Tag: Ice Cream

REVIEW: Baskin-Robbins Oreo Cheesecake Ice Cream

Sean 5 Comments

Baskin Robbins Oreo Cheesecake Ice Cream

The crafty cookie-obsessed churners at Baskin-Robbins entered the middle of 2017 facing a real dilemma. How the hell could they make another dessert-themed frozen dessert with the iconic Oreo?

It isn’t enough that the chain always stocks Cookies n’ Cream and now has Golden Oreo ’N Churro as a summer seasonal. Even last month’s All About Oreo couldn’t possibly quench America’s thirst for the beloved sandwiched “white stuff.” There needed to be another…layer.

After malted chocolate and cake batter and birthday cake and cereal and mint, there’s seemingly only one place to go – the decadent, heavy, cheesecake. One of the oldest desserts in history, which was allegedly served to athletes at the first Olympic Games, was destined to make sweet creamy magic with Nabisco’s #1 seller during the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love. Baskin-Robbins’ Oreo Cheesecake combines Oreo cookie pieces, cheesecake pieces, and a chocolate cookie crumb ribbon in cheesecake flavored ice cream.

The base is immediately apparent with a distinct tanginess that jumps out from the first bite and doesn’t fade. It’s smooth, velvety, and delicious with a good balance of sweet and savory. Oddly, the tang reminds me a little bit more of Greek yogurt than cheesecake, as I don’t get any particular cheesiness coming through. But the point gets across and I don’t think I’m eating vanilla or sweet cream.

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The cheesiness goes up a notch with the actual cheesecake pieces. They’re like those small-to-medium sized ones you can find at build your own frozen yogurt shops. They’ve maintained their squishy-dense texture and give off a hint of graham cracker crust flavor that pops against the tangy ice cream base.

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I worried about the redundancy of the Oreo pieces and cookie crumb ribbon, but the two are distinct and interwoven very well throughout the scoop. The ribbon is more akin to what you find in typical cookies and cream flavors, with some good gritty texture and mellow bitter cocoa notes.

Baskin Robbins Oreo Cheesecake Ice Cream 4

Much more prominent are the bigger pieces of Oreo cookie, which have entire layers of creme filling intact. They’re a welcomed sweet element to temper the tang of the cheesecake. The wafer cookies soften and soak up the creamy goodness, and the sizes of the mix-ins are pretty big for Baskin-Robbins’ standards which makes the whole experience elevated and impressive for what I expect at a chain shop.

It’s a pretty simple recipe – Oreo and cheesecake. Baskin-Robbins could’ve been lazy with this one and made a cookies & cream ice cream with a cheesecake base, but they didn’t. By hitting each element from two different angles, this monthly special is one of the more enticing in recent memory. It’s worth scooping up to end the last full month of summer on a blissfully tangy sweet frozen note.

(Nutrition Facts – 4 oz. scoop – 300 calories, 150 calories from fat, 17 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 22 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein..)

Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 4 oz. scoop
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Tangy creamy cheesecake base. Ample cheesecake chunks. Big pieces of Oreo cookie with distinguishable creme.
Cons: Tang is a little closer to yogurt than cheesecake.

REVIEW: Baskin-Robbins All About Oreo Ice Cream

Sean

Baskin Robbins All About Oreo Ice Cream

July is National Ice Cream Month, and even more importantly, the third Sunday in July, this year the 16th, is National Ice Cream Day. Unlike the onslaught of hashtag holidays that have taken over the internet via social media sites (I’m lookin’ at you “National Cheese Brownie Day”), this food holiday is a real deal culinary celebration signed into public law by Ronald Reagan in 1984.

As the biggest scoop shop chain in the world, it’s only fitting that Baskin-Robbins take note of this momentous occasion and party hard, which apparently to them means pairing their creamy churned goodness with one of America’s other obsessions – Oreo cookies.

For the last five years BR has made July the month to highlight the iconic cookie with flavors that have gotten progressively more interesting from Oreo ’n Chocolate to Oreo ’n Cake Batter to last year’s smashing Oreo Birthday Cake. With seemingly nowhere else to go, 2017’s celebratory scoop is simply dubbed All About Oreo, which combines fudge-covered, peanut butter, and classic Oreo pieces with an Oreo frosting ribbon in chocolate malt ice cream.

The chocolate malt ice cream is dense and smooth, with a light brown color and a relatively light flavor to match it. I don’t get any of the malty funkiness that I expected from the base, and instead it tastes more like a heavy milk chocolate with no bitterness or strong cocoa notes to be found. It’s a fine ice cream as a foundation for fun mix-ins but isn’t really anything new or exciting.

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What is exciting though is the Oreo frosting ribbon, which is pretty well incorporated throughout the scoop and tastes exactly how I hoped it would – slightly gritty, creamy, and identical to the creme filling we all know and love. In the context of ice cream it reminds me a lot of buttercream, and anyway you want to interpret it it’s pure sweet fun indulgence. It works really well with the chocolate ice cream and stands against its milk chocolate-y presence.

