Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter Ice Cream

I'm taking a quick break from my regularly scheduled peppermint programming to bring you a review of Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter Ice Cream, the second flavor I picked up during a recent trip to TJ's!

I think the obvious question everyone is asking is how does this compare to Ben and Jerry's Spectacular Speculoos Cookie Core?  I'll do an independent review of this flavor and answer that question at the end.

The description of this flavor reads:

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Ok, there's no description on the container, but it's ice cream with speculoos cookie butter chunks.

If you've never had speculoos cookies (first, what is wrong with you!?) they are a delicate, crunchy, spiced cookie from Belgium.  If you've ever seen Biscoff cookies in your local grocery store or a Delta flight, you've seen a speculoos cookie.  These are most commonly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, but I've also seen recipes that additionally involve cloves and and ginger. YUM!

This ice cream definitely did speculoos cookies justice, not just in flavor, but in overall attitude.  The ice cream base tastes EXACTLY like a speculoos cookie.  Buttery and crispy (I don't know how it's possible for ice cream to be crispy, IT JUST IS OK!), with a light touch of cinnamon and nutmeg.

There were globs of speculoos cookie dough throughout the pint, with approximately one large-ish glob every other bite.  The cookie butter was a bit gooier and a bit thicker than creamy peanut butter.  It is somehow grainy and smooth at the same time.  Again, it tasted exactly like speculoos cookies.

So how does this compare to B&J's speculoos flavor?  If I had to pick a favorite, I would pick Trader Joe's.  Ben and Jerry's didn't have a strong enough speculoos flavor for my tastes, and the speculoos cookie chunks were too hard.  The real winner would be if you put the Ben and Jerry's Speculoos core into this ice cream.  It would be good enough to make me faint.