NEWS: The Birthday Cake Oreo Blizzard, Dairy Queen's Blizzard of the Month for January 2015

It's been a while since Dairy Queen has been able to capture our attention with a new Blizzard Treat, but it looks like that will change come January 2015. That's the slated release date for the creation above: The Birthday Cake Oreo Blizzard - Oreo cookie pieces, confetti frosting with sprinkles.

REVIEW: Turkey Hill Lady Liberty Mint

Because of the holiday season, the majority of the mint flavored ice creams I've had recently revolved around the red and white striped candy, but after running across this rarity in my ice cream aisle, I couldn't resist going green. Although I'm not sure of the inspiration behind this particular carton, Turkey Hill pays homage to the Statue of Liberty with Lady Liberty Mint, a mint chocolate ice cream with chocolate cake crunches and crunchy chocolate cookie swirl. Even boasting a slew of statue fun facts on the back of the container, I don't make it through many before skipping straight ahead to tearing the lid off.

After removing the lid dedicated to America's symbol of freedom and democracy, the light green first layer has me yearning for more. Luckily, from prior experience, I've found Turkey Hill doesn't like to show their hand initially. Most of the their cartons containing a swirl tend to concentrate a high quantity into the middle layer, which means most is left to the imagination before breaking ground. The 170 calories per serving is pretty consistent with other Turkey Hill flavors, and is confirmed by the soft, fluffy feel as I scoop some into a bowl. As I had anticipated, the deeper I dug into this carton, the more the enormous crunchy chocolate cookie swirl came into play. Chocolate cookie swirls are among my favorite, and have heavily effected the scores of flavors like Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Therapy, as well as their own Double Dunker.

Bringing my first bite up to my mouth, it's hard to ignore the intense smell of the aromatic herb, more so than with the other mint selections I've recently had. The base ice cream is nice and sweet, containing a strong cooling effect that begins to spread around the inside of my mouth. Although it's not a trait that I appreciate, the smooth, yet fluffy consistency helps alleviate the sensation. As you can see from the pictures, Turkey Hill isn't shy with the amount of chocolate cookies and cake they've shoved inside. The tiny chocolate cake crunchies are almost too small to notice, but the soft pieces of cake inside the slightly crunchy coating add a bit of texture and taste.

Where the French gave America The Statue of Liberty as a gift, Turkey Hill gives us the crunchy chocolate cookie swirl, and to someone who enjoys ice cream, something nearly as valuable. This thick, rich and chocolatey swirl comes in extra-large layers and is just as impressive as the cinnamon, graham cracker swirl found in their Pumpkin Pie. Each mouthful of flaky chocolate cookie that I taste takes me on a trip, with both taste and texture. Although mint flavored ice cream doesn't typically have the ability to truly excel, Turkey Hill has finally found a way to free this ice cream from it's usual ceiling.

Where I Found It: Kroger
Grade: B

REVIEW: Häagen-Dazs Midnight Cookies & Cream (Walgreens Exclusive)

I've always wondered how store-exclusive flavors come to be. How is it that Häagen-Dazs and Walgreens pharmacy were able to come to terms on creating a flavor specifically for their customers? While Ben & Jerry's have a few exclusive flavors, such as Blueberry Cheesecake available only at Wal-Mart, Häagen-Dazs has a handful as well. While 7-Eleven has the rights to offer Bananas Foster, Walgreens was able to lock down not one, but two flavors. Joining Pralines & Cream, Midnight Cookies & Cream looked a little more enticing. The liquid fudge cascading down chocolate cookies on the front cover didn't hurt either.

I've always appreciated the flavor profile rundowns on the rear of Häagen-Dazs pints, but this one sounds better than most. They describe Midnight Cookies & Cream as an indulgent blend of smooth chocolate ice cream, buttery fudge ribbons and chocolaty wafer cookies. Removing the gold lid and pulling back the plastic seal shows off a large array of cocoa components. The lightly shaded chocolate base is broken up by swirls of fudge and chunks of cookie. After trying so many non-super premium, low calorie brands as of late, the density of Häagen-Dazs doesn't disappoint.

