Category: Reviews

REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Rockin’ Blondies Ice Cream

Kelley 5 Comments

Ben & Jerry's Rockin' Blondies Ice Cream

Rockin’ Blondies…I can think of a few. One rather iconic one in particular.

I’m talking about the Ben & Jerry’s cow, of course. She is rockin’ out on this carton of Ben & Jerry’s Rockin’ Blondies Ice Cream. Those amps are totally turned up to 11. She is ready to rock anytime, anyplace, anywhere, anyday.

Okay, so she’s not exactly a towhead, but this ice cream is blonde through and through. The carton describes it as “Buttery Brown Sugar Ice Cream with Blonde Brownies and Butterscotch Toffee Flakes.”

In case you’re not familiar with blonde brownies, they have a flavor profile that is rich with brown sugar, butterscotch, and a hint of vanilla. The buttery flavor is a counterpart to their chocolate brownie brethren, and this ice cream promises to embody that through and through.

We shall see how B&J delivers that. One way or another, I’m gonna eat it eat it eat it eat it.

With so much going on in Rockin’ Blondies, I was afraid that it might be too rich. I was happy to find that this was not the case. The ice cream base was a lovely buttery cream, but unfortunately the taste of brown sugar was almost nonexistent.

I actually appreciated the subtlety of the brown sugar in the ice cream, because there was so much more going on.

I was not disappointed by the butterscotch toffee flakes, although I’d call them “chunks” more than “flakes”. They added a great crunch to the mix, and the rich sweetness of the butterscotch and the buttery toffee worked great together. I could taste both of the flavors distinctly, but they also made a great team.

I’m starting to think they should have called this “Rockin’ Butters” instead, because I keep wanting to describe everything as “buttery”. I feel like this may have been a missed South Park promo opportunity.

Ben & Jerry's Rockin' Blondies Ice Cream Closeup

The part of Rockin’ Blondies I was looking forward to the most was the blonde brownies. I don’t know if it was just my carton or what, but the ratio of butterscotch toffee flakes to blonde brownies was about 5 to 1. You could say the brownies gave me the slip.

When I did get a good chunk of brownie, I loved it. They had a great chewy consistency and delivered that distinctive brown sugar and butterscotch taste with a hint of vanilla. They worked great with the ice cream and were a delight. And I got maybe four chunks of them, total.

This is where I would insert a frowny-face emoticon, if I were to do such things.

It’s hard to pin down a score on Ben & Jerry’s Rockin’ Blondies Ice Cream. On the one hand, some key components, like the brown sugar in the ice cream and the blonde brownies, were too sparse.

On the other hand, the buttery ice cream was excellent, as were the butterscotch toffee flakes, and I did love the few pieces of blonde brownies I got. It was sweet without being too rich. I finished the whole pint in quite a short amount of time. Iu just felt like Ben & Jerry’s was teasing me like an over-bleached hairdo on an 80’s rock band singer.

(Nutrition Facts – 1/2 cup – 250 calories, 140 calories from fat, 15 grams of total fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 75 milligrams of cholesterol, 85 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 23 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein, 10% vitamin A, and 10% calcium.)

Other Ben & Jerry’s Rockin’ Blondies reviews:
On Second Scoop

Item: Ben & Jerry’s Rockin’ Blondies Ice Cream
Purchased Price: $3.00
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Target (Exclusive)
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Butterscotch Toffee Flakes had rich flavor and were plentiful. Utilizing my knowledge of rocker chick lyrics. Ice cream base was buttery and just the right amount of sweet. Seeing the B&J’s cow rock out. Blonde brownies I did get were spot-on.
Cons: Not nearly enough blonde brownies. Having the urge to use an emoticon in a review. Brown sugar in the ice cream was barely there. 45 percent of your daily saturated fat per serving.

QUICK REVIEW: Lindt Hello My Name is Cookies & Cream Bar

Marvo

Lindt Hello My Name is Cookies & Cream

Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 3.5 oz.
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: It did make my tummy yummy. Smooth and sweet milk chocolate. Almost makes me forget about my beloved, but discontinued Cookies & Cream Twix. Big bar. Stuffed with cookies and cream filling. Small cookie bits give the bar light, but satisfying crunch. Uses “cream” instead of “creme” in its name.
Cons: Fifty percent of your daily recommended saturated fat in one serving (4 pieces). So good that it makes me want to eat more than one serving in one sitting. Sweet cream filling might make the bar cloying for some. Cookie bits aren’t really noticeable in terms of flavor; they get lost in the milk chocolate.

Lindt Hello My Name is Cookies & Cream Closeup

Nutrition Facts: 4 pieces – 220 calories, 130 calories from fat, 15 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 20 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Donuts Pumpkin Pie Donut

Adam 31 Comments

Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin Pie Donut

If I were to brainstorm the myriad amount of ways in which an autumnal delicacy like pumpkin pie could be improved upon, I’m fairly certain deep-frying it would be at the top of the list.

