Ice Cream – Page 17 – The Impulsive Buy

REVIEW: Dairy Queen Cinnamon Roll Centers Blizzard

Denis / September 2, 2022 / Reviews / 10 Comments

What is it?

Dairy Queen’s Cinnamon Roll Centers Blizzard is the Co-September Blizzard of the Month (along with the Pumpkin Pie Blizzard) and also part of the Fall Blizzard Menu. This one has soft cinnamon roll center pieces with brown butter cinnamon topping and DQ soft serve.

How is it?

I’ve never met a Blizzard that I didn’t like…until now. I thought this new flavor might be good after reading the description, but I was wrong. Very wrong.

I think we can all agree that the center is the best part of a cinnamon roll. To me, the center part is wonderful because it’s soft, gooey and decadent. But these pieces had a strange texture and taste. They were a bit gritty, not really soft and didn’t even taste much like a cinnamon roll. They just tasted like semi-sweet pieces of cookie dough.

And things did not get any better by avoiding the cinnamon roll pieces and just eating the ice cream with the cinnamon topping. I could tell the topping was in there because of the color, but it had only a faint cinnamon taste. This one was just disappointing all around.

Anything else you need to know?

Since this Blizzard isn’t particularly good to eat, perhaps you’d prefer it as a scented pillow? While the details are somewhat vague, the DQ website is promoting “The Fall Blizzard Menu Pillow Fight,” which is a collection of pillows that are supposed to smell like Blizzards. Most of the pillows appear to the standard square variety, but there’s also one in the form of a slice of pumpkin pie and another in the shape of a cinnamon roll. The website says to check back on September 7 for more information on how to order, or maybe win a set as there looks to be a sweepstakes component to this promotion.

Conclusion:

I’m guessing I’ve had at least 100 varieties of Blizzards over the years, and this might be the first one that I didn’t not finish. It’s just not good. But I will happily forgive DQ for this dud considering all the delicious Blizzards I have previously enjoyed.

Purchased Price: $4.49
Size: Small
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (Small) 620 calories, 22 grams of fat, 14 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 85 milligrams of cholesterol, 270 milligrams of sodium, 93 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 75 grams of sugar, and 13 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Little Debbie Pumpkin Delights Ice Cream

Julie / September 2, 2022 / Reviews / 24 Comments

It’s that time of year, folks.

PUMPKINUNDATION: the annual influx of pumpkin-inspired products into our grocery stores, characterized by bright orange packaging and liberal use of spice. Whether Pumpkinundation inspires profound joy or the urge to grumble that maple is the superior fall flavor, we junk foodies know that pumpkin rings the official bell of autumn.

To me, there is no greater harbinger of autumn than Little Debbie Pumpkin Delights. Styled like jack-o’-lantern faces, these seasonal soft spiced cookies are stuffed with pumpkin jam filling. They are chewy, delicious, and easily crushed in your purse when you carry one around as an emergency dessert. (I am speaking from experience.) Pumpkin Delights are Charlie Brown’s Great Pumpkin in edible form. When they appear on shelves, I am overtaken by a terrible urge to wear heavy wool sweaters and visit a Spirit Halloween store in August. In short, I love them.

Little Debbie and Hudsonville Creamery have granted my autumn wish by adding a Pumpkin Delights variety to their line of ice creams. This Walmart-exclusive line is extensive and has received largely favorable reviews from our contributors. Since this was my first experience with the line, I was eager to evaluate both the product’s overall taste and its similarity to its beloved namesake.

This new variety’s package offers no hint as to its flavor or composition (besides “artificial flavors added”), so I dove spoon first into the mystery. Peeling back the foil lid, I was pumpkin-delighted to see orange: a pumpkin base. Maybe I am just cynical by nature, but I had expected vanilla ice cream, an easy base to carry novel mix-ins. I should have known Little Debbie takes no shortcuts.

The ice cream is creamy, delicious, and nicely rich. Unlike other pumpkin snacks, it doesn’t rely too heavily on spice for flavor. It reminds me of a pumpkin cheesecake ice cream: a bit of tang and a bit of spice that enhance an authentic pumpkin taste.

