REVIEW: Van Leeuwen Dill Pickle Ice Cream

Van Leeuwen famously offers totally bonkers ice cream flavors, like pizza, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, and Hidden Valley Ranch.

Now it’s giving us dill pickle. It’s part of its 2023 Walmart fall/winter flavors. I guess because you have pickles at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner? Or because there’s that weird tradition about hanging a pickle on the Christmas tree? Whatever the reason, it’s here, and it’s real.

So…how does it taste?

It tastes like ice cream. And it tastes like pickles. It tastes like pickle ice cream. And it’s not gross!

I mean, I really don’t know how else to describe it other than it tastes like pickles. It’s sweet, like ice cream. It’s not as tart as actual pickles, but the flavor is there. The carton explains, “This tangy yet sweet pickle ice cream is more pickle-ized with a dill pickle swirl.” That swirl tastes more like bread-and-butter pickles to me, but it all melds together in a dill flavor.

I know the concept sounds weird, but as a fan of both pickles and unusual food combinations, I really enjoyed this ice cream. My mom was less keen on the idea, but even she admitted it tasted good.

And strangely, the ice cream gave me a craving for actual pickles. I had to go to the fridge and pull out the jar of pickles before I finished my ice cream. I really wanted the crunchiness and saltiness of the real deal. I mean, the rill dill. (I think my body needed the electrolytes.)

Do you remember that I Love Lucy episode where pregnant Lucy dipped a pickle in her papaya milkshake? I had to do that here. It was OK; the actual pickle just overwhelmed the ice cream. It wasn’t bad, but I don’t feel a need to do it again.

I think Van Leeuwen is the Lady Gaga of ice cream. Early in her career, a meat dress and prosthetic shoulders screamed, “Notice me!” Now that she’s proved herself, that stuff is less important. (One of the best concerts I’ve been to, BTW.)

Similarly, when you strip away the weirdness, Van Leeuwen really is a wonderful ice cream company; I’ve loved their other flavors. And I certainly never paid attention to them until I heard about the mac & cheese flavor.

And speaking of meat, can we next expect hamburger, fried chicken, or turkey ice creams from Van Leeuwen?

Purchased Price: $4.98
Size: 14 fl oz (414 ml)
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup/108 grams) 250 calories, 14 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 70 milligrams of cholesterol, 240 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 24 grams of sugar (including 20 grams of added sugar), and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Dairy Queen Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie Blizzard

The Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie Blizzard is the November Blizzard of the Month, but it is not really new. It appears to have been available in the U.S. back in 2014 and in Canada sometime last year, but I can’t remember what I ate yesterday, and I haven’t been to Canada lately, so this is new enough to warrant a review. And I’m glad to be the one doing the review.

The standard Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard has always been one of my favorites, and this version adds graham cracker pie crust and whipped topping. Neither the name of this one nor the added ingredients are particularly creative, but who cares if the results are tasty? And they are. The first bite instantly made me think I was eating a pie in ice cream form. It doesn’t taste radically different than the straight-up PB cup version, but it’s different enough to be a pleasant change, and it has a bit more texture and crunch with the pie crust pieces.

The whipped topping, however, did not add much other than a bit of drama when the DQ employee did the signature Blizzard flip before handing me the goods. I swear I saw the topping move a little, but it did manage to stay attached to its ice cream companion. That led me down the rabbit hole of what happens if a Blizzard — or some part of it — spills when it is flipped? The internet claims that you get a free Blizzard if any spillage occurs or if the employee doesn’t flip the Blizzard for you, although those rules seem to be loosely enforced. I spent more time than I care to admit doing “research” on this topic, and it’s safe to say that the new light figure I was planning to install is still sitting in its original box.

This Blizzard is quite good, but it’s akin to having your favorite burger with a pretzel bun instead of a standard roll. So there’s no need to drop everything and race over to your local DQ, but if you like the regular Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard, you are going to want to give this one a try.