The 290 calories per serving is a bit on the high side, but that thought is quickly ushered out of my mind following my first bite. The thick chocolate ice cream follows the profile laid out on the pint's description. The mellow, yet rich cocoa flavoring avoids the odd, dry finish that many chocolate bases seem to have a problem with. The slow melting, complex chocolate could have kept my attention all by itself, but once I begin to run into the fudge and cookies, this flavor begins to skyrocket up the standings. Although not overly abundant, the buttery ribbons of fudge remain liquid-like and add an intense influx in chocolate flavoring.

The fudge swirl was a nice accompaniment to the base ice cream, but the pieces of chocolate wafer cookies are the crowning achievement of this flavor. The chunks aren't crunchy as I'd expected, but instead, the varying size pieces are flaky, soft and chewy from beginning to end. Despite having all the chocolate components, the overall profile still manages to avoid being overly rich. The nice balance of flavors, textures and varying richness result in a flavor that's worth seeking out. The next time you're feeling sick and picking up a prescription, I'd advise grabbing a pint of this. You'll feel much better.

Where I Found It: Walgreens
Grade: B

READER REVIEW: Derek's Review of Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter World (Target Exclusive)

The combination of peanut butter and chocolate may have more ice cream offerings than any other flavor on the market. Because of this, I am always eager to try a new one in hopes that it can unseat my current go-to favorite Ben and Jerry’s Peanut Butter World. This exclusive flavor, found only at Target, is described as “milk chocolate ice cream with peanut buttery swirls & chocolate cookie swirls.” At 340 calories per serving your waistline will certainly not get as much enjoyment out of this pint as your taste buds will.

Ben and Jerry’s is known for having a sub-par chocolate base, but their milk chocolate base is a completely different story. The sweet, creamy base provides the perfect chocolate flavor that is enjoyable both by itself and with mix-ins. Every time I try this pint I get slightly upset this base isn’t used in some of their other flavors given its superb flavor.

After the initial layer of chocolate base, the ability to scoop this dense pint comes to a screeching halt. The peanut butter swirls and chocolate cookie swirls meld together to form and impenetrable forcefield. Your two options are to allow for the base to melt or to struggle forward pulling off only small bits and pieces. I, given the impatient person that I am, always opt for the latter. I manage to get some of the peanut butter by itself and the sweet, nutty swirl provides just a touch of salt to pair perfectly with the milk chocolate base. The swirl is thick and brittle, providing that great crunch I look for in a frozen peanut butter addition. The chocolate cookie swirl is impossible to get by itself but luckily it is not drowned out when sampled with its peanut butter counterpart. The gritty cookie adds a third textural element that sets this pint over the top. The two swirls combine to form a diabolical Andes mint looking creation that I’m fairly confident will never be anything short of amazing.

This creation is essentially nothing but mix-ins and the dense nature of the pint first encountered just under the service remains intact throughout the entire thing. While this is by far my favorite peanut butter and chocolate flavor, it is not without its faults. The flavors meld together so perfectly that the individual swirls are impossible to sample. For me this is somewhat upsetting as I like to have differing flavors in each spoonful. The crunchy swirls often tend to bend spoons so be careful not to get overzealous! This is the definition of a must try.

Where Derek Found It: Target
Derek's Grade: A

REVIEW: Mayfield Birthday Cake

In an attempt to branch out to some other brands, I reviewed a carton of Mayfield's Snickerdoodle a few weeks back. Recently I ran across some pint-sized portions available at a super-low price, so I decided to sample a flavor that I wouldn't normally purchase if it were in a larger container. My first experience had been pleasant enough to convince me to try their version of Birthday Cake ice cream, sugar cookie flavored ice cream with a big blue icing swirl and colored butter cream flecks. The only other sugar cookie base ice cream I've had the pleasure of experiencing acted as the foundation inside Christmas Cookies from Blue Bell, so hopefully Mayfield's version can have close to the same effect.

