The Big Muddy Ice Cream Blog

Chocolate Shake It is the second flavor I've tried from their new line of truffle ice creams. You can read about Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake  here . Chocolate Shake It is chocolate malt milkshake ice cream with chocolate cookie-covered fudge truffles and marshmallow swirls. My father instilled in me a deep love of a good chocolate malt at a young age, so I was pretty stoked to try Chocolate Shake It. The chocolate malt base was actually pretty decent. Ben and Jerry's typically uses a milky chocolate base which sometimes falls flat but which worked here since they were going for a chocolate milkshake flavor. The malt flavor wasn't in-your-face, but it made itself known. There are probably better chocolate malt ice creams out there in scoop shops, but there are not too many available at the average grocery store, and Ben and Jerry's version is good enough to scratch your chocolate malt itch. After the base things went a bit downhill. I realize this is part ...

So far, I've been relatively impressed with the HyVee line Til the Cows Come Home. I've tried two of their flavors, a chocolate peanut butter one that was okay, and a cookies and cream one which I really enjoyed. I was excited to try their s'mores flavor, even though the long names of the ice cream flavors kind of bother me. Like yes, it's a cute pun, but it doesn't roll off the tongue nicely. This flavor is described as  Artificially flavored graham cracker ice cream with marshmallow swirls, graham crunch, and chocolate flavored chunks.  I love that Iowans love graham cracker ice cream. Whitey's does some great flavors with a graham cracker base, and the graham cracker base is what drew me to this flavor. There's also some graham crunch? Yum! The base of this flavor was worth the excitement. It was a pretty light and sweet graham cracker flavor, which served as a nice backdrop for the other elements. The graham crunch was basically sugary, grainy, ...

It has been wayyyy toooo long since I've had a Dairy Queen Blizzard. Madeline was doing a great job trying the new Blizzards and Blizzards of the month, so I've kind of slacked on DQ. The other day, however, while driving to a friend's house and passing a Dairy Queen, I, all of a sudden, NEEEEDED a Blizzard. Like I was going to die if I didn't get one. I was super starving and the bright lights of the Dairy Queen sign were calling to me through the darkness of the Iowa winter. Dairy Queen brought back the S'mores Blizzard back in spring of last year when they also introduced the Oreo S'mores Blizzard. I didn't either were being served anymore, but at the teeny tiny DQ in Coralville, IA you can still get them. I went for the regular S'mores Blizzard. This is a regular size. Sometimes (aka when I'm hungry) I do truly love the American fast food sizing systems! This treat had chunks of graham cracker, chocolate flakes, and a marshmallow swirl ...

If you haven't figured it out yet, Blue Bunny limited edition flavors are THE BOMB, so when I saw limited edition Cocoa Bunny I obviously grabbed some.  Cocoa Bunny is Chocolate ice cream with marshmallow flavored swirls and chocolate flavored marshmallow filled bunnies. I don't think I've had another Blue Bunny flavor with a chocolate base, so I can't compare to other flavors from the brand, but it was a typical higher-end premium chocolate base; not an exceptionally rich or dense chocolate flavor, but chocolate-y enough to get the job done. BUNNIES! I am a total sucker for small, cute things, so I got way too excited for the little chocolate bunnies. SO CUTE. They were also delicious.  The marshmallow filling reminded me of .... something. Lizzy suggested white chocolate, which is along the right lines, but I think these remind me of a specific candy that I can't think of.  I'm sure exactly 1 hour after posting this review I will think of it....

AND SO IT BEGINS. If you were not already aware, New Orleans Ice Cream Co. sent me 14 pints of ice cream and 4 ice cream sandwiches. This is the first time Big Muddy has received for real frozen ice cream in the mail for free. This may be revealing our n00b status in the ice cream blogging world, but I also think Madeline and I are a bit more shy about asking for free ice cream than others are. Also neither of us have a ton of money for extra freezer space (dat grad school lyfe), and I do want to shout out right now to my roommates for graciously letting me take up way more than my part of the freezer space. The first flavor I tried was Mardi Gras Pie. I had no real system for picking out which flavor I wanted to eat first, this was simply the one at the front of the freezer. And this means I get to reveal myself as totally not a southerner. I have no idea what a Mardi Gras Pie is. The description of this flavor is It's Mardi Gras in Your Mouth With This Parade Favorite. Gooey Ma...

