Ice Cream – Page 37 – The Impulsive Buy

REVIEW: Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins Affogato

Tiffany / April 5, 2019 / Reviews / 1 Comment

What is the Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins Affogato?

An affogato is a classic Italian dessert featuring gelato “drowned” (direct translation of the word) by warm espresso. In this version, it’s naturally Dunkin’s espresso poured over Baskin-Robbin’s ice cream.

How is it?

Better than expected!

This combination isn’t new to me, but Dunkin’ isn’t really a place where I would think to order this because it sounds fancy and frou frou. But, if you haven’t tried one yet, it basically tastes like a coffee milkshake (if ordered with vanilla like I did).

However, because ice cream is less dense than gelato, the pour-over created a weird looking texture that I can only describe as brain-like. Appetizing, I know.

Also, the vanilla ice cream was a bit too icy for my liking. Baskin-Robbins used to the gold standard for me as a kid! Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Is there anything else you need to know?

You can get any one of the 31 flavors as the base for your affogato! The gal working mentioned that she tried it with the Jamoca Almond Fudge and didn’t love it because it just tasted like a “less sweet version.” So, it’s probably better to stick with a more plain flavor.

Conclusion:

I would order this again! I think this new offering makes the combo stores a bit more exciting for me. I like less-sweet flavor profiles, so next time I’ll get it with a chocolate ice cream for a mocha version!

Purchased Price: $3.49
Size: N/A
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Not available.

REVIEW: Dairy Queen Oreo Cookie Jar Blizzard

Denis / April 4, 2019 / Reviews / 3 Comments

What is the Oreo Cookie Jar Blizzard?

Dairy Queen’s Blizzard of the Month for April brings together three veterans of the Blizzard universe — Oreo cookie pieces, chocolate chip cookie dough, and fudge — which of course is all blended with vanilla soft serve.

How is it?

It’s not life-altering, but this one ranks solidly in the upper echelon of tasty Blizzard combinations. I’ve never met an Oreo-infused Blizzard that I didn’t like, and the one-two punch of that classic chocolate cookie crunch and fudge is always good, and then the cookie dough adds another level to the experience.

This has a complex and satisfying flavor combo, especially considering it has only three things mixed in. Plus, the blending of textures here is a bit unique in that is has the crunch of the Oreo wafers and the soft chewiness of the dough. A good number of other Blizzards have just one consistency — be it crunchy, gooey, or chewy — so having two together is a nice change of pace. The cookie dough also prevents this one from hitting the point where there’s too much chocolate, even though that’s a difficult threshold to achieve.

It’s not the most creative concoction, but props to DQ for not over-hyping the name like they sometimes do by adding “extreme,” “ultimate,” “awesome,” or “blizztastic.” (OK, so it never used that last one, but I wanted to get that term out there so if it ever does, then I can file a frivolous lawsuit for theft of intellectual property.)

Is there anything else you need to know?

This Blizzard might be the record-breaker for the longest gap between the original introduction and re-introduction. According to TIB’s handy dandy Blizzards of the Month chronology, this one was first unveiled back in September 2009 and has since been in hibernation. Nearly a decade later, it’s back. Why now? I have no idea. Maybe because it debuted before Instagram, so the Blizzard wizards at DQ simply forgot they’d already done this flavor.

Conclusion:

If I were a teacher and my job was to grade Blizzards, then I would never take a vacation or even complain about the low pay. And I would give this one a high B or low A, depending on what other Blizzards were in my class and if I was using the flawed bell curve system.

Will I be sad when April is over and the Oreo Cookie Jar Blizzard is gone? Yeah, somewhat, but I’m sure the Blizzard of the Month for May will cheer me up, especially if by some miracle DQ brings back the Nerds Blizzard (Google it, and I dare you not to run out and make it yourself after reading about it).

Purchased Price: $3.89
Size: Small
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (Small) 710 calories, 27 grams of fat, 14 grams of saturated fat,
0.5 gram of trans fat, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 430 milligrams of sodium, 106 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 75 grams of sugar, and 13 grams of protein.

Blizzard Dairy Queen Ice Cream

REVIEW: Kit Kat Cones

Meghan / April 3, 2019 / Reviews / 10 Comments

What are Kit Kat Cones?

