Lemon was once a concept I shied away from, but recently I’ve become more accepting of the idea. After sampling literally hundreds of different ice creams, my palate has become much more accepting of the fruit’s sour tendencies. Flavors like Lemon Cookie from Three Twins, Lemon Doberge Cake from New Orleans Ice Cream Company and even Ben & Jerry’s Liz Lemon Greek Frozen Yogurt have all exceeded my expectations, so I was excited to hear Blue Bell had plans to jump on the lemon bandwagon; especially when I heard what they’d be throwing inside. They’ve adopted a similar strategy to the one used in their Mint Cookies ‘N Cream, with a slight twist. Instead of the chocolate sandwich cookies they included in the mint version, Lemon Bliss features vanilla flavored crème-filled cookies surrounded be their lemon ice cream; a base I’ve yet to try from Blue Bell.
While the mint ice cream and chocolate crème-filled cookies accounted for 190 calories per serving, the lemon version comes in a little leaner at only 170 calories per serving. The consistency of the lemon ice cream is similar to many of the other bases used by Blue Bell; filling the gap between a super-premium and a budget brand like Blue Bunny or Breyer’s. In typical Blue Bell fashion, they’ve allowed the sweetness of their ice cream to drown out most of the natural tartness of the lemon; but I agree with this decision. With only some of the sourness breaking through the sugar, the lemon ice cream remains pleasant for far longer. Perhaps some of the sweetness could possibly be attributed to the thick, crème-filling that has managed to sneak out from between the vanilla cookies.
The half-gallon size that I picked up had plenty of bites void of any mix-ins, but the lemon ice cream was complex enough to hold its own even when alone. Similar to most of the sandwich cookie infused flavors currently available, Lemon Bliss contained some oversized chunks of golden Oreo impersonators. Although there were some smaller bits that barely influenced the bites they made their way into, this flavor really came to the forefront when I encountered the larger pieces. These cookie halves weren’t crunchy like their raw counterparts, but instead had a soft, chewy texture that released a heavily concentrated dose of vanilla, crème; all while adding some much needed texture to accompany the lemon ice cream. The feel and combination of flavors from a bite containing all the components was right up there with the premium competition from Three Twins and New Orleans Ice Cream.
Where I Found It: Super Wal-Mart
Grade: B
