I can always go for a little crunch in my ice cream, so I remained adamant about tracking down one of Ben & Jerry’s best. Although this offering isn’t limited or exclusive, Chubby Hubby had eluded me for months. Fortunately on my latest trip to an independent super market in my area, I was able to procure a pint of the fudge covered peanut butter filled pretzels in vanilla malt ice cream with fudge and peanut buttery swirls. The touch of malt included in the vanilla ice cream is something I’ve yet to see from a Ben & Jerry’s flavor, so I’m looking forward to sampling this unique base.
At a belt-busting 340 calories per serving, perhaps that’s a good thing Chubby Hubby isn’t readily available in my area. Pulling off the all-black top exposes a lightly colored ice cream with stripes of both swirls and plenty of those chocolate-covered pretzels manage to poke through the top. Although it’s hard to secure a scoop void of any mix-ins, I manage to snake my spoon around enough to sample the vanilla malt all by itself. I’m not sure what the inspiration was behind incorporating malt flavoring, but I’m certainly glad they did. The result is slightly reminiscent of the taste you’d get from a classic diner milkshake, and one that is a step above the standard version.
After agreeing with the inclusion of malt, I’m ready to move on to the swirls. While most of their flavors only feature one, Ben & Jerry’s has opted for both a fudge and peanut butter variation in their Chubby Hubby. The fudge swirl remains in liquid in consistency and brings a rich, chocolate taste. The peanut buttery swirl is firm, remains rigid and brings a salty contrast to the other sugary ingredients. While the two sauces and the ice cream could hold their own, Ben & Jerry’s isn’t finished. They’ve also included one of their more complex mix-ins to finish off this flavor.
From the bottom to the top, these pillow-shaped pretzels fill in all the spaces the dueling swirls manage to miss. These peanut butter filled, fudge coated pretzels provide multiple tastes and textures. The rich exterior melts down quickly, followed by the familiar crunch and salty flavor from the pretzels. The core finishes with peanut butter, a near-perfect parting gift. With the exception of a few soggy pretzels, I couldn't get enough of these. Any flavor that has a better than average base, some solid swirls and a crunchy mix-in tends to do pretty well on this blog and this is no exception. This will be my new fix when I'm looking for something sweet, salty and crunchy.
Where I Found It: Harris Teeter
Grade: A
