Just a few weeks after my recent move, I discovered that I lived less than a mile from a Dairy Queen location. I took this as a sign from the ice cream Gods that I should occasionally add some fast food treats to the blog. It seems like there’s a direct correlation between the amount of mix-ins in a particular flavor and the grade I give it; which bodes well for Dairy Queen’s Blizzard of the Month. Their Choco Covered Pretzel with Peanut Butter Blizzard is described as choco covered pretzel pieces, peanut butter and choco chunks in creamy vanilla soft serve. They offer sizes mini through large, but I opted for the medium; which seemed more than enough to serve as an accurate representation.
The substantial weight of the cup and the large influx of chocolate-covered mix-ins sitting on top verify the 900 calories contained inside, but could become more manageable if you ordered the 380 calorie mini or 660 calorie small sized portions. Dairy Queen has always seemed to pride themselves on their patented vanilla soft-serve and although I’m usually opposed to lighter, less dense ice creams, I embrace my first Blizzard purchase for what it is. The nature of these churned creations don’t allow for the vanilla ice cream to be tasted independently so all the components must be experienced all at once, just the way Dairy Queen intended. I plunge my long, red spoon into the middle of the cup and bring out my first bite; complete with fudge chunks and chocolate-coated pretzels. The soft-serve base is so infused with the peanut butter syrup they've drizzled inside that the taste resembles that of a peanut butter ice cream more so than vanilla. The light-airy consistency is not only attributed to the soft-serve characteristics, but also to the lower butterfat content of the ice cream itself. This gives the ice cream portion of the blizzard a non-super-premium feel. Fortunately for us, Dairy Queen makes up for the subpar base with the more than ample amount of mix-ins they’ve added to assist the soft-serve.
The peanut butter syrup, as I mentioned before, has infused itself with the vanilla soft-serve and strings across many of the mix-ins that sit on top of the cup. This gives nearly every bite a steady dose of peanut butter flavoring; one that compliments both the vanilla and the chocolate. The choco chunks come in the form of various sized slivers of soft, milk chocolate; as well as larger sized shapes that resemble those of the choco-covered pretzels. They make their way into every spoonful, and depending on the size, provide a varying range of crunch to each bite. Where most chocolate chips used in premium ice creams are frequently too hard, the soft, fast-melting texture of these provides a rich contrast to the base ice cream.
The real highlight of this Blizzard of the Month is the high amount of choco-covered pretzel pieces they’ve included. The chocolate exterior quickly melts away to expose the crunchy pretzel stick inside. These provide a high amount of crunch to a flavor that already had a complex texture, which made this Blizzard relevant in the rankings. This combination of chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter, salt and some crunch do their best Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby impersonation, but comes up short when compared to the super-premium competition. Another topic that should be touched on seems to be the inconsistency from store to store. My particular cup was chock full of different mix-ins, however some of the other examples I've seen haven't been so fortunate. Where you can expect the same product over and over from many of the major manufacturers, human error at some of these fast food locales can account for some deviation when it comes to these Blizzard Treats.
Where I Found It: Dairy Queen
Grade: B