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The mixture of Oreo cookies is also really effective, and the cookie pieces are of pretty good size and variety. The peanut butter Oreo cuts through with great nutty flavor, and the fudge-covered ones have a harder crunch and smooth milk chocolate exterior that create a pleasant textural contrast against the regular cookies which have softened in the cream. The Oreo wafer is noticeably darker and more bitter than the base which also adds another layer to the choco-heavy profile.

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This ice cream truly is all about the Oreo, for reasons both good and bad. While the base is pretty standard and veers on being boring, the cookies are the star of the show and the ribbon is something I would buy a tub of. It could be improved if the regular Oreo’s were subbed out with Golden ones to add another layer of pop, since they aren’t as special with the PB ones already in the mix, but if you love Oreo or milk chocolate this one is a mighty fine filler for your next cake cone.

(Nutrition Facts – 4 ounces – 310 calories, 170 calories from fat, 18 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 25 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: Single Scoop (4 oz.)
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Perfectly executed Oreo frosting ribbon. All three cookies stand out. Solid textural contrast.
Cons: No malt flavor in the chocolate base. Could be improved with Golden Oreo.

REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Keep Caramel and Cookie On Ice Cream

Heather 9 Comments

Ben Jerry s Keep Caramel and Cookie On Ice Cream

I hold a very special place in my heart for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. My most memorable Valentine’s Day as a single gal included takeout from my favorite local spot, German grapefruit beer, a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, and binge-watching Suits on USA. (A shameless plug: The show comes back on July 12 and I can’t wait. You’ll thank me later.)

Anyway, I told my now-husband about that when we were dating, so for our first Valentine’s Day, he recreated it, right down to the same Ben & Jerry’s pint I had savored. My waistline thanked me that year, considering we split it instead of me face planting into the entire thing.

I tell you this story because you need to understand my enthusiasm for Ben & Jerry’s. Now that this is established, I must also share my enthusiasm for Target. So: My favorite brand of ice cream has an exclusive flavor at my favorite store. Done deal, had to have it.

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Ben & Jerry’s Keep Caramel and Cookie On is described as “Caramel Malt Ice Cream with Shortbread Cookies, Fudge Flakes & Caramel Swirls.” The first thing I noticed about this ice cream was how incredibly smooth it is. Like “goes down way too easy let me keep digging into this pint” smooth. The smoothness could be attributed to the malt, which, based on my research, can add to the creamy texture.

While I loved the smoothness of the ice cream, the downfall was the actual caramel flavor. It was slightly underwhelming. That being said, the ice cream was not bad, just not as caramel-y as I was expecting. It seems as though the focus was more on the add-ins and the ice cream was a bit overlooked. I definitely got more of a caramel note from the caramel swirls. I’m glad the swirls were there; otherwise, I would have been seriously missing some caramel flavor. #swirlpower

The fudge flakes are more than flakes – they’re basically glorified chocolate chips. Which was a nice surprise, considering I usually think of flakes as shavings or something not as prevalent. They were a nice add-in.

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But let me tell you about the shortbread. You guys, the shortbread cookies totally made this ice cream. Why have I not had shortbread with ice cream before? It was soft, not crunchy (from being embedded in the ice cream), and not overly sweet. It was such a nice addition without overpowering the rest of the flavors. Did I tell you I loved the shortbread?

All in all, this is a super solid Ben & Jerry’s flavor that gets my seal of approval. It left me wanting more…in a good way, not an unsatisfied way. I’m thinking some kind of ice cream float is in my future with the rest of this puppy.

(Nutrition Facts – 1/2 cup – 270 calories, 130 calories from fat, 14 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 65 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 25 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $4.49
Size: One pint
Purchased at: Target (Exclusive Flavor)
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Shortbread in your ice cream. I repeat, shortbread.
Cons: Not enough caramel to live up to the name.

REVIEW: Dairy Queen M&M’s Treatzza Pizza

James 2 Comments

Dairy Queen M M s Treatzza Pizza

Released in the mid-1990s, Dairy Queen’s Treatzza Pizza was one of those decades-defining consumer events – a’la Reebok Pump shoes and the Nickelodeon Time Blaster Alarm Clock – that seemingly EVERYBODY but me got to experience back in the day.

The commercials did a five-star job explaining why the $6.99 delicacy was more than a fast food gimmick – it was literally marketed as edible pop culture and digestible ephemera. Missing out on this was like missing out on Yikes! pencils and Pop-Qwiz popcorn – absolutely unforgivable.

Since I never tried the product in my youth, I assumed I would NEVER find out if the Treatzza lived up to all the hype. So when I heard the long discontinued product was coming back, I was ecstatic.

Even now I’m not entirely sure how long the Treatzza (which came in four glorious versions – more on that in just a bit) was sold. Some sources say the thing hung around as late as 2008, but I certainly don’t remember seeing the product on sale since at least 1999 in my neck of the woods. Obviously, I can’t tell you how the relaunched Treatzza compares to the original taste-wise, but it sure as sugar passes the eye test – this thing looks EXACTLY like it magically materialized from a 1995 sales circular ad.

