After having sampled Blue Bell's Christmas Cookies and Fudge Divinity, I felt compelled to give yet another one of their Holiday seasonal flavors a try, so say hello to Spiced Pumpkin Pecan. The container promised a spiced pumpkin ice cream with sugar-coated pecans and rich cinnamon-honey-praline sauce. Since I love every single ingredient mentioned, I couldn't wait to dig in!
Peeling back the lid, I was greeted by a pleasant sight: the base ice cream, rather than looking like a vanilla with some kind of pumpkin flavoring feebly mixed in, had the rich brownish-orange look of pure pumpkin. Even better was the sight of a thick dark honey-colored ribbon of cinnamon that was pooling plentifully on the surface. Digging in, my spoon quickly encountered the crunch of the pecans. However, at first glance these pecans were disappointing: Instead of the larger, whole-sized pecans Blue Bell mixes in to their Pecan Praline flavor, these were the smaller pecan pieces that characterized their Fudge Divinity offering, pieces that added little to that flavor's taste. But this initial evaluation proved to be misleading: Biting in to the ice cream, I quickly realized that the sugar-coating on these pecans makes them a very welcome addition to Spiced Pumpkin Pecan's taste. Still, the real reason I polished this tub off in record time is the fantastic base and copious cinnamon swirl. The base ice cream has a rich, nutmeg-pumpkin flavor definitely evocative of a good pumpkin pie filling. Complimenting this perfectly is the thick cinnamon ribbon that does indeed combine both honey and praline flavors. As can be seen below, this ribbon is provided in a generous quantity that drenches the ice cream and pecans making each spoonful a blissful treat. I am not sure that even this picture does justice to the sheer quantity of cinnamon swirl, as my spoon constantly broke through what appeared to be a solid ice cream surface into yet another rich subterranean pool of sauce.
I highly recommend Spiced Pumpkin Pecan to anyone with a sweet tooth aching to be satisfied with a smorgasbord of pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon, pecan, honey, and praline flavors. At this time of the year, it hit just the right spot! But a warning: If you are in more of a savory mood, pick something else, as this flavor is sweet with a capital "S".
Where Steve Found It: Winn-Dixie
Steve's Grade: A