While I love all things fall, I am not amongst the crowd that mainlines PSL by day and does lines of pumpkin spice out of a hollowed out Jack-o’-lantern by night. That said, I do consider pumpkin pie itself to be a pillar of the season.
Dairy Queen seems to agree as the Pumpkin Pie Blizzard rises from the most sincere DQ pumpkin patch around this time every year. Having enjoyed this Blizzard in the past did not diminish my delight at the sight of a spice covered mountain of whipped cream thrusting far above the confines of its container.
This isn’t merely the subconscious overcompensation of the Blizzardista though, as a spoonful of the plentiful whipped cream, pie filling, and crust is integral to capturing the flavor of the genuine article.
The first bite immediately and boldly declares that this is pumpkin pie ice cream. It’s not as deep or as true to the flavor as I find in the likes of Talenti’s Pumpkin Pie Gelato for example, but that is comparing apples to pumpkins and this Blizzard more than captures the essence of its namesake. The only trick this treat plays is leaving the cinnamon notes more ghostly than corporeal, especially when the crust comes into play.
I don’t know what dark pact DQ made to prevent the pie crust pieces from becoming soggy, but it was worth every drop of blood. While lacking a tad in flavor, they remain uniformly crunchy and plentiful from the first bite to the last and add a needed textural contrast.
Despite not being my favorite Blizzard, I find myself looking forward to Dairy Queen’s take on pumpkin pie as a herald of fall while the weather still warrants a frozen dessert. If your homemade recipe is more haunted house prop than delicious seasonal staple, the Pumpkin Pie Blizzard is a worthy dairy-based alternative.
Purchased Price: $0.99* (regular $2.89)
Size: Mini
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (Mini) 360 calories, 120 calories from fat, 14 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 52 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 41 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein.
*I only paid $0.99 for mine due to DQ’s BOGO of equal or lesser value for $0.99 deal.
This is one of their absolute best Blizzards, by a long shot. 10 out of 10. There’s actually synergy between the ingredients and some semblance of a theme, unlike the vast majority of other Blizzards which are just random stuff thrown together and far less than the sum of their parts.
Agreed with regards to DQ capturing the overall pumpkin pie experience just not a perfect dessert for my taste buds.
Its one of THE nastiest things I’ve ever tasted. What I assume was supposed to pass as crust in it tastes like cardboard. Nothing in this blizzard tastes like or bears any resemblance to pumpkin or whipped cream, and what they make certainly doesn’t resemble the pix shown here.
Thanks to DQ & this sham of a “treat”, I will never even try another anything with pumpkin in it. I’ll stick with real pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream rather than gag this thing down. I’m glad we bought the smallest size so we didn’t waste more money!
They ruined the Pumpkin Pie blizzard a few years ago when they started putting in some kind of weird tasting cookie bits and artificial pumpkin flavoring. When these first came out they had real pumpkin pie and pie crust and they were sooo good. Now, I won’t waste my money on them.