memories of the Cow was the billboard with the blinking eye across from the resturant. My absolute favorite ice cream flavor was licorice. I have never been able to find it anywhere else.
I am sister of Sean, our host, and grandaughter of Ilario and Gladys Polite. My favorite flavors were mint chocolate chip (in all its green glory), mocha chip, and a chocolate/orange sherbet combo. Mocha chip was amazing, and I often enjoyed a wee nip of it when I worked the breakfast shift.
As a child I enjoyed the opportunity to get a peek at the master, Uncle Pep, at work back in the ice cream room. His white outfit would bear witness to the varieties of ice cream that he had created that day.
Our grandfather would make regular visits to our home in the evenings bringing new half gallons of ice cream. We always had an envious selection of ice cream in our freezer at home, and we consumed a lot of it.
thanks, Erin!
You mint chocolate chip lovers might like your morning coffee in one of these.
Hi, I am trying to find a company that make Licorice flavored ice cream. Please let me know if you can shipped it to me. Thank you for your help. Looking forward to hearing from you. Katherie
We don’t make or sell ice cream here…just memories. You could try making your own based on these recipes: http://www.licorice.org/Food/Recipes/Deserts/Ice_Cream/ice_cream.htm
How come there was never a flavor named after Willie?
hey this is one of my favorite memories…i got married in 1966 and moved to westchester pa…i don’t know how we discovered the gurnsey cow…but we went there all the time…and later my parents would travel all the way from phila to the cow to re-supply my fix…
when i was prgenant with my first daughter i would go to the dr get weighed and go to the cow..a reward for getting weighed i suppose…my favorite was peanut butter ice cream…my hus liked blueberry…but we watched others eat black licorice…bus loads of ppl would come to this site…from where i haven’t a clue…why doesn’t a relative start this back up again…you already have an audience that will travel anywhere for this special ice cream…keep the name…
another patron sent me this web site..we met in a chat room!!!
That’s a great story, Trudie. Thanks for stopping by. I’ll stick to making ice cream at home for now!
Peanut Butter Fudge was my favorite as a kid! I remember it fondly more than 50 years later.
I may have mentioned this before, but why don’t you list the peanut butter fudge, which was the best you ever made? My daddy didn’t even have to ask me what I wanted, he just knew.
Do you ever serve shoofly pie with the ice cream you make? Or does anyone at the Guersney Cow make shoofly pie?
My first job was as a waitress at the Guernsey Cow. I’d drive to work in my yellow Pinto after school at Henderson High in the early ’70’s. My favorite was German Chocolate Cake ice cream. I’d make it again in a minute if you’d pass on the recipe. Thanks for the memories. I loved working there!
I love the nostalgia of the exton/downingtown area as I am a native. I love researching the old places that used to be in the mall and the area. Remember the burer king on rt 100? How long did that lot sit vacant which is now main street at exton? The guernsey cow is just another example of something great that is no longer with us. someone should come out with a book on all the old place in exton. i don’t mean going back to the 50s but more 70’s-80’s. my generation is getting to that age where it is really nice to sit back and reflect on days gone by. im only 35 but boy do all those memories from childhood seem so long ago!!! i also remember chat and chew resturant and the roatiserie was also in that shopping center. does anyone also remember a place called the farmer in the dell? i believe it was off of rt 202.
The butterscotch ice cream was the best!!
Are you able to give out the recipe?
I remember the Guernsey Cow very well. My grandfather used to take me there and I continued to go there after his death in 1980 until its close. I remember that you could get a generous sized dip on a cone for only $.50 cents!!! Now a serving that size will easily cost around $3.00 – those were the good old days! My grandfather, grandmother, my mom and aunt used to live in Exton along Rte 30 around 1950. My mother attended Exton Elementary (which still exists). She contracted polio while there and was in the hospital for a long time. She was paralyzed and they never thought she would walk again, but with a lot of PT she came home. To strengthen her legs, the owner of the Exton Roller Rink (remember that??) would let her in before hours so that she could skate without worrying about being knocked down. She did so well, she ended up being a roller figure skater and entered competitions! (Thank you to the owner of Exton Roller Rink!) They lived somewhere near the old Exton Fire Co. that was located either where Office Max and TD Bank are or on the corner with the old Burger King behind it. Yes, Melissa – I remember the old Burger King. My husband lived at Indian Run (Horse Farm) in what is now Maggie Moos at Main Street at Exton (formerly the Foote Mineral Company, which my grandfather worked for and the Indian Run Farm). My grandfather patronized the Guernsey Cow from at least 1950 until his death in 1980. His name was Walter and his favorite flavors were Black Raspberry and coffee. Mine were, chocolate, chocolate marshmallow and mint chocolate chip, but I would sometimes also get Black Raspberry and coffee. Now my favorite ice cream flavor is Coffee Heath Bar Crunch (or should I say coffee butter brickle???) Thanks for all the fond memories and all the delicious ice cream!!!