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Just like in the good old days, the Treatzza comes in four permutations: one topped with Heath bar chunks, one topped with Reese’s cups, a “Choco-Brownie” one and – my personal fave – one sprinkled with diced M&M’s.

The featured iteration has a fudge cookie crunch base, vanilla soft serve as the “sauce,” and is complemented with a fine chocolate drizzle. The pie is divvied up into eight fairly consistent slices, so it’s easily enough to feed two people or provide quick snacks for at least four.

Dairy Queen M M s Treatzza Pizza 3

Naturally, the fog of nostalgia could impair my judgement, but regardless of its retro appeal this thing is just delightful. We’ve all had brownies topped with ice cream before, but the Treatzza feels like an entirely different kind of dessert. Here, the cookie, ice cream, fudge, and M&M’s merge into a delicious singularity. Conceptually it might be nothing more than an open-faced ice cream sandwich, but all the ingredients just gel into blissful, congealed harmony. It’s yummy, it’s filling, and I’d swear eating it automatically transported my taste buds back to the DQ of my youth, circa the opening night of Batman Forever.

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Yes, it’s just a giant frozen cookie with an entire M&M’s Blizzard dumped atop it, but I suppose that’s what makes it beautiful. Considering the $10 price point and (presumably) low consumer demand – not to mention it takes up so much space in the freezer – there’s no way this one’s going to be around for more than a few months.

All I can say is try it while you can, folks – that is, unless you feel like waiting around to 2037 to get your third chance.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 slice – 200 calories, 80 calories from fat, 9 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 85 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 20 grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $9.99
Size: N/A
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: The totally phat crunched up M&M’s taste both boss and fly on your tongue. The vanilla ice cream IS all that and a bag of chips. You and seven of your homeboys can share a pie while blasting a cassette tape of “Gangsta’s Paradise” on a loop for an hour in the parking lot.
Cons: The $10 price tag is inflation-tastic. The cookie crust might be a tad too hard to chew for some consumers. Wondering if this will or will not bring us one step closer to the resurrection of Dunkaroos and/or a Hootie and the Blowfish comeback.

REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Limited Batch Bob Marley’s One Love Ice Cream

Marvo 6 Comments

Ben Jerry s Limited Batch Bob Marley s One Love Ice Cream

For some people, when reggae plays, they skank.

When I hear reggae, I sleep.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike reggae. But its mellow beat is musical melatonin to me. At first, I’ll bob my head to it, but then that bobbing turns into nodding off.

The genre is big here on this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I heard a lot of Bob Marley throughout high school, which might explain why I had a hard time staying awake during my teen years.

Ben & Jerry’s has a flavor that honors the great sandman (to me) Bob Marley — One Love. It made its debut in the U.K. last year and it’s now popping up in the U.S. for a limited time at retailers and Scoop Shops. The flavor features banana ice cream, caramel and graham cracker swirls, and fudge peace signs.

Ben Jerry s Limited Batch Bob Marley s One Love Ice Cream 2

Because I like to scrape away the top layer with my spoon after first opening a pint, I got only the ice cream and swirls for my first few spoonfuls. Just those three ingredients created a combination that made me sing, “We’re jammin’, we’re jammin’, And I hope you like jammin’ too.”

Being a fan of banana-flavored anything, I love the ice cream base. Its flavor is mild and it works well with the buttery caramel and graham cracker swirls. Actually, the gooey caramel, gritty graham cracker swirl, and creamy banana ice cream brought back memories of Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding. Although One Love is less natural tasting than the popular dessert.

As I mowed through the top layer, I kept thinking this could be the best Ben & Jerry’s flavor I’ve had and could replace Americone Dream as my new favorite flavor.

But then I hit a very small speed bump.

Or “peace bump” might be more appropriate.

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I finally dug out a fudge peace sign and thought if just the ice cream and swirls are that awesome, then the addition of fudge pieces would take it to the next level. Except I didn’t expect that next level to be one down.

Now let me say that it’s really good with the fudge peace signs, but I think it tastes better without them. I just want to be alone with the ice cream and swirls and not have fudge popping up on us every so often to make sure we aren’t getting into trouble. I mean, the fudge pieces are fine. They’re similar in flavor with the fudge flakes they use in seemingly EVERY SINGLE FLAVOR. But I’ve been digging around them instead digging them up like I usually do.

With that said, Ben & Jerry’s Limited Batch Bob Marley’s One Love Ice Cream is definitely near the top of my list of favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavors. It’s a flavor that makes me want to skank.

DISCLOSURE: I received this pint for free from Ben & Jerry’s. I was not asked to review it, but I do think they expect me to post a photo on Instagram. Receiving a free sample did not influence my review in any way, although it probably reads like it did. But I assure you it did not.

(Nutrition Facts – 1/2 cup – 290 calories, 140 calories from fat, 15 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 36 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 29 grams of carbohydrates, and 4 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: One Pint
Purchased at: Received from Ben & Jerry’s
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: Really good with the fudge peace signs. Wonderful without the fudge peace signs. Makes me want to skank.
Cons: Slightly not as good with the fudge peace signs. Limited edition. Reggae makes me sleepy. Banana ice cream might not appeal to some.