Entering into the frozen treat category just in time for the warmer weather, these Kit Kat-themed Drumsticks offer vanilla frozen dairy dessert with a chocolatey coating and a fudge core placed atop a crispy sugar cone.

How are they?

Despite being as enjoyable as any other Drumstick flavor, I couldn’t help but feel a little let down by these. Although each component was good and made a tasty dessert when combined, none were able to capture the experience of eating an actual Kit Kat and translate it into a frozen dairy dessert form.

Putting aside the Kit Kat branding for a moment, it’s hard to find many other faults here. Between the vanilla ice cream, crisp chocolatey shell, and airy wafer bits, everything is really well balanced. Even the cones were crisp and fresh, and far exceeded my expectations. If I had to knock Nestle on anything else, it would be the fudge filling’s blandness. Although clearly present, it wasn’t flavorful enough to compete against everything else this treat has, and Nestle could have nixed it without compromising quality.

The main issue I have with these is that the box was the only aspect actually reminiscent of a real Kit Kat. The wafer bits stuck in the chocolatey coating weren’t prominent enough to simulate biting into a finger of the famous candy, and neither the sugar cone shell nor the chocolate coating tasted anything like the classic candy.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Nestlé would have been better off by taking the lead from Snickers Ice Cream Bars and modeling the form of these after actual Kit Kat wafers. They would have been a lot more successful if they had layered vanilla ice cream in-between stacked wafer cookies and just covered the entire thing in milk chocolate.

Conclusion:

Although Nestle’s new Kit Kat Cones are a worthy entry into the Drumstick line, they aren’t similar enough to their candy inspiration to justify the branding behind them. Rather than buying these, I’d recommend eating regular Kit Kats out of the freezer.

Purchased Price: $3.00
Size: 4 cones pack
Purchased at: Kroger
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cone) 280 calories, 12 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 105 milligrams of sodium, 42 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 27 grams of sugars, and 2 grams of protein.

Candy Ice Cream Kit Kat

REVIEW: Twix Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Bars

Rachel / March 21, 2019 / Reviews / 3 Comments

What is the Twix Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Bar?

Depending on how you choose to see it, these are either a new twixt (get it?) on the existing Twix ice cream bars or a meltable version of the Twix Triple Chocolate candy bar. The chocolate shell remains the same as the original ice cream bar, but the vanilla ice cream and cookie bits are now chocolate. The filling is not the chocolate caramel of the candy bar, but the same gooey caramel of the O.G. ice cream bar.

How is it?

I was a tiny bit disappointed that neither iteration of the Twix ice cream bar maintains the classic Twix cookie-on-the-bottom construction. It’s what makes a Twix a Twix. But I didn’t linger long on this because I was won over by its taste on the first bite.

These were straight up delicious, and the experience was more than the sum of its parts. The fluffy ice cream had a strong hot cocoa essence, which was unexpected in a cold item. The cookie bits brought a nice crunch and a darker chocolate. The coating, while a standard milk chocolate, brought us to three different chocolate profiles, which I loved. The caramel filling wasn’t anything special but was tasty and a little on the thin side, which works well with ice cream.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Whatever you do, do not peel off the top layer of chocolate coating. The visual of these bars naked is something out of an HR Giger nightmare. I’m pretty sure those cookie balls are hatching in my belly right now…

Yeesh.

Conclusion:

Do not wait for sunburn season to find these. Chocolate fans, Twix fans, Alien fans – they’re well worth a try. They might be my go-to summer treat. Just don’t look under the hood.

Purchased Price: $4.29
Size: 11 oz. box / 6 bars
Purchased at: ShopRite
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) 160 calories, 9 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 50 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 grams of fiber, 15 grams of total sugars, 13 grams of added sugars and 2 grams of protein.

Ice Cream Twix

REVIEW: Haagen-Dazs Spirits Collection Ice Cream (U.S.)

Meghan / March 20, 2019 / Reviews / 9 Comments

Judging from the length of their corresponding aisles at the grocery store, it’s no secret that Americans love alcohol and ice cream. Despite this, mergers between the two seem rare with mainstream brands.

Befitting of the most drunken-sounding ice cream brand, Haagen-Dazs has risen to fill this void of boozy frozen desserts with the release of its new Spirits Collection. Each pint features a different variety of popular liquor, paired alongside indulgent mix-ins, and Haagen-Dazs’ famously rich ice cream.

