Confectioner said to have co-created Rocky Road ice cream

EDY

This ice cream pioneer's last name is shared with a famous 19th-century French chemist, and his company later merged with Breyers.

This clue refers to William Dreyer, one of the founders of Dreyer's ice cream, whose nickname was "Edy." The name "Edy" is often used in crosswords as shorthand for Dreyer, who—along with candy maker Joseph Edy—is credited with inventing Rocky Road ice cream in 1929. The clue plays on the lesser-known "Edy" reference rather than the full last name, which is a common crossword trick for saving space. If you’ve seen "Dreyer" in other puzzles, this is just a shorter way to point to the same person.