REVIEW: Milk Bar Gingerbread House Ice Cream

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Milk Bar Gingerbread House Ice Cream Pint

What is Milk Bar Gingerbread House Ice Cream?

This festive flavor is an on-brand addition to Milk Bar’s lineup of quirky-but-upscale re-imaginings of nostalgic desserts. Between the chunks of gingerbread cookie, brightly colored candy “gems,” and sweet bits of icing, this gingerbread-flavored ice cream is more filled than Santa’s sleigh.

How is it?

Milk Bar Gingerbread House Ice Cream Cookie

My first bite of pure ice cream was pleasantly milky with a hint of spice — tasty, but not quite something to write to the North Pole about. The cookie that I secured in my next spoonful packed a much stronger punch of ginger flavor, with an interesting consistency more solid than cookie dough but not as firm as an actual cookie (a bit reminiscent of a Ben & Jerry’s mix-in).

Milk Bar Gingerbread House Ice Cream Icing

When I found some icing next (the white color is surprisingly hard to identify in the tannish ice cream), its burst of sugariness was much more flavorful than the bland, just-for-show icing I typically associate with gingerbread cookies. Like the cookie crunch, it also brings a textural surprise — it doesn’t appear in the thick, creamy spirals illustrated on the pint, but rather as a series of squarish shards more similar to pieces of white chocolate.

On their own, these ingredients were tasty though not particularly thrilling. But when I finally scooped up ice cream, icing, and cookie all together, the sweetness of the icing and the spice of the cookie contrasted very nicely, and the rich ice cream was a satisfying backdrop to hold it all together.

Milk Bar Gingerbread House Ice Cream Top

Oh yeah, and I guess the candy gems were there too. They just didn’t add much more than a pop of (admittedly welcome) color.

Anything else you need to know?

In case you missed the banner on the pint saying so four times in a row, this flavor is seasonal, so be sure to grab some before it makes like a Christmas tree and leaves.

Conclusion:

Filled with cookies and icing, Milk Bar Gingerbread House Ice Cream’s blend of sugar, spice, and everything ice is sure to end up on the nice list.

Purchased Price: $5.99
Size: 14 oz
Purchased at: Whole Foods
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 400 calories, 23 grams of fat, 15 grams of saturated fat, 85 milligrams of cholesterol, 85 milligrams of sodium, 43 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 38 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Popeyes Homestyle Mac & Cheese

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Popeyes Homestyle Mac Cheese Bowl

Popeyes, widely regarded as the champion of fast food fried chicken, has a new and improved Homestyle Mac & Cheese.

Did you know it had an old and un-improved Homestyle Mac & Cheese? I sure didn’t. See, the thing is, I’ve never been able to bring myself to order anything other than the red beans and rice or the mashed potatoes with cajun gravy. And this is odd because, as a human person, I love macaroni and cheese. I even love macaroni and cheese from other fast-food chicken places. It is one of my go-to sides when I end up at KFC, where I gladly consume it despite the fact that it tastes inexplicably chlorinated.

But Popeyes nails it on chicken, chicken nuggets, chicken sandwiches, biscuits, and the aforementioned sides, so why WOULDN’T it make a magnificent mac & cheese, too?

Well, they do.

Popeyes website boasts that its new noodle dish is “made with real butter and cream and topped with shredded cheddar cheese,” and this story checks out. The noodles themselves are perfectly cooked — soft and tender but not mushy. And there is plenty of cheese — a mild, creamy cheese that lovingly coats each noodle and the sharper, chewy cheddar that hides in pockets throughout the bowl.

Popeyes Homestyle Mac Cheese Spoon

It is a rich dish — likely owing to the real butter and cream — but not so rich that you won’t be able to eat the whole thing in like, 90 seconds and then go, “Dammit, Brandon, why did you eat the whole thing? Can’t you exercise more restraint than that?”

Despite the adulation, I do have two quibbles with this delectable side.

The first is that the texture is very one-note. And I get it, I do, this is mac & cheese, which is, by and large, a creamy, soft dish. But you know what elevates a very good mac & cheese to a great mac & cheese? A crunchy top. You know, breadcrumbs or what have you. You get a bit of textural differentiation because of the melted shredded cheddar, but it’s not enough to break up the monotony in your mouth. (Which again, I assure you, isn’t enough to keep you from wanting to consume an industrial barrel’s worth of this stuff.)

Second, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do now when I get a meal and have to choose two sides. My gut says to alternate between the red beans and rice, mashed potatoes, and the new mac & cheese like a responsible adult. However, the fat kid who lives in my brain says, “GET ‘EM ALL, BUDDY. IT’S THE FUTURE. YOU CAN JUST 3D-PRINT SOME NEW ARTERIES.”

God bless technology, and god bless this macaroni and cheese.

Purchased Price: $2.79
Size: Regular
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 300 calories, 22 grams of fat, 13.5 grams of saturated fat, 0.6 grams of trans fat, 609 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 11 grams of protein.

SPOTTED (SEASONAL EDITION) – 12/2/2021

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

Snowballs Oreo
Snowballs Oreo

(Spotted by Robbie at Five Below.)

Create A Treat Oreo Build Your Own Arctic Cookie Skating Rink
Create-A-Treat Oreo Build Your Own Arctic Cookie Skating Rink

(Spotted by Rachel J at Rite Aid.)

Hidden Valley Ranch Gift Tag
Hidden Valley Ranch Gift Tag

(Spotted by Robbie at H-E-B.)