Bourbon Vanilla Bean Truffle

Perhaps the most basic of the bunch, this offering blends classic vanilla ice cream with miniature chocolate truffles and a spicy bourbon swirl.

Although that description may sound unexciting when compared to this line’s other offerings, this flavor goes to show that ice cream doesn’t have to be complicated to be good. With a dense, sweet, vanilla bean-flecked base, I found it easy to appreciate this variety’s superb consistency and mouthfeel, and the tiny truffles dotted throughout helped to provide intermittent bursts of crunch and texture.

Rather than finding distinct ribbons of bourbon swirled throughout, I tasted hints of booze in each spoonful and found the alcohol’s slight edge helped to make this flavor seem like an “adult’s only” version of vanilla bean ice cream.

Purchased Price: $4.39
Purchased at: Food Lion
Size: 14 fl. oz.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 340 calories, 20 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 80 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 36 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 34 grams of total sugars, 29 grams of added sugars, and 4 grams of protein.

Rum Tres Leches

This flavor swirls a trio of south-of-the-border indulgences — generous chunks of tres leches, dulce de leche, and a rum-infused base.

Don’t speak Spanish? Then I’ll translate for you – this is a white rum ice cream with chunks of cake soaked in sweetened condensed milk and ribbons of gooey caramel sauce. And, yes, it’s as tooth-achingly sweet as it sounds.

Although I like each component individually, they’re too much when together. The alcohol, although detectable, is much more muted than in the Bourbon Vanilla Truffle, and the milk-soaked cake pieces were surprisingly dry and stale. Rather than buying this, I’d recommend heading down to your local Mexican restauranté and drinking a mojito or two alongside a slice of traditionally prepared Tres Leches.

Purchased Price: $4.39
Purchased at: Food Lion
Size: 14 fl. oz.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 360 calories, 21 grams of fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 85 milligrams of cholesterol, 105 milligrams of sodium, 38 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 35 grams of total sugars, 25 grams of added sugars, and 5 grams of protein.

Irish Cream Brownie

Voyaging across the Atlantic, this St. Patrick’s Day-approved variety utilizes an Irish cream-flavored base, brownie chunks, and a fudge swirl.

Calling the brownie bits “chunks” is being pretty generous, though, because I got very few fully intact pieces in my pint. Instead, most were obliterated in a brownie crumb explosion that masked whatever pitiful amount of fudge swirl Haagen-Dazs managed to get into this flavor.

I didn’t think the Irish Cream base was anything special, either. It tasted good – all Haagen-Dazs tastes good – but I would have been just as happy to pour some Baileys on top of a scoop of its vanilla ice cream.

Purchased Price: $4.39
?Purchased at: Food Lion
Size: 14 fl. oz.
Rating: 6 out of 10
?Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 360 calories, 21 grams of total fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 80 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 37 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 25 grams of added sugars, and 5 grams of protein.

Stout Chocolate Pretzel Crunch

Also drawing inspiration from Ireland, this pub-grub-styled dessert features stout-infused chocolate ice cream mixed with chocolate covered pretzels and a fudge swirl.

Similar to the previous flavor, this variety also suffered from having a less than impressive fudge swirl. Even so, I didn’t find myself missing the swirl’s added richness as much here, because I thought the chocolate stout base was plenty satisfying by itself. Although I had initially been concerned about its boozy infusion being covered up by cocoa, my concerns were unjustified, as the two flavors work to complement one another well.

The chocolate covered pretzels were similarly well-executed. I find that most pretzels tend to get soggy in ice cream, but these were pleasantly crunchy and added a needed pop of salt that helped to break through the dessert’s richness.

Purchased Price: $4.39
Purchased at: Food Lion
Size: 14 fl. oz.

Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 360 calories, 19 grams of total fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 80 milligrams of cholesterol, 130 milligrams of sodium, 41 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 32 grams of total sugars, 27 grams of added sugars, and 6 grams of protein.

Conclusion:

Although each of these flavors has minor flaws, Haagen-Dazs is definitely on the right track by expanding its library of desserts to include its Spirits Collection. I only hope other brands will follow its lead because booze-infused ice cream is a trend that I can get behind!

Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream