REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert

Ben  Jerry s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Non Dairy Frozen Dessert

Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert is a non-dairy version Ben & Jerry’s iconic Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream. It features vanilla-flavored frozen dessert made from almond milk, gobs of vegan chocolate chip cookie dough, and fudge flakes.

Before stuffing my mouth with a spoonful of it, I thought I would definitely love it. The original dairy version is one of my favorite flavors, I enjoyed the two Ben & Jerry’s Non-Dairy varieties I’ve tried so far (Cinnamon Buns and Chocolate Salted ’n Swirled), and I like the vegan snackable chocolate chip cookie dough bites Ben & Jerry’s offers in bags. But, despite all that, I didn’t love this pint.

The vanilla base is what broke my heart. I can taste the almond milk in it, but its flavor also makes Cool Whip flash in my head. I’m fine with the frozen whipped topping. I won’t say anything bad about it, like it could probably be used as hair product in a pinch. Heck, there have been moments in my life when I ate it like ice cream. But I don’t want my ice cream, er, non-dairy frozen dessert to taste like Cool Whip. There’s something not quite right about that.

Ben  Jerry s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Non Dairy Frozen Dessert Closeup

There’s a good amount of the vegan chocolate chip cookie dough in the pint, but not enough so that every time you dip your spoon into the container you’ll pull out one of those gobs. While there’s a lot, they don’t help improve my opinion of the flavor overall.

As for the fudge flakes, I’m not sure there were any in mine. I don’t know if the fudge in the chewy cookie dough bites are the fudge flakes, but there weren’t any dark brown mix-ins suspended in my pint.

Because the base is made from almond milk and the cookie dough gobs are vegan, this whole pint is vegan. So no animals were harmed or touched in the making of this flavor. Although I imagine some animals were probably petted along the way.

I finished the pint, but that doesn’t reflect of how I truly feel about this non-dairy frozen dessert flavor. Of the three Ben & Jerry’s Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert varieties I’ve tried, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough is, disappointingly, my least favorite so far.

Purchased Price: $3.50 (on sale)
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 cup) 260 calories, 12 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 35 milligrams of sodium, 37 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 25 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

BACK ON SHELVES: Doritos Limited Edition Retro Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch Tortilla Chips (2019)

Doritos Limited Edition Retro Nacho Cheese Tortilla Chips

Doritos Limited Edition Retro Cool Ranch Tortilla Chips

Stranger Things retro product? (Spotted by Sarah D at Dillons.)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if the product is old, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

If you’ve seen the product, help out your fellow readers by letting them know in the comments what city and store you found it in.

REVIEW: New Coke (2019)

New Coke  2019

As an older millennial, born in 1985, I never quite know how I should think of the ‘80s. Am I an 80’s kid? On the one hand, I distinctly remember hiding my He-Man themed Slap Bracelet in my Transformers Trapper Keeper because some kid two towns over had allegedly accidentally slit his wrist with one. Further evidence: that Trapper Keeper would later be lugged home in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles duffle bag and the map on the classroom wall still had an ominous swath of red labeled “USSR” on it.

On the other hand, my ‘90s kids sense of ironic detachment says it’s kinda sad so many of my early memories are dominated by commercial properties. Plus, I only saw The Breakfast Club last week, and still haven’t seen Labyrinth.

Whether I’m a child of the ‘80s or not, there’s one relic from the era that I regret missing: New Coke. The soda always seemed to symbolize something essential about the ‘80s. It’s an updated, new take on a decade’s old classic, ready for the next generation and eager to face a hopeful future. Yet, it failed.

(‘90s kids says, “Dude, it’s just flavored sugar water, get over it and go live an authentic life!”)

Ever ready to capitalize on nostalgic desire, Netflix and Coca-Cola have collaborated on the Stranger Things 1985 Limited Edition Collector’s Pack featuring New Coke. Will trying it fill in some ineffable hole from my childhood? Let’s find out!

According to internet lore, New Coke was actually Coca-Cola’s attempt to replicate Pepsi’s sweeter tasting formula, which performed better in blind taste tests. You can thank my internal internet-obsessed ‘00s teen for that factoid.

New Coke  2019 2

So, this seems like a perfect opportunity to perform a comparison: New Coke vs. Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola Classic.

Before tasting, I gave each a quick sniff. Coke Classic has a very mild scent, with both Pepsi and New Coke being much sharper. As I taste each, this pattern remains. Coke Classic is less sweet, with a rounder flavor. New Coke and Pepsi are sweeter and have a more acidic bite. I can see how Pepsi would perform better in a taste test. It’s also more carbonated, so it’s more exciting to drink in the moment.

A bit more internet research reveals that cola flavor is actually a combination of vanilla, cinnamon, and citrus. The citrus element of Pepsi is supposedly more lemon-forward, with Coke Classic relying more on orange. This unverified and poorly sourced research conforms to what I already thought, and so I will believe it. I would bet the primary differences between New Coke and Coke Classic are that the former is sweeter with more lemon in its cola formulation.

New Coke  2019 3

Additionally, Coke Classic has some caramel flavor that’s lacking in Pepsi. If there’s a difference between New Coke and Pepsi, it’s that New Coke also has some of this caramel flavor.

It turns out there’s a reason they don’t make New Coke anymore. It doesn’t deliver anything that Pepsi doesn’t already, and Coca-Cola Classic is better than both. (Don’t @ me Pepsi fans. 2019 adult me doesn’t need to be dragged through the mud on social media.)