Joanne – If I had the recipe to give, I would gladly give it! I’m sure there’s other butterscotch ice cream recipes out there on the internet.
Robin – thanks for the great stories!
I loved your ice cream. Why did you close? Do you ever make any? My favorite was chocolate chip. I live in NJ now and would love to reopen your place here.
Thanks for stopping by, Mary.
My grandfather sold his business to Horn & Hardart when he was ready to retire. Later the guys from the Happy Hoagie took it over.
The Black Licorice Ice Cream was my absolute favorite. It was black as pitch and I’ve never tasted anything better..and that is coming from a chocolate fan. It is impossible to find it anywhere else. Baskin Robbins, many years later, had a gray licorice ice cream for a very short while..and Coldstone had it once. None of them ever came close. If any of the original owners would ever part with this recipe, I’d be one very happy woman. If not, if there is any way to produce some, I would dedicate a significant portion of my freezer just to be able to taste it once more. 🙂
A trip to “The Cow” was the big family event, the Sunday drive, the road trip of my youth. It was great growing up in those times. NO ONE did it any better. Thank you for those memories.
Thanks, Susan! As far as I know, Black Licorice was made with a combination of road tar and sugar — at least that’s what it looked like! Glad you liked it so much.
I used to go to the Guernsey cow when I was little. You had a flavor called Manderin Orange. That was the best flavor I have ever tasted. Can you tell me if I can get that anywhere? I have never been able to find it again.
Thank You,
Lisa Tucker
I was searching for something when to my utter amazement the link to this website came up in the Google search results.
I couldn’t believe The Guernsey Cow actually had a website — albeit posthumously.
When I was 8-9 years old and in foster care with a local Exton family on Shoen Road, we would go to The Guernsey Cow every weekend for ice cream. It was always a huge treat.
My favorite flavor was Butter Brickle. The closest thing I’ve ever found to Butter Brickle is a flavor called butter crunch, which Dairy Queen used to have back in the day when they still sold ice cream (Dairy Queen stopped selling ice cream in the late 1970’s when they switched to ice milk.)
I remember one particular day when we walking out of The Guernsey Cow lickiing our ice cream cones on our way to the car and someone pulling into The Guernsey Cow almost hit us with their car. My foster father was so angry that he through his ice cream cone at the car that almost hit us and his cone splattered all over the rear window of the car. We kids, my foster brother and I, were laughing so hard and our foster father was plenty angry. It still makes me laugh now when I think about it. Gosh, in this day and age he’d be arrested and charged with terrorism for throwing an ice cream cone at a car that almost hit him.
It’s sad how times have changed.
thanks for sharing your memories, Lisa. Yes, Butter Brickle is a hard-to-find flavor and even harder to find it done right!
Lisa, I vaguely recall Mandarin Orange flavor and I think we’re left to specialty shops or making it on our own to try to get those flavors that have long gone by.
I grew up in West Goshen off of Boot Road in the 60’s and 70’s. One of my Dad’s golf buddies from Whitford was Larry Polite. We could never drive thru Exton without dropping into the Cow. My Father always would get 2 scoops on a sugar cone, that became a family tradition, Chocolate and Orange sherbet. We would often see neighbors in there! The Charlie Hauck family!
As a life-long resident of Exton, I too have fond memories of the Guernsey Cow. My grandparents would take my brothers and I there for ice cream every time they came to visit. For years I have wondered what the ingredients (underlying flavors) were in Blue Moon. Today’s Blue Moon is described as much sweeter than what I remember of the Cow’s, which 35 years later I recall as creamy, smooth, and almost like a banana flavor. Does anyone know?
