Ben & Jerry’s added four new flavors to its Moo-phoria Light Ice Cream line, just in time for the cooler days and nights of fall and winter: P.B. Marshmallow Swirl, Mocha Fudge Brownie, Cherry Garcia with a Twist, and Chocolate Cookie EnlightenMint.
Ben & Jerry’s Moo-phoria P.B. Marshmallow Swirl
Remember Ben & Jerry’s Clusterfluff? Oh, wait a minute. That’s right. It got renamed to What A Cluster after some folks had a fluffin’ hissy fit over its name. So if you still have a pint, it’s sort of like the 1989 Fleer Billy Ripken error card of the ice cream world.
For those of you who don’t remember the flavor that had two names, it was kind of a frozen homage to the Fluffernutter — the peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich. Although, the ice cream had caramel cluster pieces.
Ben & Jerry’s Moo-phoria P.B. Marshmallow Swirl also seems to honor the sweet sandwich. It features peanut butter ice cream, marshmallow swirls, and peanut butter cookie pieces. Well, actually, peanut butter cookie balls. Oh, wait. Some folks might get a hissy fit over my use of “balls.” So, um, peanut butter cookie spheres.
The ice cream base has a mild peanut butter flavor that gets enhanced with the cookie spheres. And there are A LOT of those spheres. It’s like the orbit of Jupiter in the container. Their texture is like Ben & Jerry’s cookie dough than actual cookies which is understandable since they’re sitting in ice cream, but I wish they had more of a crunch.
The marshmallow swirl, which I have an unhealthy relationship with that I’ve documented on this site, enhances the sweetness of the peanut butter. The swirl’s flavor seems to be less noticeable than other varieties I’ve had with it. There’s less of a vanilla-like flavor and more of a general sweetness. But the group of ingredients creates a nice tasty combo that might also be good between two white bread slices.
Purchased Price: $6.19
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 cup) 160 calories, 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 70 milligrams of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 16 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.
Ben & Jerry’s Moo-phoria Mocha Fudge Brownie
I’m a bit of a coffee ice cream snob who prefers the coffee used in ice cream is fair trade, organic, comes from a country with a name I can’t pronounce (or find on a map), and, preferably, is hand-picked from of the dung of local monkeys that eat the coffee beans. I’m 90-95 percent sure the coffee used in Ben & Jerry’s Moo-phoria Mocha Fudge Brownie is none of those things.
But, the tasty combination of cold brew mocha ice cream with fudge brownies and toasted marshmallow swirls makes me not care the coffee used to make it isn’t hand-pulled from exotic animal droppings.
The cold brew mocha base, which is new to me, tastes more like coffee than your typical coffee ice cream. Its flavor reminds me of the Dunkin’ Coffee Thins I had recently. The toasted marshmallow swirl helps sweeten everything and cut through the coffee flavor. Think of it as the coffee creamer in the pint that lessens the coffee punch. I thought the brownies would boost the chocolate flavor in the mocha ice cream, but they didn’t. Their chocolatey-ness was kind of a letdown.
There are some odd textures in the pint. First, there’s a grittiness that makes it feel as if there’s ground coffee mixed in with the ice cream base. At first, I thought it part of the brownies, but after getting to a brownie, I realized the textures of the two didn’t match. The brownies were gummy. That makes them easier to scoop, but I kind of want a more solid mix-in to create a contrasting texture.
Despite the issues, I enjoyed Ben & Jerry’s Moo-phoria Mocha Fudge Brownie. I think what helps is that the cold brew mocha coffee base has such a strong flavor that it makes the whole pint not taste like a light ice cream.
Purchased Price: $5.99
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 cup) 150 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 20 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.
Ben & Jerry’s Moo-phoria Cherry Garcia with a Twist
SPOILER ALERT: The twist in Ben & Jerry’s Moo-phoria Cherry Garcia with a Twist isn’t an M. Night Shyamalan or Luke Skywalker learning Darth Vader is his father-level surprise.
What’s unique about this light ice cream is that it has both cherry AND chocolate flavored light ice creams with the cherries and fudge flakes. So it’s like a combination of the original Cherry Garcia and the Flavor Graveyard-resting Chocolate Cherry Garcia, but in a light ice cream formulation.
I didn’t get a chance to try the latter, which involved swapping the cherry ice cream in the original with chocolate. But if you’re hoping to get a little bit of that with this Moo-phoria flavor, you’re better off digging it out of the Flavor Graveyard instead of trying to dig it out of this pint.
The chocolate base has, as expected because it’s light ice cream, a less potent flavor than Ben & Jerry’s standard version. And because of that, the cherry, which is lighter in flavor than what’s in the original, but stronger than the chocolate base in the pint, makes this taste like original Cherry Garcia almost any way I spoon it.
The only noticeable chocolate flavor I get is from the fudge flakes, which are in the original. I don’t know if the cherries and fudge flakes are lighter versions of what’s in a full calorie Cherry Garcia pint, but they don’t taste like they are.
If you’re a fan of Cherry Garcia, you’re going to enjoy this flavor. Yes, it does taste like a lighter version of the classic pint. But if Cherry Garcia FroYo isn’t doing it for you as a lighter version, then this might be a better scoop. So, in the end, maybe the twist is that Ben & Jerry’s Moo-phoria Cherry Garcia with a Twist doesn’t have a twist.
Purchased Price: $5.99
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 cup) 140 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 25 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber 17 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.
Ben & Jerry’s Moo-phoria Chocolate Cookie EnlightenMint
Ben & Jerry’s Moo-phoria Chocolate Cookie EnlightenMint is the third flavor the ice cream brand has shoehorned the word “mint” into. It follows EmpowerMint and Minter Wonderland. But, unlike those two, this is a light ice cream. It features a mint-flavored base with fudge truffles and chocolate cookies.
I’m reviewing this one last because, after comparing all four flavor, the base with this one seems lighter than the others. I’m not expecting to get a cool MINTerfresh clean feeling as I would after brushing my teeth, but I wanted more of a minty punch. The chocolatey mix-ins with the ice cream make it taste as if it should’ve been named Chocolate Cookie EnlighThinMint, but it’s not as addictive as the Girl Scout cookie.
While I could count the number of chocolate cookie mix-ins with my fingers and toes, all I needed were my nipples to count the number of truffles. There was a giant truffle in the middle of the pint, one at the bottom, and that’s it — a total disappointMINT.
Although, the giant one may have been two truffles stuck together. But, even if counted that as two, I could still count the number of them with my nipples. More of the mix-in would’ve helped the pint. Their flavor reminded me of Whoppers, and they added a somewhat crunchy texture that counters the creamy base and soft cookie spheres. Of course, your pint may have much more of them.
Of the four new Moo-phoria flavors, Chocolate Cookie EnlightenMint is my least favorite. It’s adequate. Or, if I wanted to shoehorn the word “mint,” it’s adequMINT.
Purchased Price: $4.39
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 cup) 160 calories, 7 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 65 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber 15 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.
The original batch of Moo-phoria flavors didn’t wow me, but I found myself liking this bunch. Well, most of them. I think the telltale sign that I enjoyed these more is that I wanted to eat more of the pint, which I didn’t feel with the others.
DISCLOSURE: I received coupons from Ben & Jerry’s to try these, but I picked up the pints before the coupons arrived in the mail. To be honest, I probably don’t need to disclose this, but what’s a few more words in an almost 1,500 word review.