The fact that Birthday Cake only contains 150 calories per serving could be reason for concern, especially considering the weightlessness of the pint despite being full inside. Judging by look and calorie count, this seems to be of similar quality to that of Blue Bunny's Birthday Party. Yet again, the lack of actual birthday cake pieces which Blue Bell and Turkey Hill managed to include, would have been worth the influx in calories. With the top removed, the first layer is manilla-tinted, with hints of the thick blue icing swirl and multicolored butter cream flecks showing through to the top. Unfortunately, as I began to gather some of the beige base onto my spoon, I found the sugar cookie flavored ice cream had an unusual crumbly texture, usually consistent with low-quality ice cream.

The overly-sweetened base tended to have an artificial flavoring that had a bit of a cake batter taste, but finishes with a taste closer to it's intentions of sugar cookies. Although I was satisfied with the consistency found in Snickerdoodle, the base used in Birthday Cake just wasn't as smooth as I was hoping. Mayfield attempted to make up for this fact by adding a large amount of the icing and sprinkles. Very similar to the swirl and flecks used in Blue Bunny's Birthday Party, the butter cream sprinkles add a bit of texture, along with a burst of additional sugar. But the best, and sweetest part of this pint, comes in the form of the thick, bright blue icing careening throughout this container. The taste is identical to authentic icing you'd find on a birthday cake, but fails to impersonate the actual texture. The end result can't quite manage to overcome it's brother from Blue Bunny, or any other birthday cake flavor for that matter.

Where I Found It: Ingles Markets
Grade: F

REVIEW: Turkey Hill Double Dunker

Most cookie dough creations are fairly straightforward. While most companies typically take vanilla ice cream and combine it with their chunks of cookie dough, even Turkey Hill's standard Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough differed from the norm. Replacing the standard vanilla base with one infused with brown sugar and molasses proved to be a worthy substitute for the more traditional method. Turkey Hill went even further with the variations when it came to their Double Dunker flavor. For this carton they've taken a mocha ice cream and swirled it with chewy cookie dough and a crunchy chocolate cookie swirl.

For a flavor with sizable mix-ins like cookie dough and a chocolate cookie swirl, the 180 calories per serving seems too good to be true. After removing the top and scooping some into a bowl, the light brown ice cream is so infiltrated with the cookie swirl that it's nearly impossible to see any of the cookie dough pieces inside. Grabbing the mocha base first, the nice subtle combination of coffee and chocolate provides an outstanding foundation to build upon. Although not overly complicated, the base leads with the sweet, richness of chocolate and finishes with that familiar creamy sweetness of coffee. It's hard to find much of the mocha base on it's own seeing as how thick the stripes of cookie are inside this carton. Similar to the chocolate cookie swirl found in Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Therapy or Milk & Cookies, the texture and taste provided by this component is incredible.

The rich, flaky swirl provides an intense chocolate flavor, all while adding a nice complimentary texture to the fluffy ice cream. Eventually the cookie swirl breaks down into the granulated feel that I've learned to love. The result is one of the best swirls I've ever come across, one that would enhance nearly any base it was paired with. Just this duo would have been more than sufficient, but Turkey Hill also felt like they needed to include their chocolate chip cookie dough chunks. Much like in their Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough flavor, these have mini-chips inside them and the soft, chewy exterior break down easily. This unique combination comes together to create one of the best cookie dough flavors I've found.

Where I Found It: Ingles Markets
Grade: B

REVIEW: Graeter's Cookie Dough Chocolate Chip

The last remaining pint in my shipment from Graeter's, Cookie Dough Chocolate Chip, combines two mix-in powerhouses inside their voluptuous vanilla ice cream. Graeter's seems to have a good idea of exactly how to take simple, subtle flavors, use the best ingredients possible and combine them all using their unique manufacturing process. With that being said, recreating a traditional ice cream flavor such as cookie dough sounds like something they'd excel at doing.

Much like the cookie dough bites involved in Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough from Häagen-Dazs, Graeter's has adopted the method of using just dough in their version, exiling their dark chocolate chips to fend for themselves in the vanilla ice cream. The top of this flavor looks much like that of Toffee Chocolate Chip, but as soon as my spoon scrapes away the first layer I see how valuable the real estate is below the surface. Leaving little room for the vanilla ice cream, Graeter's has packed this carton with as many chocolate chips and cookie dough balls as possible.

