The Big Muddy Ice Cream Blog

I haven't forgotten my commitment to try all 14 Klondike Bar flavors and since Minter is in full swing, it's the perfect time to review Mint Chocolate Chip Klondike Bars, 'creamy mint ice cream mixed with decadent chocolate chips, enrobed in a dark chocolatey coating.' Enrobed! What a splendid word. Regrettably, this was about the only splendid thing about these bars. I'm well aware that Klondike Bars aren't trying to be top-of-the-line ice cream treats, but Mint Chocolate Chip wasn't even anywhere near middle of the pack. The main problem was the mint ice cream. Mint ice cream flavored with mint extract is more common than mint ice cream flavored with mint leaves, but it either turns out repellently minty or under-flavored. Klondike's go at mint chocolate chip was under-flavored. The ice cream was simply bland and the chocolate chips added some texture but not much taste. Somehow, despite the lackluster flavor, there was enough mint flavor...

I'm calling it now. Cookie Butter is the new Salted Caramel. They both started out as rarer, fancier flavors but quickly saturated the ice cream, not to mention the dessert, market to the point where I'm just starting to get a tad sick of it. Just wait, next year Starbucks will release a holiday Cookie Butter latte and frappuccino. While I still love cookie butter (and salted caramel, for that matter), the glut of cookie butter products on the market now means I can be choosy about my cookie butter ice cream. Blue Bunny's limited edition flavors are typically superb, so I decided to try Cookie Butter, their latest limited edition flavor described as ' Speculoos cookie flavored ice cream. Cinnamon graham and speculoos caramel swirls. Speculoos cookie dough chunks.' I would almost describe this as a cinnamon caramel ice cream instead of a cookie butter ice cream. In general, it's pretty hard to capture a 'cookie' or other carby-flavor as a base, so...

Haagen-Dazs' Peppermint Bark ice cream is the holy grail of peppermint ice cream, and they have really upped their bar game in the past year, so it makes sense that introduced a new, limited-edition Peppermint Bark Bar just in time for peak peppermint season.  Haagen-Dazs says, Our Peppermint Bark Ice Cream Bars start with decadent white chocolate ice cream dipped in thick, dark chocolate then speckled with cool peppermint candy pieces. I was already skeptical that a peppermint bark ice cream bar  could live up to peppermint ice cream, and I was even more skeptical after reading the description. I mean .... would peppermint in the shell be enough ? The pieces would have to be tiny and the ice cream-to-shell ratio might drown them out. My worries were for naught because Haagen-Dazs produced a first-rate peppermint bark bar. Who was I to doubt them?! I really think the white chocolate base is the secret to Haagen-Dazs peppermint bark success. A vanilla base is either ...

Today I've got a double review of some Kemp's limited edition flavors. Kemp's is a dairy company based in Minnesota and recently released a line-up of four Minnesota-inspired ice creams.  Sadly, I went to the store a few days ago and didn't see them, but you may still be able to find them. I bought 2 out of the 4 flavors in mid-October which must have been pretty close to the end of their run at my local Cub Foods. I picked up the two fruity flavors: Cherry and Spoon and You Betcha Berry. Cherry and Spoon is  vanilla ice cream, cherries and brownie bites with swirls of chocolaty fudge.  So you might be wondering, 'What the heck is the deal with the name Cherry and Spoon?'  Spoonbridge and Cherry  is a sculpture at the Walker Garden that has somehow become  the  Minneapolis image on all Minneapolis promotional material (like the arch is for St. Louis, or the Golden Gate Bridge is for San Francisco). I don't really get it, though. It's jus...

It's the end of October and I haven't posted any reviews of pumpkin flavors!!!! Since I haven't been blogging as much this semester, I didn't want to re-review any pumpkin flavors I've already tried like Ben and Jerry's or Talenti's pumpkin flavors, so my choices were limited. On a whim, I picked up some Belmont Pumpkin Praline from Aldi's. Pumpkin Praline is pumpkin ice cream with cheese frosting swirls and praline pecans. Belmont is premium, rather than super premium ice cream, so higher overrun (airier) and less fat content than you may be used to if you typically stick to super premium brands like Haagen-Dazs, Ben and Jerry's or 'boutique' ice creams. This was evident in the texture, which was light and airy, but didn't decrease the impact of the flavor. The base achieved an exquisite balance between pumpkin and spice. The pumpkin flavor was very strong and actually tasted like pumpkin with just a hint of cinnamon and ...