Purchased Price: $19.85 (Included in Stranger Things Collector’s Pack)
Size: 12 fl. oz. can
Purchased at: Cokestore.com
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts:: 160 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of sodium, 42 grams of carbohydrates (includes 42 grams Added Sugars), 0 grams of fiber, and 0 grams of protein.

SPOTTED – 7/5/2019

Here are some interesting new products found on store shelves by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of the products, share your thoughts about them in the comments.

Franz Limited Edition Lemon Donuts
Franz Limited Edition Lemon Donuts

(Spotted by Rachel J at Safeway.)

Lucky Charms Cereal with 3 New Unicorns
Lucky Charms Cereal with 3 New Unicorns

(Spotted by Robbie at Target.)

Idahoan Cheesy Hash Browns Homestyle Casserole
Idahoan Cheesy Hash Browns Homestyle Casserole
Idahoan Bacon  Ranch Homestyle Casserole
Idahoan Bacon & Ranch Homestyle Casserole
Idahoan Monterey Pepper Jack Mashed Potatoes
Idahoan Monterey Pepper Jack Mashed Potatoes
Idahoan Vermont White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
Idahoan Vermont White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
Idahoan Wisconsin Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
Idahoan Wisconsin Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

(Spotted by RaveGyrl at Meijer.)

Private Selection Seasoned Pork Belly Bites  Korean Inspired and Original BBQ Recipe
Private Selection Seasoned Pork Belly Bites (Korean Inspired and Original BBQ Recipe)

(Spotted by Sylvia at Ralphs.)

Natural Grocers Organic Dark Chocolate Almond  Sea Salt Bar and Milk Chocolate Caramel  Sea Salt Bar
Natural Grocers Organic Dark Chocolate Almond & Sea Salt Bar and Milk Chocolate Caramel & Sea Salt Bar

(Spotted by Robbie at Natural Grocers.)

If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you’ve tried the product, share your thoughts about it in the comments.

Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if the product is old, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

REVIEW: Dairy Queen Sour Patch Kids Blizzard

Dairy Queen Sour Patch Kids Blizzard

When you look at the list of possible Blizzard ingredients on the menu board, which oddly DQ doesn’t really publicize you can use to create a customized creation to your liking, just about everything has been already done between the regular Blizzard menu, Blizzards of the Month, a plethora of seasonal Blizzard menus, plus special Blizzards with movie tie-ins or for the second Tuesday of Lent. DQ has essentially admitted that all the reasonable combinations have been tried, as they tend to recycle some of the same or very similar Blizzards now and then.

Enter the Sour Patch Kids Blizzard, which as far as I can tell after four seconds of online research, is the first time DQ has used these sweet and sour gummies. This latest concoction features vanilla soft serve with Sour Patch Kids Redberry flavor (don’t worry, I didn’t know it was called that either) mixed with Sour Patch Kids Bitz.

The first thing that caught my attention was the smell, which is not something I normally notice or think about with a Blizzard. But this one exudes a fragrant essence of Sour Patch Kids, just like opening a bag of the tasty little fellows.

I’m not sure if the Sour Patch Kids in here were mutilated by the magic Blizzard machine, or if DQ calling them “Bitz” means they were already hacked to pieces before the mixing process. Either way, the pieces of kids are approximately the size of Nerds (which made me pine for the long-deceased Nerds Blizzard of years gone by).

Dairy Queen Sour Patch Kids Blizzard Top

The Bitz in mine didn’t seem to be as large or as plentiful as the promotional photos show, but I might have had a frugal and overzealous mixer. As you might have guessed, the coldness of the ice cream changes the firmness of the Sour Patch Kids a bit. They didn’t have the same soft chewiness you might be accustomed to, but I didn’t find that to be a drawback, and they do pack a sour punch.

The Redberry-flavored soft serve tasted great, like DQ somehow liquified a bag of red Sour Patch Kids and infused it into the ice cream. But before they liquefied the poor little kids, DQ apparently removed the sour coating because the ice cream flavor was all sweetness, and it was splendid. As a standalone treat, I’d eat the ice cream part all day (and all night).

Dairy Queen Sour Patch Kids Blizzard Spoon

The kicker is the little chunks of Sour Patch Kids, which of course still have the sour coating and seemed to have a delayed effect on my taste buds. So first you get the sweetness of the Redberry-flavored ice cream, then slowly you experience the sour flavor in your mouth as the Bitz free themselves from their ice cream cocoons, and then finally you get the sweetness again when you get to the gummy part of the Sour Patch Kids.

Sometimes you don’t know how much you wanted something until you see it, or in this case, taste it. Of all the possible things that can be thrown into a Blizzard, I’m not sure I would have thought of Sour Patch Kids. But I’m glad the Blizzard wizards at DQ gave it a try because it’s a winner in my book and a nice change of pace from some other recent Blizzards that always seem to revolve around chocolate, Oreo, or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Since Sour Patch Kids are not a regular DQ menu item, this one figures to be gone for good after July. You have been warned.

Purchased Price: $3.79
Size: Small
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (Small) 660 calories, 24 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 82 grams of carbohydrates, -1 grams of dietary fiber*, 86 grams of sugar, and 12 grams of protein.

*The DQ website inexplicably lists a negative amount of dietary fiber. I’m no mathematician or nutritionist, but that seems to be impossible on many levels.

Click here for our previous reviews

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