There’s a lot of fudge on Mackinac Island. Each day during the summer downtown fudge shops make 10,000 pounds of it!
But it’s hardly the only sweet treat on Mackinac Island. Just as each restaurant on the island is unique, so does each one offer unique desserts to supplement your steady diet of world-famous Mackinac Island fudge.
And in many cases, those desserts are just what the doctor ordered on a hot summer day. Whether you like to cool off with an old-fashioned root beer float, a fudge martini or something you’ve never tried before, Mackinac Island has all kinds of ice-cold treats that are especially refreshing this time of year.
Here are a few island faves:
- The iconic Grand Pecan Balls are a staple at Grand Hotel, which has been making the dessert since the 1940s and serves up more than 70,000 of them each year. The recipe for the simple treats calls for just three basic ingredients: vanilla ice cream, toasted pecan pieces and fudge sauce (there’s that fudge again!).
- Sanders Candy dates back nearly 150 years and for much of that history the confectionary has been identified with its famous Hot Fudge Cream Puff (again, fudge!). This treat is a pastry shell filled with ice cream and lathered in Sanders’ classic milk chocolate hot fudge topping.
- The Cudahy Chophouse at The Inn at Stonecliffe serves meaty dinner fare including walleye, ribeye and lamb chops. So, it’s no wonder the restaurant’s signature dessert has it where it counts. The Popcorn Ball features peanut butter ice cream coated with caramel corn from JoAnn’s Fudge and seated in chocolate ganache. It is a Mackinac Island delicacy not to be missed.
- There’s no ice cream in the Chocolate Bread Pudding at Yankee Rebel Tavern. Instead, the Taste of Mackinac award-winning dessert features imported Belgian chocolate married with French bread and topped with Gran Marnier Crème Anglaise. Translation: Delicious!
- Let’s not forget frozen cocktails. One of the most well-known is served in “The Most Iconic Bar in Michigan.” The Pink Pony’s Rum Runner is made with a blend of light and dark rums, liqueurs and tropical juices and topped off with a spiced or coconut rum floater.
- For all the fancy Mackinac Island desserts you have to try at least once, there’s also plenty of good old-fashioned ice cream on the island. Let’s face it, sometimes simple is best. Just take two scoops in a cone and watch the world go by. Cool and refreshing!
At Sadie’s Ice Cream Parlor you can find 24 flavors of Hudsonville Ice Cream including the new Brownie Batter Cookie Dough. The island shop named after a Scottie who won “Best in Show” at the 2010 Westminster Dog Show in New York also features a Grand Sundae in a dog bone-shaped bowl, and you can get mini Grand Pecan Balls here, too.
At the 1852 Grill Room you can find a nice selection of gourmet desserts along with Guernsey Farms Dairy™ Premium Ice Cream flavors including, of course, Mackinac Island Fudge.
It’s summertime and it’s hot! Come cool off with a Mackinac Island treat!