And here I thought I was the only one in the world who not only loved the Butter Brickle, but has yet to find anything even close to being as good as one could find at The Cow. I have had it other places and without fail get my hopes up and without fail am disappointed.
By the way, my sister, Judy McVickar, who waittressed at the Cow for awhile would love to know what happened to some of the regulars, particularly Willie, if anyone has any info. I’ll make sure she sees this in case she wants to add any details or in case anyone posts an answer.
Hi Jamie, thanks for stopping by! Here’s a profile on Willie: https://theguernseycow.com/2008/01/30/profile-willie-minor/
I was a waitress at The Cow in the late 60s, so I was there for the Moon Dust ice cream–not one of my favorites. I remember once, when Pep forgot to put any flavoring in the ice cream, we sold it anyway as Purple Nothing. Even though we told customers that it had no flavor, they bought it anyway. That’s how good their ice cream was!
Lots of good memories working there. . .
Bubble gum…Dale and I were there the dad made it and were the official testers…i guess it was around 1974..my brother jim kendig was working there at the time
I remember loving blue moon but I don’t remember what it tasted like. Can you tell me what it was? I loved to go there when I was a little girl with my grandfather and my brothers and sisters. What great memories
Hi Leslie, thanks for comment! Yes, Blue Moon was unique — I’ve heard it described as similar to Kellog’s Froot Loops cereal, a sort of generic melded ‘fruit’ flavor. (I wasn’t a big fan myself)
I remember The Cow very well. We always used to stop when we were either on our way to Camp Indian Run (a Girl Scout camp that used to be in Glenmoore, PA) or on our way home (sometimes both). My mom was a leader & site director so during the summer we were there just about every weekend as well as several other times during the year. One time my dad drove us over 100 miles, from camping at Tobyhanna State Park to The Cow before heading home to Philadelphia, because camping and ice cream at the Cow were synonymous in our minds. I remember having a really hard time trying to decide which flavor to have as I looked up at the board. Once I was older and had boyfriends The Cow was always someplace I would share with them. We’d pack a picnic basket & head to French Creek for the day & then stop by The Cow on the way home.
I guess I was an unusual kid because I liked the Rum Raisin and ordered it often. Butter Brickle was another favorite. Black Raspberry, Blueberry, Lemon were common choices for me too. I was even one of those that ordered the Purple Nothing and then tried to figure out what it tasted like… lol. But the one that haunts my memories is the Gingerale ice cream. I’m in my 50’s now and don’t know if it’s my mind playing tricks on me or not, but I could have sworn that not only did it taste like gingerale, but when you licked it you could feel a fizzing sensation on your tongue. I’ve wondered for years how they did that… or was it just my imagination? My sister had the Pink Champagne flavor and said it fizzed too, but I never tried that one. Then again she also told me that you always changed the flavor in Blue Moon so we never really could tell anyone what it tasted like. She said sometimes it tasted fruity, sometimes like vanilla, sometimes banana-like, sometimes like honey or like the Purple Nothing (no flavor added). I remember my brother sticking his tongue out to show me what happed when you ate the Licorice.
All in all Mom, my 3 siblings and I (Dad has since passed away) when strolling down memory lane often end up at The Cow…
Thanks for all the memories!
Awesome memories, Alicia! I’ll check with Uncle Pep to see if there really was a fizz in those flavors!
Thank you… I can’t wait to hear back from you. If possible can you get a suggestion as to how I could make it at home? I tried using gingerale in the ice cream mix in the hand cranked ice cream maker we have, but it has no fizz and the flavor is very faint
Still waiting to hear back about the Gingerale ice cream…
I grew up in Paoli, and I remember my father loading us in the car and going to the Guernsey Cow. It seemed like it took hours to get there, but the ride was worth it! When I started driving T can remember begging my dad to let me borrow the car to go to the Cow for ice cream. I remember Wille, had a great time talking with him! Miss you Guernsey Cow!
It’s been 3 months… have you asked Uncle Pep about the gingerale ice cream? Was there fizz in it?
