Yes, Ben & Jerry’s already has a s’mores flavor, but not why s’more?

S’rry.

Limited Batch Gimme S’more Ice Cream seems to be influenced by what Ben & Jerry’s did two years ago with its Flavor Flip line, which involved taking its popular varieties and “flip” them. For example, it turned Chubby Hubby (vanilla malt ice cream with peanutty fudge-covered pretzels and fudge and peanut buttery swirls) into Tubby Hubby (peanut butter ice cream with sweet and salty pretzel swirls and fudge swirls).

While the original S’mores Ice Cream features chocolate ice cream with fudge chunks, toasted marshmallow, and graham cracker swirls, this upended s’mores has toasted marshmallow ice cream with chocolate cookie swirls, graham cracker swirls, and fudge flakes.

I’ve eaten Ben & Jerry’s S’mores and find it to be heavy on the chocolate. While this new s’mores variety has a noticeable chocolatiness, the use of the toasted marshmallow ice cream and graham cracker swirl help balance the flavor. By itself, the base is vanilla-ish with a tinge of something else.

But what I like about Gimme S’more are the swirls, and there were a lot of them in my pint. They say too much of a good thing is bad for you. Well, if those folks eat this ice cream, they will also eat their words.

Unfortunately, as I dug through the container, I’d occasionally come across the graham cracker one, but most of them were the chocolate cookie swirls, which give off an Oreo vibe. Because the latter dominates the pint and the base is similar to vanilla, as a whole it tastes like a better cookies and cream ice cream.

As for the fudge flakes, they’re now fudge shards, and I did a little dance when I realized that. Okay, not a little dance. I jumped up, screamed “YES,” pumped my fists, and thrust my hips at a rhythm matching my yelling of “That. Is. How. It. Should. Be.”

As long as I can remember, fudge flakes were more like fudge plates. They were these half-inch long rectangles that, if you scooped one up, would dominate whatever else was on your spoon. I’ve complained they are larger than they should be, but in this flavor, they’re not.

It’s as if Ben & Jerry’s reads my reviews. Hi, Ben & Jerry’s!

Gimme S’more doesn’t make me think of s’mores, but neither did the original S’mores Ice Cream. Despite that and the fact it tastes like cookies and cream, I found myself quickly eating through the pint. It’s not s’mores to me, but I do want s’more of it.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample from Ben & Jerry’s. Receiving it for free did not influence my review in any way.

(Nutrition Facts – 1/2 cup – 310 calories, 160 calories from fat, 18 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 60 130 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 27 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Received from Ben & Jerry’s
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: It’s like a slightly better cookies and cream, but I still really like it. Fudge flakes are broken into smaller pieces (you don’t know how happy this makes me). Lots of swirls in my pint.
Cons: It’s like a slightly better cookies and cream, not s’mores. Need more graham cracker swirls. Kind of miss the squishy marshmallow swirl.

My relationship with Ben & Jerry’s goes way back. Our Facebook status would be “It’s Complicated” because of its on again/off again nature. While in college, a cone of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia was a splurge compared to the soft-serve offered on campus. While I lived in Mexico, I often longed for a scoop of Vermont gold instead of the frozen vegetable shortening offered by Nestle.

Our relationship back then was intense and passionate. These days, though, Ben & Jerry’s has taken a back seat to a more sultry suitor, Talenti.

Ice cream is my favorite food group and I’m not picky. If it’s cold, sweet, and creamy, I’m generally content. Until recently, Ben & Jerry’s distinguished itself from other brands for something I refer to as the “eat-in-one-sitting” factor. Their ice creams usually rate high on that factor and recently, when I’ve picked a pint of Pistachio Pistachio, I’m reminded of the steadfastness of my relationship with Ben & Jerry’s.

I was hoping that Ben & Jerry’s new Truffles line would woo me back to ice cream brand fidelity with the promise of a sweet lover’s whammy: ice cream and a decadent confection together. The Truffles line has three flavors: Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake, Chillin’ the Roast, and Chocolate Shake It! After trying these new flavors, our status is still “It’s Complicated.”

Chocolate Shake It Truffles

I started with this one because I’m not a big fan of malt flavors (except in beer) so I had low expectations and wanted to get it out of the way. I was wrong. It turned out to be my favorite of the three and the only one I felt compelled to eat the whole pint in one sitting. The chocolate malt milkshake ice cream base was mildly malt flavored, more like milk chocolate with a hint of malt. The marshmallow ribbons were gooey but not sticky.

The truffles had a dark chocolate cookie coating with a pronounced roasted (burnt?) flavor and were evenly balanced throughout the pint. Each spoonful of ice cream was more reminiscent of s’mores than Whopper malt balls. For someone like myself who doesn’t like malt, this was a plus. This was the most balanced flavor combination of the three.

Chillin’ the Roast Truffles

The coffee ice cream base had a distinct coffee flavor, not overpowering but definitely obvious. It reminded me of what my coffee tastes like when it has been sitting out for a few hours, half-and-half mildly soured.

The truffles had the same coating as Chocolate Shake It! but with a dense rum-laced liqueur core. The fudge swirls were unremarkable and did not seem elemental to this flavor mashup. The truffles were less evenly distributed in this flavor than in the other two flavors, though, overall, they were my favorite, especially when eaten separately from the ice cream base. This flavor was a nice change from plain ol’ coffee ice cream, but too intense for whole pint-bingeing.

Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake Truffles

In theory, this one sounded amazing. In practice, it was very disappointing. I kept looking at the label to remind myself of what Ben & Jerry’s was trying to achieve. What flavor was the ice cream base? Oh. Caramel Cheesecake? Okaaay. The truffles? Cheesecake? Oh really?

The graham cracker coating on these truffles disintegrated easily into the ice cream base, leaving a marble-sized pellet of frozen coconut oil. The “cheesecake” core tasted like coconut oil with lemon notes. The chocolate swirl didn’t meld well with rest of the flavor elements, perhaps because the flavor of the cheesecake truffle was so strong. Perhaps a caramel swirl would have been better suited? I tried this one last, fully expecting to eat it in one sitting. Alas, it’s one of a few ice creams I’ve ever tasted where I was not compelled to eat more than just the recommended serving. Ben & Jerry’s, you have betrayed me.

(Nutrition Facts – 1/2 cup – Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake – 300 calories, 19 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 65 milligrams of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 23 grams of sugars, and 4 grams of protein. Chillin’ The Roast – 270 calories, 17 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 70 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 23 grams of sugars, and 5 grams of protein. Chocolate Shake It! – 260 calories, 15 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 65 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 23 grams of sugars, and 4 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $4.69 each
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Food Lion
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Chocolate Shake It!)
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Chillin’ the Roast)
Rating: 4 out of 10 (Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake)
Pros: Ice cream and fancy candy together. Unique additions to otherwise common ice cream flavors.
Cons: Pronounced coconut oil flavor in some truffle bites. Ice cream base flavors that are just “meh.”