I am sure most of you have heard the terrible news about the discontinuation of Ben & Jerry’s Oatmeal Cookie Chunk. Sadly, the delightful flavor is being carted off in a hearse somewhere on its way to the flavor graveyard. Oatmeal Cookie Chunk and I had a short, but wonderful relationship together and I will always cherish the good times we had together. However, I am proud (and slightly ashamed) to admit I went looking for a replacement. This leads us to the ice cream you see pictured above, Oatmeal Butterscotch Ice Cream. It’s a store brand ice cream that is put out by Safeway. I picked it up locally at a Tom Thumb grocery store. It was the closest thing I could find to Oatmeal Cookie Chunk, so when I saw it, I immediately grabbed it. It’s described as a cinnamon ice cream swirled with butterscotch and pieces of real oatmeal cookies. The keyword being, “pieces” notice they did not say chunks.
Upon opening the lid, my nostrils became overwhelmed with the smell of cinnamon. It was a nice surprise, and it was nice to see little pieces of oatmeal cookies poking out the top. I could tell right away that the cookie pieces would not be as big as the Ben & Jerry’s version, but I was okay with that. I scooped out a serving or two and went to work. The first thing that will hit you is the strong taste of cinnamon. At first it’s almost too much, but after a few bites your taste buds fall in love. Shockingly, I’d actually say that the base is better than the one used in Oatmeal Cookie Chunk.
However, the cookie pieces are definitely smaller and the butterscotch swirl is virtually non-existent. Every few bites you might get a hint of butterscotch, but it’s really just a tease. I will admit that the cookie pieces were a little bigger than I initially thought they’d be. The piece you see above was the biggest “chunk” I found in my two servings. In all honesty, it’s really a decent size for a mix-in, but Ben & Jerry’s has me spoiled. Enough about their size; how did the cookies taste? Well, they were actually very good! They lacked the almost doughy like quality of Ben & Jerry’s, but the taste was spot on. I swear one piece had a little bit of crunch to it, which was actually quite nice as it added texture to the frozen treat.
Overall? It’s like the girlfriend you get after your first love breaks your heart. She’ll never replace your first love, but she’ll do. She will be there for you when you’re sick, depressed, lonely and just plain hungry; just don’t expect any breakfast in bed or foot rubs. I give this flavor a solid B and will definitely buy it again.
Where Zachary Found It: Tom Thumb
Zachary's Grade: B