Alicia, Uncle Pep says: “I vaguely remember ginger ale and pink champagne and am sure these two, were discontinued by popular demand.”
His son, Kim, says “The fizz mentioned in the post may have come from Sweet Tarts. I remember Peppy experimenting with putting crushed up Sweet Tarts in certain flavors.”
That’s all the info we have — apologies for the fading memories!
My first Mint Chocolate Chip, about 1964- 65 – as a SS P and J student, good report cards got a trip to the ‘Cow’!
Just found your site and what fabulous memories “the Cow” brings back from my childhood. I grew up in Newtown Square and a trip to the cow was always an adventure. My parents would pile all 5 kids into the country squire wagon in our pjs and off we would go with feet hanging out the back window. The sounds and smells of summer streaming into the car. When we all piled out of the car and into the store, we all knew what flavor we wanted unless, of course, a new flavor was added. My favorite was blue moon. I ,like many others, can’t remember what it tasted like but agree with the fruity flavor.
I have shared my memories with my children and regret that they never got to experience this fabulous spot.
To all who like me who loved Butter Brickle I just found that Turkey Hill offers a special edition Butter Brickle. Finding it brought back a lot of Gurnsey Cow memories.
I attended Friends Community School in West Chester from 1970 to 1976. Every year they put on an “Operatta”. It was a huge deal with most kids participating in the show. Every year, after the show, the entire cast with families would go to the Gurnsey Cow for ice cream. One of my fondest memories. My favorite flavor was Blue Moon – it tasted like Trix cereal.
I remember Exton Mall very well. We would go there all the time with my mom and upon entering, my brother would hit the Time Out arcade. When we ran out of quarters, we would go to the play area outside the arcade and hide under the giant plastic seal statues. Anyone else remember those? I would have been between 7 and 10. We wouldn’t see my mom the whole time we were there until she was ready to go. Those were the day!
Back then, my recollection is that Rt 100 and Rt 30 were both two lane
Black Licorice, Blue Moon and Butter Brickle. Nothing like the black licorice anywhere else! Miss it.
I remember my grandmother would always get coffee ice cream. My favorite was banana split, although I went through a long orange-pineapple period. ha
My dad was a good friend of Joe’s back in the ’60s. Probably due to their shared dealings in garage door operators. And for some reason my father took to calling him “Joe Bananas”. Which might have been connected to one of his zany ice cream flavors…or more probably to the fact that he was literally bananas…in a good way of course. Who else would concoct an ice cream flavor called Jelly Bean? Remember…this was in the day where simply adding the word “French” before the word Vanilla…would make it sound positively exotic. So anyway…the real reason I’m writing this is to tell you how one trip to the Polite household changed my life. Because there in the Polite basement…was a recliner. And there was a man in the recliner who my dad called Joe Bananas. And Joe Bananas had something strange on his head. “These are called headphones” he told us…”for listening to music…do you want to try?” Needless to say…I did. And I’m pretty sure that on the car ride home…I must have uttered the same phrase a thousand times. “Dad…Headphones! Dad…Headphones!” And even now…as I write this…at the age of 61…I’m wearing a pair on my head…and dreaming of the days of impossibly giant cows…and jelly beans…and crazy, passionate bananas.
Wow, just happened upon your site! I remember the good ole days at The Cow throughout the 60’s. Dad (Cam) & I always got the Butter Brickle, & mon (Pat) would get your pistachio. I do remember the butter cremes but sadly, don’t remember eating them. Don’t remember what Leigh & Jon would get but we all left happy! & you just couldn’t get a hand-packed half gallon like yours. Remember Elmer being a very funny guy, caddying for Larry’s group at Whitford CC, & of course Willie. We lived in Meadowbrook Manor during the early 60’s but moved out into the country in East Brandywine TS in the latter 60’s making the trip a bit far for us kids. The Guernsey Cow will always remain in our memories!
i remember blue moon as kid growing up in exton, later on i liked mint choc chip just like my favorite red head…
Was telling my husband about my favorite ice cream in the world – as we drive south from NH though PA – black raspberry from The Guernsey Cow. It was my birthday treat from age 2 until we moved away in ‘81. Finding your site made me smile. Thank you for making it and letting me find out what happened to this wonderful place!