Guys I was totally stoked to try this ice cream when I heard it was coming out. Back in the day, like back between 2010 and 2013, Ben and Jerry's had a Target Exclusive Flavor called Berry Voluntary. That ice cream was Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream with White Chocolatey Chips & Raspberry Swirls . I loved this flavor. I was so sad when they discontinued it. Ben & Jerry's doesn't do a ton of berry flavors, especially raspberry flavors, and I thought this one was a gem. Then when I heard the description of Save our Swirled (the title does not give you much information about the contents of the ice cream), I knew the ice cream deities answered my prayers for a replacement of Berry Voluntary. The description for Save Our Swirled is Raspberry Ice Cream with Marshmallow & Raspberry Swirls with Dark & White Fudge Ice Cream Cones . In addition to a replacement for Berry Voluntary, you could say this is a raspberry version of Phish Food. First the b...

Ben and Jerry's has a reputation as a socially and environmentally conscious company, and their recent partnership with  Avaaz  is no different.  They have partnered with Avaaz to work toward Climate Justice and clean energy.  You can find more info  here . (Also, go to this website to see B&J's amazing video/commercial comparing melting ice cream to climate change, it's worth your time!  If it's melted, it's ruined!) The new flavor SOS (Save our Swirled) was produced in conjunction with this new initiative.  It is Raspberry ice cream with marshmallow and raspberry swirls and dark & white fudge ice cream cones. I really really really like this ice cream.  It was a tasty flavor with just enough weirdness to make it great. The raspberry base was just faaaaaabulous! Ben and Jerry's should make more flavors with this base immediately.  It was very sweet with just enough tartness to keep it from being cloying.  There was a...

I mentioned in my review of Dove's Unconditional Chocolate that I picked this pint up at a nearby gas station.  The real reason I went to the gas station was to pick up a pint of 2nd Street Creamery, as they are the only store in the immediate area that sells the brand. They had a selection of a few different flavors including the cookie dough and Copper Kettle Caramel, but since Lizzy reviewed both of these flavors recently, I decided to pick up Truck Stop Fudge.  This ice cream is described as Chocolate ice cream with marshmallow and fudge sauce. The short story, included on the pint, is Everyone in the car expected Angie to take the highway off-ramp lovingly referred to as the "Truck Stop Fudge" exit.  It can't be helped, that fudge has a stronger gravitational pull than our earth's core. The longer story, from the website is It was like any other trip down I-29 heading for Kansas City.  As we crossed over the border from Iowa to Missouri, ...

I know, I know, I know. This blog has existed for like 6 months or so and neither Madeline nor I have reviewed Phish Food. It's really just craziness. We are both HUGE Ben & Jerry's fans and Phish Food is like THE most recognizable Ben & Jerry's flavor. It was the first Ben & Jerry's flavor I ever tried! It's kind of ridiculous that we haven't reviewed it yet. But here I go. What I really think is more ridiculous is that until writing this post I have never listened to the band Phish. I apologize for that one, too. Although, I don't believe it is entirely my fault. I'm gonna blame my parents for that one, too. You guys lived in Burlington, Vermont in the 1980s. How did you not have Madeline and I listen to Phish growing up?!?! Right now I am listening to their album Billy Breathes, released in 1996, the year before Phish Food became a flavor.  I'm digging it. It's pretty groovy. Phish Food is described as Chocolate Ice Cream w...

I know I am a little late on the uptake that only now I am reviewing one of Ben and Jerry's scoop shop exclusive SNL flavors. However, you've gotta cut me some slack seeing as I now live, like, two and a half hours away from a Ben and Jerry's scoop shop. Many people fairly say the the golden age of Saturday Night Live is looong gone. However, anyone would acknowledge that Kristen Wiig is one of the few gems of the late 2000s early 2010s SNL. Her characters are fabulous. Although Target Lady is my favorite Kristen Wiig character (because I think only Target Lady matches my deep passion for that heavenly place), you gotta love a good Gilly skit! Here!! Watch one!! https://screen.yahoo.com/gilly-science-fair-000000981.html When I first heard about the SNL flavors, I was really expecting a muffin counterpart to the Schweddy Balls flavor that lasted just a few blissful weeks before our good friends B & J realized having a ball flavored ice cream, despite being delicious,...