Purchased Price: $4.69
Size: Small
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 820 calories, 40 grams of fat, 19 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 410 milligrams of sodium, 100 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 83 grams of sugar, and 16 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Chocolate Fudge Brownie Oat Milk Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert

When Ben & Jerry’s first began its foray into non-dairy “ice cream” pints in 2016, it chose one base option to replace its coveted creamy dairy – almond milk. Since then, there have been sunflower butter experiments, but all that is about to hit the wayside. A lot has changed since the B&J’s non-dairy inception, one of which is the widespread popularity of oat milk. The nut-free alternative has taken over in bougie third-wave coffee shops and cereal bowls. By 2024, every Ben & Jerry’s non-dairy pint and scoop shop offering will transition to an oat base, which the company claims creates a creamier texture that allows the flavors to shine as intended.

The reformulation begins with two classics: original launch flavor Chocolate Fudge Brownie, which features chocolate non-dairy frozen dessert with fudge brownies, and fan favorite, more recently vegan-ified, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, which boasts vanilla non-dairy frozen dessert with chocolate chip cookie dough and fudge flakes.

The timing of this changeover is interesting for me, personally. I was visiting family recently, some of whom are vegan, and they brought out a pint of non-dairy The Tonight Dough. I remarked how Ben & Jerry’s almond base seems to have gotten markedly better over the years, and I was impressed with its creaminess and flavor. Not only that, but my favorite new B&J’s pint of 2023 is the non-dairy Oatmeal Dream Pie, which has a sunflower butter base, and I thought the vegan version of Lights! Caramel! Action! was just as good as its dairy counterpart. That said, I was primed to go into these new oat milk pints with a plethora of experience with the older formula as recently as last week.

So, how does the oat milk stack up? It’s pretty good! Both bases have a solid flavor but a slightly thinner, almost watery finish that tends to be the case for most non-dairy bases not made with coconut. There’s no true fatty density to leave a creamy imprint on your tongue, but there also isn’t any almond or coconut aftertaste. There’s a bit of an oat taste that lingers in the finish, but it isn’t as aggressive as its nutty counterparts. The “ice cream” is incredibly smooth and tempers wonderfully. It takes longer to get there than dairy, but once you let it sit for 15 minutes or so, it has a delightfully smooth and pleasant texture that provides a clean background for the cocoa and vanilla, respectively.

From the beginning, Ben & Jerry’s mission statement has been all about the chunks, and they really shine in these pints. Although both flavors are very basic, the brownies and cookie dough taste and feel nearly identical to those submerged in cow’s milk. The brownies are soft, chewy, and have a chocolatey pop, while the cookie dough brings a gritty brown sugar blast accented by crunchy yet melty chocolate chips. For non-dairy pints you can pick up at the grocery store, the mix-ins don’t get much better than this.

These are two very safe flavors for Ben & Jerry’s to launch its new base with, and I don’t think any vegan ice cream lovers will be disappointed in the change, but I don’t find them mind-blowingly better, either. The chocolate base has less of an aftertaste, and the cookie dough has a more dynamic chunk-age, so they’re both equally tasty but fairly standard in my rankings. The real test of this new recipe will be how it performs in the true non-dairy standout exclusives like Oatmeal Dream Pie, Coconut Seven Layer Bar, and Peanut Butter & Cookies.

DISCLOSURE: I received free product samples. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: One Pint
Purchased at: Sent samples for review from Ben & Jerry’s
Rating: 7 out of 10 (for both)
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough – 340 calories, 13 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 50 milligrams of sodium, 55 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 33 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

Chocolate Fudge Brownie – 260 calories, 9 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 42 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 25 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Sonic Trick or Treat Blast (2023)

For Halloween 2023, Sonic is offering revamped Trick or Treat Blasts, which include Mini M&M’s, Heath candy pieces, and Oreo cookie pieces, all mixed together in soft-serve ice cream. They are available in vanilla and chocolate.

If you don’t have a lot of time, I’ll sum it up quickly: This is basically an M&M’s shake. There, now you can go to the pumpkin patch (or the haunted house or the apple orchard or whatever else you’re doing this time of year).

Instead of eating it in my car in the stall at Sonic, I opted to get the chocolate version in the drive-through, then took it home and enjoyed it in the autumn afternoon.