Within the base is a graham cookie swirl that basically tastes like a mashed up Pumpkin Delight cookie. Its flavor is wonderful: a combination of pumpkin, molasses, and brown sugar. A hint of grittiness through the cookie crumbs adds a pleasant texture — a welcome departure from the Pumpkin Delight’s softness. My major gripe is that there isn’t nearly enough swirl. I found one good hunk of the stuff in my serving, and as I dug through the remnants of the container, I excavated mere additional scraps.

Although stingy — no, miserly — with its cookie swirl, Little Debbie’s Pumpkin Delights Ice Cream is a delicious fall treat for pumpkin lovers and a satisfying counterpart to its cookie inspiration. It is high quality ice cream — not “frozen dairy dessert” — and certainly the best I’ve tried at this price point. For $2.50 per pint, I might pick up another container and go excavating for more cookie swirls. Digging for sugar, after all, is the most time-honored tradition of Pumpkinundation.

Purchased Price: $2.50
Size: One pint
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 2/3 cup) 240 calories, 12 grams of total fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 85 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 23 grams of sugar including 17 grams of added sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

Ice Cream Little Debbie

REVIEW: Jack in the Box Oreo Cookie Ultimate Chocolate Shake

Marvo / August 5, 2022 / Reviews / 2 Comments

This is what Jack in the Box’s mobile app says about its new Oreo Cookie Ultimate Chocolate Shake, “It’s the best of both worlds – our rich old-fashioned chocolate shake with fan-favorite Oreo cookie crumbles mixed in and topped off with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. You don’t have to thank us for this game changer, but you’re welcome to.”

Game changer, huh?

It’s a chocolate shake with Oreo cookie crumbles in it. “Game changer” is a bit hyperbolic. If this shake is a game changer, then this sentence is the greatest sentence that uses the word “sentence” three times.

Look, if the whipped topping was also chocolate flavored or chocolate mousse, and if the maraschino cherry was chocolate coated, then it might be a “game changer” and worthy of the title “ultimate.” But what’s on top is just the standard white whipped topping and bright red cherry that come with Jack’s other shakes.

With that said, the Oreo Cookie Ultimate Chocolate Shake is as satisfying as Jack’s regular Oreo shake. The combination is a no-brainer, and it tastes exactly how you’d expect — chocolatey with little pops (and crunch) of darker chocolate from the cookie crumbles.

Like the word “ultimate” in this menu item’s name, the cherry is also unnecessary. I know it completes the whole shake experience and adds some color to the white whipped topping, but do you know what else would’ve added some color on this particular shake? More Oreo crumbles. As for the whipped topping’s contribution, it somewhat dilutes the flavors of the two headliners, and if I get this shake again, I’ll omit it.

Jack in the Box’s Oreo Cookie Ultimate Chocolate Shake is a perfectly fine dessert but isn’t the most imaginative idea, and it’s not a changer of games. If it came topped with Jack’s Chocolate Overload Cake, it would be the ultimate chocolate shake, and if it came with a couple of Jack’s mini churros lounging at the edge of the cup, that would be a game changer.

Purchased Price: $5.69
Size: Regular
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 790 calories – full nutrition facts unavailable.

Fast Food Ice Cream Jack in the Box

REVIEW: Dairy Queen Reese’s Take 5 Blizzard

Denis / August 4, 2022 / Reviews / 2 Comments

What is it?

The Reese’s Take 5 Blizzard is the August Blizzard of the Month, and Dairy Queen says it’s the first time ever that its signature treat contains five flavors, even if the math is a little fuzzy, as I’ll explain. This doesn’t contain pulverized Reese’s Take 5 bars but instead mimics the candy with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, caramel topping, peanuts, and pretzel pieces.

How is it?

It’s a touch disappointing if I’m being honest, and I don’t mess around with dishonesty when I’m talking about Blizzards. Before trying this, I was certain it would land at or near the top of my list of all-time favorites, but it comes up a little short.

For me, there’s just a bit too much going on, and perhaps that’s why DQ has never put five ingredients in a Blizzard. And I’m not even counting this as five flavors anyway. In an actual Take 5 bar, there are five parts, as the milk chocolate lovingly embraces and surrounds the pretzels, peanuts, peanut butter, and caramel, while this Blizzard uses peanut butter cups. Yes, I know PB cups contain peanut butter and chocolate, but for reasons I can’t articulate fully, I just can’t count that as two things.

