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National Ice Cream Cone Day 2022: Get Free Cones from Baskin-Robbins and More Today

The first day of fall is here. It brought free ice cream with it.

Dan Avery Former Writer
Dan was a writer on CNET's How-To and Thought Leadership teams. His byline has appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek, NBC News, Architectural Digest and elsewhere. He is a crossword junkie and is interested in the intersection of tech and marginalized communities.
Expertise Personal finance, government and policy, consumer affairs
Dan Avery
2 min read
Man serving ice cream

Free ice cream is the perfect treat year-round. Change our minds.

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National Ice Cream Cone Day is today, Sept. 22. It's also the first day of fall, but cold-dessert lovers shouldn't let that stand in their way -- the cooler weather just means your ice cream won't melt so fast.

Popular lore has it that the ice cream cone debuted at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, when Ernest Hamwi, a Syrian concessionaire, was selling zalabia, a Middle Eastern doughnut-like pastry. When an ice cream vendor nearby ran out of dishes, Hamwi rolled his dough into cones for his neighbor to serve the chilly treats in.

Whether that's true or not, Oregon dairyman Frederick Bruckman obtained a patent for a device that mass-produced flaky sugar cones in 1912. Bruckman eventually sold his business to Nabisco, which still makes Comet Cones today based on his recipe.
Below are confirmed deals for National Ice Cream Cone Day. Check back for more promotions.
Have an ice cream craving? Find out the best brands to order online and learn how to make ice cream in your food processor.

Baskin-Robbins

A Baskin-Robbins kids cone with ice cream in it

Baskin-Robbins is serving up free kids' cones through the end of September.

Baskin-Robbins

Through Sept. 30, the home of 31 flavors is offering a pair of deals: Get a free kids scoop with a minimum order of $15 by using the one-time coupon on the BR Mobile App.

If you've got a bigger appetite, Baskin-Robbins is also offering $2 off its Banana Royale -- two scoops, topped with banana slices, chopped almonds and your choice of wet toppings. 

Blue Bunny

Blue Bunny ice cream cone

Order $15 worth of goodies on DoorDash on Sept. 22 and add a Blue Bunny cone for free.

Blue Bunny

On National Ice Cream Day, you can get a free Blue Bunny cone through DoorDash with a minimum order of $15. (There's no code. The discount is automatically applied.)

Alas, Blue Bunny informs us that residents of California, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin can't participate "due to state dairy laws concerning free products."

We wish we were joking.

Van Leeuwen

Van Leeuwen waffle cone with ice cream in it, topped by chocolate sauce

On National Ice Cream Cone Day, upgrade your order for free with a Van Leeuwen waffle cone.

Van Leeuwen

On Sept. 22, all 33 Van Leeuwen locations are offering customers a free waffle cone with purchase when they ask for a "Cone Day Upgrade." 

Van Leeuwen has a variety of dairy and vegan ice creams, so grab a few scoops of your favorite or try limited-edition fall flavors like Classic Pumpkin Cheesecake and Vegan Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Pie.