Welch s Fruit n Yogurt Snowballs
Welch’s Fruit ‘n Yogurt Snowballs

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Target.)

Create A Treat Glitz Holiday Cookie Kit
Create-A-Treat Glitz Holiday Cookie Kit
Create A Treat Sour Patch Kids Build Your Own Holiday Cookie Camper
Create-A-Treat Sour Patch Kids Build Your Own Holiday Cookie Camper

(Spotted by Rachel J at Rite Aid.)

Warheads Blue Raspberry Blizzard Cubes
Warheads Blue Raspberry Blizzard Cubes

(Spotted by Robbie at Walmart.)

Limited Edition Little Secrets Peppermint in Dark Chocolate Mini Creme Filled Wafers
Limited Edition Little Secrets Peppermint in Dark Chocolate Mini Creme Filled Wafers

(Spotted by Rachel J at Rite Aid.)

Keebler Assortment of Keebler s Holiday Favorites
Keebler Assortment of Keebler’s Holiday Favorites

(Spotted by Rachel J at Safeway.)

Dreamhouse Fine Foods Gingerbread House Kit
Dreamhouse Fine Foods Gingerbread House Kit
Dreamhouse Fine Foods Gingerbread Mini Village
Dreamhouse Fine Foods Gingerbread Mini Village

(Spotted by Rachel J at Rite Aid.)

REVIEW: Sprite Zero Sugar Winter Spiced Cranberry

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Sprite Zero Sugar Winter Spiced Cranberry Bottle

What is Sprite Zero Sugar Winter Spiced Cranberry?

To the delight of those who are already sweet enough on their own, Sprite has released a zero-sugar version of its Winter Spiced Cranberry soda! An admirable effort, considering the original contains 109% of your daily added sugars in one 20 oz bottle.

How is it?

I should let you all know that while I’ll chow or gulp down any food or beverage in the eggnog, gingerbread, or even Christmas tree (if you haven’t tried spruce beer, try spruce beer) family come holiday time, the combination of fruit and spice has my heart.

This Sprite does not have my heart.

Sprite Zero Sugar Winter Spiced Cranberry Clear Side

Upon first pour, I smelled a burst of sweetness that was not easily identifiable as lemon, lime, cranberry, or spice. The scent was more like an orange or melon soda than something you’d reach for as you’re hanging up the holly.

The taste is equally indistinguishable. If you handed a mug of it to Santa, no explanation, well, he’d be cranky it’s not milk, but he also wouldn’t be able to tell you what flavor it’s supposed to be. Where the original Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry has defined flavors of fruit and spice, the notes feel muddled and thin in the zero-sugar version.

Also, I know you can’t make a sugar-free soda taste like it’s corn syrupy brother, but Sprite Zero Sugar Winter Spiced Cranberry really tastes like a diet soda. The cranberry flavoring that is so pleasant in the original version only heightens the unnatural sweetness of aspartame.

Anything else you need to know?

Sprite Zero Sugar Winter Spiced Cranberry Decoration

This soda was the pine needle in the haystack of holiday flavors, and it took me a very long time to hunt it down. I finally found it in a liquor superstore, which may be because the only way to enjoy this Sprite is to mix it with something else. If you’ve figured out the best beverage to add, please let me know in the comments; I was only able to find a 2-liter bottle and want to find a good use for the rest.

Conclusion:

Sprite Zero Sugar Winter Spiced Cranberry Clear Top

As a two-time maker of a mulled wine pecan pie, I can’t sign off on this supposed spiced fruit item. If you want to try a Sprite winter soda, I can only recommend buying the original sugar-full (seriously, it has almost a quarter more added sugar than regular Sprite) version. Otherwise, let’s all hope Mtn Dew figures out a sugar-free version of Gingerbread Snap’d soon.

Purchased Price: $1.89
Size: 2 liter bottle
Purchased at: Total Wine & More
Rating: 3 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (12 fl oz) 0 calories, 0 grams of fat, 35 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

ANNOUNCEMENT: New Impulsive Buy Reviewer Alex

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Hello everyone! I am incredibly excited to meet you all. My name is Alex. I like to eat.

As someone who has been reading The Impulsive Buy for years and has spent much time in grocery store aisles using the reviews to decide if I should buy the newest Pop-Tarts flavor, I take my responsibility to you all seriously. I will do my best to never steer you wrong. As my training in my first retail job at 18 taught me, the way to build trust is to share knowledge. Kind of an intense business lesson to throw at a teen folding shirts, but anyways, here’s some things to know about me:

I grew up just outside of Boston, raised by a family of food lovers to have a healthy respect and equal appreciation for both Michelin-starred fine dining and gas station tuna sandwiches. I will eat anything and want to try everything. At the cafeteria table in elementary school, there was never a need for a dare or bribery to get me to try concoctions like leftover mashed potatoes and orange soda my friend mixed on their tray with a spork.

Now that I live in Southern California, I am particularly aware of and value the foods of my youth that I was surprised to learn don’t exist here: Fluff, split-top hot dog buns, “kiddie” servings of ice cream that would fill the Stanley Cup (now that I think about it, watching hockey doesn’t really exist here either). That awareness not only strengthened my resolve to try the weirdest, most interesting, or most culturally unique items on menus or in stores but made me more passionate about the foods that one can get in every state, foods we all eat across the country.

I hope to share this love and curiosity for food with you all and will always welcome your thoughts and insight in the comment section. I will also definitely welcome any pairing recommendations for any food I review; I am from the land of innovation, where someone figured out marshmallow and peanut butter belong together, after all.

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