As for how this tastes, the peanut butter flavor gets lost in the mix, which doesn’t quite seem right for something branded as Reese’s. The pretzels do give it a nice salty component to offset the sweetness, but again, the pretzel taste is hard to distinguish as the pieces have the same kind of crunch as the peanuts. And stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the caramel flavor is somewhat sparse because it’s fighting for attention against all its Take 5 friends. The four (or five) ingredients still combine for a pleasant taste experience, but instead of being distinctive, it’s almost more generic, like it should just be called a chocolatey peanutty Blizzard.

Anything else you need to know?

I guess I haven’t followed candy bar branding closely in recent years because I didn’t realize that this bar was simply called TAKE5 until the “Reese’s” name was added in 2019. Also, Hershey’s needs to hire a proofreader for its website because on the same page, it alternates between a space and no space in TAKE 5 (and the DQ website doesn’t use all caps, so I have no idea what the official name really is). Regardless, Hershey’s has said that the peanut butter in the bar has always been Reese’s since it debuted in 2004.

Conclusion:

Even if you ignore the minor mathematical issues with this Blizzard, it doesn’t quite add up to a perfect 10. It’s good — actually very good — but it’s a classic case of more is not always better.

Purchased Price: $4.49
Size: Small
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (Small) 770 calories, 34 grams of fat, 15 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 580 milligrams of sodium, 99 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 76 grams of sugar, and 21 grams of protein.

Dairy Queen Fast Food Ice Cream

REVIEW: Blue Bell Oatmeal Cream Pie Ice Cream

Denis / July 21, 2022 / Reviews / 7 Comments

What is it?

The Blue Bell website describes this new Oatmeal Cream Pie flavor in great detail, and since I assume many meetings and memos produced the synopsis, I’m just going to copy it: “A delicious oatmeal flavored ice cream with hints of brown sugar mixed with soft oatmeal cookies and a vanilla icing swirl.”

How is it?

Is this delicious, as the Blue Bell website promised? Well, almost. Let’s start with the “oatmeal flavored ice cream.” I’m not even sure oatmeal has a flavor, and that’s why you add cinnamon, sugar, fruit, or if you have the imagination of a 5-year-old like I do, gummy bears to your oatmeal. If I did a blind tasting of this ice cream, I’m not sure I would have pegged it as oatmeal flavored, and even with the power of suggestion, I didn’t really get an oatmeal vibe. The “hints of brown sugar” was also a bit of a miss, as it took my complete concentration to just sorta, kinda maybe think I tasted a little bit of brown sugar.

Things do improve substantially for the second half of the description. The oatmeal cookies are indeed soft, as well as pleasantly chewy, and generously mixed throughout the ice cream. There are some good-sized chunks in here. The vanilla icing brings a nice sweetness to the mix with a bit of a different texture that I did like. While this flavor as a complete package doesn’t quite live up to its billing, it’s still pretty tasty.

Anything else you need to know?

Doing these reviews has allowed me to compile plenty of knowledge that, while interesting, is totally useless for any other purpose except for filling space in said reviews. Since the Little Debbie brand is synonymous with oatmeal creme (not cream) pies, it got me wondering if Little Debbie is a real person. It turns out she is, and Debbie McKee-Fowler is no longer little and is now the executive vice president of McKee Foods, which owns Little Debbie. If I ever get on Jeopardy! then maybe that knowledge will pay off, but if not, I’ve just cluttered up my brain – and now yours – with information none of us will ever need.

Conclusion:

This flavor to me is like a band that I wouldn’t pay full price to see because I only like some of their songs. If a friend has a free ticket or I see a discounted Groupon deal, then I’ll probably go, but I wouldn’t have the urge to go out and find tickets myself. I’m going to finish this pint and enjoy it, but next time I’m at the store, I’ll probably buy a different flavor.

Purchased Price: $3.29
Size: One Pint
Purchased at: H-E-B
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 260 calories, 13 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 110 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 25 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

Blue Bell Ice Cream