Incorporate rainbow cookies in any dessert and it’s bound to be a hit, but Madison Kitchen Owner and Chef Nick Di Bona might have made every Italian cookie-lover’s dreams come true with his Rainbow Cookie Ice Cream. He turns the classic rainbow cookie (tri-color sponge-cake covered in dark chocolate) into ice cream by blending the cookies into his homemade base. He does not scrimp on the cookies either—he uses at least 15 to a pint and adds full pieces in at the end.
Di Bona’s fresh ingredients and homemade recipe—which he calls an Italian take on American ice cream—left his Madison Kitchen customers asking for pints to go. The customer is always right, so Di Bona created Bona Bona Ice Cream, which he now sells at his restaurant and at the Larchmont Farmers’ Market every Saturday morning. Since the launch of Bona Bona just two months ago, Di Bona has been churning out so much of the locally sourced sweet stuff that he had to invest in a new ice cream machine.
The Yorktown Heights native first started making ice cream when he was the executive chef at Peter Pratt’s Inn in his hometown. It took a year to perfect the recipe and for the last six years he’s served the ice cream as dessert to savvy diners (those who know always save room for it).
While the rainbow cookie is a customer favorite, many farmers’ market visitors know that the real secret weapon is Di Bona’s super fresh ingredients. The mint in his Backyard Mint Chip is straight out of his Madison Kitchen garden, the blackberry is made with syrup drawn from handpicked blackberries and the PB&J’s peanut butter is homemade. If an ingredient does not come from his backyard, then it is locally sourced.
Di Bona’s favorite right now? Super Dark Chocolate Sorbet, but he had a hard time choosing that over rainbow or coffee.
Other flavors you’ll find at the market or on the menu: Oreo Italian Cheesecake, Valrhona Chocolate, Nutella S’mores, Butternutscotch, Banana Walnut, Sorbet, and Strawberry Sorbet.
All flavors are gluten-free and egg-free.