With large mix-ins such as these, along with the super-premium vanilla ice cream, the 310 calories per serving comes as little surprise. If you're prepared to indulge in a pint such as this, concern for nutrition facts should be thrown to the wind. Because of the dense ice cream and gaudy mix-ins, this flavor requires patience to work through, so get cozy. The familiar taste of their vanilla and signature chocolate chips come together to provide a classic combination that acts as the background in many of their famous flavors. The thick, smooth base melts away slowly, leaving behind a bevy of chocolate chips to finish off each bite.

Although the taste and quality of the vanilla and chocolate shouldn't be ignored, the highlight of this offering is obviously the Graeter's made from scratch cookie dough. Because of the slow pace at which the ice cream melts down, the bites have a tendency to break away, allowing only a fragment of the cookie dough to be scooped out. But after a while, I manage to get a few whole pieces on the end of my spoon. Just as dense as the peanut butter dough balls inside their Chocolate Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, these bits of standard cookie dough have a bit of the same problems as their predecessors.

Although they're flavorful and bursting with a buttery sweetness, the slightly frozen nature of the cookie dough just takes away from their overall flavor. Breaking down at an even slower rate than the chocolate chips, the overly hard texture just isn't as pleasant as the softer dough bites involved in the versions from Häagen-Dazs, Blue Bell, and Ben & Jerry's. Despite the less than desirable consistency, the flavor ultimately shines through, combining with the chocolate chips and vanilla ice cream to produce an incredible cookie dough creation.

Where I Found It: Graeter's Online Store
Grade: B

READER REVIEW: Elliot's Review of McConnell's Cardamom & Swedish Gingersnaps and Burnt Caramel Apple

Bridging the gap between full on pumpkin mania in October and the onslaught of decidedly wintery flavors (like Peppermint Stick, Winter Cranberry Chip and Egg Nog in the case of McConnell's) , McConnell's churned out a couple of seasonal flavors I was lucky enough to try : Burnt Caramel Apple & Cardamom Swedish Gingersnaps.

First up is Cardamom Swedish Gingersnaps:

Like vanilla, cardamom is an expensive, versatile spice used in both sweet and savory cooking. When it comes to ice cream, while vanilla is the most popular flavor, cardamom is extremely uncommon. I have only had it in ice cream in Phin & Phebe's Vietnamese Iced Coffee. In that pint, the cardamom takes a backseat to the strong, bitter coffee and chicory flavor. McConnell's has prominently featured this heady spice in their custard base. I know how great cardamom can taste in chai tea, but how will it work in ice cream?

Any reservations I had about cardamom ice cream are a thing of the past. McConnell's makes it seem like it's the new Vanilla. Where has the ice cream iteration of this warm, subtle flavor been all my life? Soft, chewy, flavorful Swedish gingersnaps are evenly scattered throughout the pint. The ginger element is limited to the cookies, which avoid any unpleasantly spicy, acrid, pungent ginger element found in some ginger themed ice creams. This is an ice cream I could eat all the time. As I've come to expect with McConnell's, the texture of the ice cream itself is right on the mark. And this is so important.

The overwhelming majority of small batch, "artisan" producers out there capture the spotlight by featuring innovative, occasionally even well balanced flavors that are simply spun in a batch freezer to turn the ingredients into ice cream. The problem with that approach is that it results in an inconsistent, higher overrun (higher air content) product. How important is the consistency and texture of the ice cream itself, no matter how great the custard or mix? Hugely important. McConnell's modified French Pot process is one of the things that sets them apart as a purveyor. They are able to control the amount of overrun in their ice cream, which is about as low as it gets at less than 10%. Ask the next "artisan" producer you come across if they make their ice cream in a batch freezer and see how many affirm this for you, and often with pride. Just because the batch freezers are expensive and have a dial that creates the illusion that they are able to control overrun, the consistency of the resulting products speak for themselves. A quick Google search of batch freezers will reveal that they are designed to produce higher overrun products, and overrun is practically impossible to control in these units.