Luckily, Dunkin’ Donuts is saving me from the prospect of attempting such an endeavor in the privacy, but not-completely-covered-by-insurance confines, of my own kitchen by introducing a new Pumpkin Pie Donut as part of their seasonal fall menu. Unlike the classic pumpkin cake donuts, which every grocery store in America features this time of year, the new Pumpkin Pie Donut features a “pumpkin pie flavored, buttercreme-filled yeast shell” that’s topped with white icing and graham cracker crumbles. And because it’s a donut, it is of course caressed by the loving embrace of hot fryer oil.

I tend to appreciate the aesthetic beauty of Dunkin’ Donuts products, although I’ve often found their donuts to be on the small side. This donut is no exception, although I suppose my arteries would appreciate not being subjected to an actual fried pumpkin pie, and instead getting off for a more “modest” 380 calorie donut. In any event, an initial bite of the edges of the donut leaves a lot to be desired; namely in the whole pumpkin pie department.

Perhaps my donut had the unfortunate luck of sitting around in the store for too long, or perhaps I tend to hold my yeast-raised donuts to higher than mass-produced standards, but the plain shell lacked the airy spring of a really good yeast donut, and tasted only of that characteristic dough and nutmeg aftertaste that’s present in most of Dunkin’s donuts.

But who are we kidding? Obviously there’s no reason just to nibble around the yeast shell, no more so than there’s reason to just nibble on the crust of an actual pumpkin pie. We bite into donuts and pies, and what’s the first thing most of us chomp through when it comes to actual pumpkin pie? The whipped cream, of course.

Dunkin’s white icing might share a similar color with the traditional and sweet accouterment to pie, but that’s about all they share. Cloyingly sweet and unnaturally hardened, the icing might work on a sugar cookie, but here the glycerol flavor overpowers and clashes with the doughy interior and buttercreme filling. The graham cracker crumbs were thankfully crunchy and plentiful, but they lacked a distinct cinnamon flavor and instead tasted too much like a boring old frozen pie crust.

Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin Pie Donut Inside

The only authentic pumpkin flavor comes from the buttercreme filling. While it’s filled with plenty of questionable ingredients that might not make their way into a traditional buttercream (nothing says homemade like Yellow 5 and Guar Gum!), the faux buttercreme has a delightful pumpkin flavor complete with all those sweet warming spices like cinnamon and ginger. The only problem is that the texture, which dissolves on the tongue like the way Cool Whip would do, is unfulfilling. Speaking of filling or lack thereof, my completely trigonometric challenged eyes estimated the creme only took up about a third of the volume within the shell. That’s like a pie that’s two-thirds crust and only a third filling!

Dunkin’ Donuts had a real opportunity to add to their pumpkin-flavored product line with this donut, but they screwed it up. Maybe they didn’t screw it up as bad as me trying to create a fried pumpkin pie by dropping a frozen Marie Callender’s pie into a Dutch oven of boiling shortening, but definitely to the point of making a donut not worth buying again.

(Nutrition Facts – 380 calories, 180 calories from fat, 20 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat*, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 380 milligrams of sodium, 0 milligrams of potassium, 46 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 24 grams of sugars, and 4 grams of protein.)

*Made with partially hydrogenated oil.

Item: Dunkin’ Donuts Pumpkin Pie Donut
Purchased Price: $1.00
Size: N/A
Purchased at: Dunkin’ Donuts
Rating: 4 out of 10
Pros: Aesthetically pleasing. Authentic pumpkin flavor in the “buttercreme.” Only a dollar. Not having to attempt to fry a frozen pumpkin pie and burn my home down.
Cons: Cloying white icing that tastes like some chemical I can’t pronounce. Dense and tasteless shell. Graham cracker crumbles lack cinnamon flavor. Poor interior coverage of buttercreme filling. Attempting to apply mathematical concepts to donut fillings.

QUICK REVIEW: Nabisco Limited Edition Caramelized Onion Ritz Crackers

Marvo 3 Comments

Nabisco Limited Edition Caramelized Onion Ritz Crackers

Purchased Price: $3.00 (on sale)
Size: 13.7 oz. box
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Same crispy, buttery texture as regular Ritz. There’s a new limited edition Ritz. Made with dehydrated onions. When they goes away, I can say I was one of the few who had them.
Cons: Onion flavor is mostly noticeable with the first cracker and then fades with each cracker after, so perhaps they should’ve called it Neutralized Onion Ritz. Not sure I’d call what I taste as caramelized onion. Crumb makers. Made with partially hydrogenated oil. Why does it smell like meatloaf? Burger recipe on the back of the box seems like too much effort for an appetizer.

Nabisco Limited Edition Caramelized Onion Ritz Crackers Closeup

Nutrition Facts: 5 crackers – 80 calories, 25 calories from fat, 4 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat*, 2 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 1 gram of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 125 milligrams of sodium, 20 milligrams of potassium, 10 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein.

