I tried ice-cream bars from Costco, Whole Foods, and Wegmans. The winner had an extra ingredient that gave it an edge.

At $6 for a package of three, Whole Foods’ ice-cream bars were by far the most expensive of the three brands I tried. They were also the only organic ice-cream bars.

Notably, the packaging on Wegmans’ and Costco’s ice-cream bars advertised desserts with a “chocolate-flavored coating,” but the 365 box said its dessert was “dipped in organic chocolate.”

These bars were shorter and thicker than Wegmans’ version, and the chocolate was a shade lighter. But at $2 per 3-ounce bar, these were much more expensive than Wegmans’ option.

I was a bit surprised that an 18-pack of the Kirkland Signature ice-cream bars, priced at $10, cost more per bar than the ones from Wegmans — these were about $0.56 per bar. But to be fair, the Kirkland Signature bars were 3.1 ounces, and Wegmans’ were only 3 ounces each.

The Kirkland Signature bars also seemed more substantial than the versions from other brands. The chocolate-flavored coating looked thickest of the three, and these bars were the only ones I tried that came with almonds — my Costco didn’t sell plain chocolate-coated bars.

Unfortunately, the almonds turned off my 4-year-old entirely. My 6-year-old gave the Kirkland Signature bars an enthusiastic thumbs-up when he tried them, but ranked them last because he didn’t like the almonds. 

But for my wife and me, these were the clear winners. The almonds added an extra crunch to the chocolate-flavored coating. However, these bars would’ve been the winner even without almonds. 

The chocolate tasted milkier than the others, closer to candy-bar quality, and didn’t crumble after a few bites. The ice cream was flavorful and wasn’t heavy or icy.

My 4-year-old will probably love them once she’s willing to try them, so I’ve made space for them in my freezer.