Where Elliot Found It: http://www.mcconnells.com/
Elliot's Grade: A

Next we have Burnt Caramel Apple:

Judging by the flavor components here, tart apple and burnt caramel, this seasonal flavor has the potential to wreak more havoc on your choppers than an apple Jolly Rancher. One of the potential pitfalls of fruit themed flavors is the inclusion of even a few dreaded frozen fruit chunks. From smoothies to ice cream, the nails on a chalkboard feeling of biting into a frozen fruit fragment is enough to put ice cream lovers off of fruit flavors for good.

Burnt caramel apple is the only apple ice cream flavor I've ever had that successfully captured the tartness without an artificial aftertaste or icy bits of apple. Nothing to fear, there are no frozen fragments of apple. The apple flavor is only represented in the flavor of the base. As you can see in the photos, the dark caramel component is a beautiful, sticky mess, and one I would love to put on most everything. A textural addition such as pie crust, sweet crumbs, roasted peanuts or a peanut butter swirl like they use in their legendary Double Peanut Butter Chip would make this ice cream unstoppable. While the pie / cobbler theme might seem overdone or too pedestrian for McConnell's, there is a dearth of top notch apple pie or cobbler ice cream out there. In any case, I would love to see them dominate that flavor arena.

Where Elliot Found It: http://www.mcconnells.com/
Elliot's Grade: B

READER REVIEW: Elliot's Review of New Orleans Ice Cream Co. Mint Chocolate Cookie and Cherries Jubilee

New Orleans Ice Cream Company is a brand that has a special place in my heart. In a world of ice cream where a prevalent trend is to throw around often meaningless, misleading or ambiguous terms like artisan, small batch and from scratch, this company has said from the beginning that they didn't invent ice cream, they are just good at flavoring it and specialize in churning out fun, New Orleans themed flavors.

The ice cream itself is held together with gums that serve as emulsifiers and stabilizers. These ingredients get the job done to hold things together and provide consistency and mouthfeel. This is a common practice in the world of ice cream, even among so many self-proclaimed artisans. There's nothing evil about that approach, it is really a matter of what you get in the end product, your preference and desire for transparency. New Orleans Ice Cream Company relies on this approach and is more apt to highlight the flavors they infuse to create a memorable experience. Personally, if I were able to have the best of both worlds, I'd always choose my platonic ideal ice cream made by an artisan from only milk, cream, eggs and sugar to create a consistent, low overrun, high butterfat base upon which to build a flavor. When there is a specific or unique flavor profile I'd like to enjoy that's not available in a product directly in line with my preference, I may choose a stabilized product.

Let's start with their Mint Chocolate Cookie:

While Mint Chocolate Cookie isn't a New Orleans themed flavor, some of the profits garnered from sales of this flavor are donated to the Make it Right http://makeitright.org/ movement to build homes in communities in need in New Orleans. According to the company, getting the "crackle" / sugary swirl right was a labor of love.

While plenty of sweet, crunchy, well-textured mint chocolate cookies to soak up the spotlight, the sugar "crackle" and mild mint flavored base carries this pint the rest of the way home. This is an altogether enjoyable mint chocolate ice cream, especially if you like your ice cream on the lighter and sweeter end of the spectrum.

This is a great example of how the brand leverages their approach to create a distinctly flavored, consistent product. The stabilizers add durability and some shelf life, and help to keep the mix ins crunchy. The downside with this type of construction is that past a certain point, when you leave this out to temper/soften, the dam breaks and the valley gets flooded, as the ice cream will fall apart.

Elliot's Grade: B

And now on to Cherries Jubilee:

Many of the Crescent City themed flavors from New Orleans Ice Cream Co. have been able to win me over. I've worked my way through most of their catalogue, coming away holding them in high regard. Cherries Jubilee was one of the pints I cared for the least.

Due to it's boozy nature, Cherries Jubilee is a dessert that was too grown up for my taste as a child, and even still. The flavor was lifted from a New Orleans menu and deconstructed into ice cream. This is one of the lighter offerings in the New Orleans Ice Cream Company lineup, and the short ingredient list reveals a reliance upon brandy and orange liqueur for flavor.

The alcohol taste is slightly diminished by letting the flavor temper, allowing the sweetness the cherries provided to carry the flavor a bit. If you're a big fan of the taste element that liquor brings to ice cream, this might be a welcome addition to your ice cream stash.

Elliot's Grade: D