Other reviews: So Good Blog

*made with partially hydrogenated oils

REVIEW: General Mills Fruity Yummy Mummy Cereal

Matt 7 Comments

General Mills Fruity Yummy Mummy Cereal

History repeats itself.

At least that’s what my teachers always told me in high school. They didn’t necessarily mean Dick Cheney will shoot another man in the face at some point during the coming years, but there’s certainly some truth behind the phrase. Every other day, Taylor Swift releases yet another vengeful song about breaking up with her boyfriend. Next year will see the release of a remake of the classic science fiction film RoboCop. This past July, Anthony Weiner was caught in a sexting scandal…for the second time.

It seems General Mills has decided to repeat history by re-releasing two discontinued monster-themed breakfast cereals, Fruit Brute and Fruity Yummy Mummy. This Halloween, they’ve relaunched both cereals in updated forms. Target will even be stocking the entire line of monster cereals with retro box art. If there was ever a time to blow your entire paycheck on excessive amounts of cereal, it’s now.

General Mills first launched Fruity Yummy Mummy way back in 1987, when time machines were shaped like DeLoreans and Madonna didn’t have cankles. Advertised using a rainbow-colored mummy, the cereal featured frosted fruit-flavored cereal bits along with vanilla-flavored marshmallows. Sadly, the mummy-themed cereal lived a short life, being discontinued in 1993.

For his grand relaunch this Halloween season, the Yummy Mummy has received a facelift to conform to the style of the other monster-themed cereals. He appears as though he’s aged several years, and much like Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, his mouth is enormous.

Yummy Mummy was originally fruit-flavored with vanilla-flavored marshmallows, but this time around General Mills opted for an orange-cream flavored frosted cereal with “spooky-fun” marshmallows. I’m sincerely hoping that the “orange-cream” flavor of Fruity Yummy Mummy will remind me of the orange Creamsicles I grew up on

General Mills Fruity Yummy Mummy Cereal Closeup

The cereal has an absolutely gorgeous artificial color. A rainbow of marshmallows permeates an even mixture of orange and red ghost-shaped cereal bits. There’s something so unnatural, yet beautiful, about an orange and red cereal. The folks at General Mills are cereal Renaissance painters, transforming the average cereal bowl into a canvas for a palette of Red No. 40 and Yellow No. 5.

It’s easy to imagine this cereal having an overpowering orange scent, but I was pleasantly surprised it had a subtle orange aroma mixed with that stereotypical grainy cereal smell. However, I couldn’t help but be reminded of orange-scented cleaning supplies just a bit. (In general, I try not to eat cleaning supplies, but one time, I gave into temptation. It’s a miracle the ambulance arrived in time.)

Fruity Yummy Mummy’s crunchy cereal pieces begin with a light orange flavor, slowly evolving into a basic grain-based cereal flavor. The taste seems almost candy-like — similar to generic orange-flavored lollipops. The standard cereal marshmallows (or more properly, “marbits”) add a boost of sweetness to every other spoonful. Both in texture and flavor, the cereal could be compared to an orange version of Lucky Charms.

As the name implies, Fruity Yummy Mummy is quite yummy, and I had no problem finishing an entire bowl. Though I found the cereal’s fruity sweet attributes enjoyable, be warned: cereal-eaters who dislike clearly artificial orange flavoring won’t fancy this one. Sadly, I can detect no aspect of “cream” in the taste. General Mills would have been better off making the marshmallows cream flavored. Even the addition of milk failed to drastically modify the flavor.

With its light orange flavor, the relaunch of Fruity Yummy Mummy is an excellent addition to General Mills’ monster cereals line. The only way the cereal could have been improved is through the addition of a more apparent cream flavor. Nevertheless, General Mills receives bonus points for bringing back two of their discontinued cereals.

Be sure to run out and grab a box of Fruity Yummy Mummy this Halloween season. Who knows if General Mills will ever bring it back?

Peace. I’m gonna chug some Orange Glo.*

*Editor’s Note: Do not drink Orange Glo!

Note: If you’re looking for Frute Brute or Yummy Mummy cereal, please use the General Mills product locator.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 cup (cereal only) – 130 calories, 15 calories from fat, 1.5 grams of total fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 0.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 milligrams of sodium, 50 milligrams of potassium, 28 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 9 grams of sugars, and 2 grams of protein.)

Item: General Mills Fruity Yummy Mummy Cereal
Purchased Price: $9.35*
Size: 9.6 oz. box
Purchased at: *Amazon
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: The relaunch of a discontinued cereal. Tasty orange flavor. Cereal Renaissance painters.
Cons: Scent partially reminds me of orange-scented cleaning supplies. Cream flavor cannot be detected. Dick Cheney shooting a man in the face.