Sunday, April 19, 2009

Ben and Jerry's Ginger Snap Ice Cream



Oh. My. GOD.

This ice cream is limited batch, so you'd better get your hands on it now, because there's no guarantee it will remain accessible and if you think it sounds good - like I did, buying it solely based on the carton's description (which you can read above) - wait until you try it.

I've always liked it when cookies and ice cream mix. Cookies and cream was probably my favorite hard-packed flavor growing up, I love ice cream sandwiches (and the recent Edy's variety that puts pieces of ice cream sandwich cookie into vanilla rocked), and I think my favorite flavor of ice cream ever is Haagen-Dazs' Sticky Toffee Pudding. (Yes, I know that's pieces of cake, not cookies. The principle is very similar.)

What makes Ginger Snap so great? Well, let's break it down. The base ice cream is "brown sugar cinnamon." Clearly that would be pretty amazing just on its own, but as a vehicle for complementary flavors it only gets better. Throw in a "ginger caramel swirl" - sounds insanely delicious, right? I found a sizable payload of it against the wall of the carton at one point - it is exactly as great as you would expect Ben and Jerry's caramel to be. And we're not even to the coup de grace.

The actual cookies themselves... I don't even know what to say. First of all, the pieces are enormous, which is fantastic (I can't have been the only one who always wanted the Oreo pieces in Cookies and Cream to be just a little larger). Second, it's more like just barely cooked dough than it is "cookie." The texture is soft and chewy, and the taste is perfect - that taste of ginger and hints of dark sugar that make the actual cookie such a hit on its own.

This is the kind of ice cream where you have to be careful, because it is easy to knock down a pint without even thinking about it. Every piece of cookie had me ready to hunt for more, and even if you don't find any for a couple spoonfuls, "brown sugar cinnamon ice cream with a ginger caramel swirl" is so good on its own there's really no compelling reason to stop until your conscience kicks in. If you like ice cream and you like ginger snaps at all, you have got to try this stuff before it's gone.

8 comments:

  1. This ice cream is truly amazing, I love Ben and Jerry's, my favorie being Oatmeal Cookie, another limited batch brought back, forever, I only hope they do the same with this flavor!

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  2. I just got some of this tonight. AMAZING. I found it on sale and am going back for a few more pints to stick in the freezer for later. I really, really hope they keep this one.

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  3. Just had another bit of that amazing ice cream, I was surprised to see it still on the shelves, and plenty of it!

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  4. This looks amazing. It's basically the second coming of the long discontinued Festivus flavor. Awesome.

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  5. I got one cuz I love gingersnaps. Then I got another one cuz it was so good. Then I read the label and it said "limited," so I went back and got them all. I like it better than chocolate!

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  6. Ben & Jerry's is brilliant. Their ideas are incomparable, and this ice cream has everything you could expect for perfectness. Not only is the combination spectacular, but the smooth, creamy cinammon ice cream blends perfectly with the doughy gingersnap cookie pieces. It's too delicious for words. I think it's the best ice cream I've ever had (definitely best you can buy from a grocery store rather than an actual ice cream shop) and I really hope they keep this one! Try it people, the combination is just the best!!!!

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  7. This stuff is beyond amazing. The texture of the cookies makes it for me.

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  8. I hope that whatever evil genius dreamed this up got a big fat raise. This was easily the best ice cream I've ever had. I keep searching for it, hoping it will come back.

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