Holy (insert here favorite/most used way to express excitement or surprise)!
I imagine that’s what many will think loudly or yell in the middle of Walmart after seeing the Taco Bell Chocolate Taco Dessert Kit on the shelf. I yelled “Holy Tofu” when I saw a picture of them.
Sure, you could head over to the freezer aisle and buy a box of pre-made Klondike Choco Tacos, but there’s no fun in that. With this kit, you can let your inner fattie go crazy like she or he got dropped in the middle of Wonka’s chocolate factory. The box provides you with six chocolate taco shells, chocolate sauce, and colorful sprinkles; you bring the ice cream, whatever ingredients your sugar hungry-head wants, and the giddiness of making your own dessert taco.
I showed restraint and picked up just vanilla ice cream and whipped cream to replicate what’s on the box. However, I do have a second box and every time I think about what nasty things I’m going to do with that second set of chocolate taco shells my teeth and liver gets scared.
If you do pick up a Taco Bell Chocolate Taco Dessert Kit, you may end up with broken taco shells, much like other reviewers and I did (I ended up with four mostly intact shells). This, I imagine, will make some children cry, but it’s not a complete waste, because you know the old saying, when life gives you broken chocolate taco shells, make chocolate nachos.
I decided to use Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream because I thought it would be appropriate to use ice cream that’s not Danish with a taco kit from a company that’s not Mexican. If you have surgeon hands, stuffing ice cream into the taco shell will be easy peasy. If you’re naturally rough when handling delicate things, there’s a good chance you’re eating chocolate nachos, because the shells are quite fragile. An iced tea spoon is an ideal ice cream stuffing utensil to use, if your Rubbermaid utensil organizer happens to have one.
Biting into a completed dessert taco is very much like sinking your teeth into s’mores or human flesh–it quickly gets messy. Because of the very fragile chocolate shells and soft filling, one bite causes other parts of the shell to collapse. I estimate these dessert tacos are three or four times messier than eating a Taco Bell Crunchy Taco Supreme, so I’d recommend eating them over a large plate, in a shower, or sneak into a stranger’s house where you don’t have to clean up after yourself.
The chocolate shell’s color is a bit deceiving. With its dark color you might think it’s like eating a Cocoa Pebbles taco shell, but I have some bad news. There’s a sweetness to them, but the chocolate is hard to detect. Although, that’s not surprising since Taco Bell’s Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos also have shells with not much flavor. The dark brown shells also have a slightly stale texture, which seems strange for a product that just hit shelves, and a corn tortilla chip aftertaste.
When you’re making your dessert taco and squeezing out chocolate sauce from its packet, I recommend following the same instructions you’d find on a bottle of sunscreen–apply liberally. Doing so will help you not notice the corn chip aftertaste too often. As for the candy sprinkles, they give the dessert tacos color, texture, and partially hydrogenated oil.
A constructed Taco Bell Chocolate Taco mostly works. The taco shell’s crunch combined with the cool and creamy ice cream, gooey chocolate sauce, and airy whipped cream creates waves of textures. The chocolate taco shell could’ve used a bit more cocoa flavoring, but that one shortcoming can be hidden by adding a bit more chocolate sauce or stuffing the shell with an ice cream that’s a bit more exciting than vanilla.
Overall, I liked the Taco Bell Chocolate Taco Dessert Kit, even though, to be honest, the chocolate taco shells are the only thing special about it. It was fun to make and the end result was satisfying…and messy…but slightly more satisfying than messy.
Note: Thanks to Impulsive Buy reader Jonathan for sending me two Taco Bell Chocolate Taco Dessert Kits and one Taco Bell Cinnamon Nachos Dessert Kit. I really appreciate it. Well, my teeth and liver don’t, but all the other body parts do.
(Nutrition Facts – 1/6 package with 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream and 2 Tbsp whipped cream – 260 calories, 110 calories from fat, 12 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat*, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 85 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 24 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.)
*made with partially hydrogenated oils
Item: Taco Bell Chocolate Taco Dessert Kit
Purchased Price: $2.50
Size: 5.82 oz.
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Makes a decent dessert taco. The excitement of coming up with your own dessert taco idea. Enough sprinkles and chocolate sauce to apply liberally to six tacos. Chocolate sauce helps taco shell’s shortcoming. The different ingredients creates waves of textures. Being optimistic and making chocolate nachos when life gives your broken chocolate taco shells.
Cons: Taco shells are fragile and you may end up with broken ones after opening the kit. Messy to eat. The chocolate taco shells are the only thing special about the kit. Taco shell has a corn tortilla chip aftertaste and could use a bit more cocoa flavoring. A bit difficult to stuff shells with ice cream without the right utensils.