The Mini M&M’s were by far the most noticeable element of the Blast. Since cold M&M’s are crunchy, I was crunching my way through the entire treat. There were M&M’s in almost every bite, even when I took a small bit of ice cream in my spoon. I liked them, and I’m glad they were there, but sometimes I just wanted a moment without them. (Is that what it’s like having kids?)

The Oreo pieces were slightly softened from the soft serve. If you’re a reader of this site, you probably know what it’s like to have Oreo cookies in ice cream, so I don’t need to elaborate on what they were like.

The Heath pieces were least noticeable to me. Since the M&M’s were already crunchy, it was hard to notice if I was crunching on toffee instead. I did have one bite where I thought, “Oh yeah, I can definitely taste the toffee here!”

As for the soft serve, it was enjoyable but unremarkable. The abundant M&M’s really overpowered the flavor. My Blast wasn’t very well mixed, and I didn’t notice much difference between the vanilla (before I mixed it) and the chocolate (after I mixed it).

I enjoyed the Trick or Treat Blast, but I just didn’t find it that interesting. It was too similar to other products. And as a sucker for anything holiday related, I wished it had a stronger seasonal connection. I don’t think I ever got a Heath bar or Oreo cookies in my trick-or-treat pillowcase. And if Sonic wasn’t going to add any flavors more interesting than chocolate, it at least could have added some spooky colors somewhere.

The Trick or Treat Blast is, well, not much of a blast. It’s tasty, but I don’t think it’s worth going out of your way for it.

Purchased Price: $5.43
Size: Small
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (small) 670 calories, 26 grams of fat, 16 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 80 milligrams of sodium, 630 milligrams of sodium, 103 grams of carbohydrates, 85 grams of sugar, 2 grams of fiber, and 12 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Jeni’s Lonely Ghost Double Dough Ice Cream

Jeni's Lonely Ghost Double Dough Ice Cream Pint

Orange Blossom Chiffon.

Powdered Jelly Donut.

Sweet Potato with Torched Marshmallow.

Everything Bagel.

These are all Jeni’s Ice Cream flavors that existed before the company had its own chocolate chip cookie dough. Until now, the super premium ice cream company from Columbus, Ohio has steered clear of the American favorite made popular by Ben & Jerry’s in the 80s; yet apparently, the scoop-shop-staple is in demand on the other side. A brand new limited time collaboration with streetwear brand Lonely Ghost has gifted basic flavor lovers with Double Dough — chocolate chip cookie dough swirled into a buttery brown sugar custard.

Jeni's Lonely Ghost Double Dough Ice Cream Top of pint

The premium price tag of Jeni’s pints comes at the cost of the premium ingredients they source, and this flavor is a shining example of just how good a top-tier grocery store ice cream can be. The brown sugar custard is incredible. It is dense, it is rich, it is sweet, and it is surprisingly salty. There is an impressive buttery depth to the texture from the use of egg yolks that makes the execution of custard versus ice cream really apparent. It’s beautiful, and it really does bring the rich molasses-adjacent notes of brown sugar to the foreground in a way that perfectly honors eating raw cookie dough.

Jeni's Lonely Ghost Double Dough Ice Cream Spoon with bits of cookie dough

The lone mix-in is the dough itself, and while initially I was thrown off by their small size, what they lack in heft, they make up for in density. The pieces are small, pea-sized balls of cookie dough that are far from what most chunk-enthusiasts want to see when popping off the lid on a premium pint. However, they’re everywhere, and they’re packed full of gritty cookie dough texture that really brings the double dough concept to life. With how strong the brown sugar is in the base, there isn’t a ton of extra flavor from the pieces, but the crunchy bittersweet chocolate chips stand pretty firmly against the wash of lovely sweet and salty custard.

While it doesn’t push the boundaries of ice cream innovation like many of Jeni’s more recent releases, Double Dough is an elevated take on a fan-favorite flavor that is sure to satisfy both creamy connoisseurs and more standard scoopers alike.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free product sample from Jeni’s. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: One Pint
Purchased at: Received from Jeni’s
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup, 127g) 330 calories, 20 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 80 milligrams of cholesterol, 210 milligrams of sodium, 36 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 28 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

Click here to read our previous Jeni’s Ice Cream reviews