New Flavor Suggestions

As Ice Cream season (aka Summer) approaches, I have a few flavor suggestions for Blue Bell!

King Cake - King cake pieces in a yellow, purple and green vanilla ice cream with a swirl of icing. *Seasonal

Ice Cream Sandwich Ice Cream - Vanilla ice cream with soft & chewy chocolate ice cream sandwich wafer pieces mixed throughout.

Cherry Key Lime Pie - Key lime ice cream infused with alternating swirls of cherry compote and whipped topping and bits of graham cracker crust throughout.

Deluxe S'mores - Grahahm cracker pieces and milk chocolate chunks in chocolate ice crew, with a toasted marshmallow swirl.

Waffle Cone - Rich vanilla ice cream with swirls of rich salted caramel and chunks of dark chocolate coated waffle cone pieces.

Chocolate Peanut Butter 2 - Smooth, creamy peanut butter ice cream with swirls of rich milk chocolate fudge.

Pretzel Sundae - Crunchy, fudge covered mini pretzels, roasted peanuts, caramel swirls, all in rich vanilla cream.

Tropical Sherbet - Coconut, pineapple and mango swirled together. An exotic, refreshing and delicious alternative to the traditional rainbow sherbet.

Rocky Mountain Road

I love Blue Bell's traditional rocky road ice cream, so when I saw that they were releasing this Colorado exclusive flavor to the rest of Blue Bell country I was ecstatic! After reading this flavor summary from Blue Bell who wouldn't be excited: "Dark chocolate ice cream combined with dark chocolate-coated peanuts, milk chocolate-coated pecans, white chocolate-coated almonds, and roasted walnuts, all surrounded by a flavorful marshmallow sauce swirl."

On paper this flavor looks fantastic but I have to say it, pecans and walnuts are AWFUL in ice cream! I'm sorry Blue Bell, I had to be honest (you know I still love you)! I've tried multiple Blue Bell flavors which are highlighted by these nutty offenders and I've never once been impressed, in fact they usually detract from the overall taste and texture of the ice cream...and this is also true for Rocky Mountain Road.

While the dark chocolate ice cream and the marshmallow swirl are rich and decadent and the chocolate covered, crunchy almonds and peanuts are a perfect addition, the pecans and walnuts fall flat. They don't fit the flavor profile at all and the light texture of these nuts don't stand up to the ice cream itself, so they end up a bit soggy.

4/5 scoops (5/5 sans pecans and walnuts)

Banana Nut Bread

My grandmother is one of the best bakers I know. She can make just about any cake or dessert just off the top of her head and it usually blows away the store bought stuff. I think this talent comes from the fact that she finds joy in what she does. She takes pleasure in thoughtfully and skillfully making something that she know others will enjoy. I believe this is why Blue Bell is just as good at what they do. How else could they have put the warmth and goodness of homemade banana nut bread into an ice cream?!

The new banana nut bread ice cream is a part of the "Holiday Favorites" line that's in stores right now. As I was perusing the freezer case this flavor caught my eye for two reasons, first banana nut bread is one of my grandmother's specialties; so, unfortunately, it's one of the things I miss out on living so far from home. And secondly, I was curious about how they were going to transform a classic like this into a viable ice cream option. Well, folks, they did it and they did it well!

Creamy banana ice cream with a healthy serving of banana nut bread pieces, roasted walnuts and a cream cheese frosting swirl running throughout. They did it right! Everything is perfectly balanced and the banana bread pieces are perfectly soft and chewy but not soggy!

5 out of 5 scoops for nostalgia and flavor integrity!

Ice Cream Party

We had an awesome time throwing our first Ice Cream Outreach party at the Neighborhood Services Council this week. The kids were so well behaved and truly a delight. We'll definitely be back very soon to share a little more Blue Bell with them! Check out the pics below for a recap of how the day went.

P.s. We opted for the Birthday Cake flavor in the individual cups for the kids and it was a hit. You really can't go wrong with vanilla ice cream loaded with chocolate cake pieces, sprinkles and chocolate sauce!

The first room decorated and set up for the kids

Treat buckets and a school bus full of cookies

The second room

The kids digging into their goodies

YUM!

Nothing's better than cookies and ice cream after school

Amy serving up the cookies to the kids

The kids showing off some of their goodies

If you'd like to volunteer or donate to the Neighborhood Services Council check out their website. www.nscikids.org

Pecan Pralines 'n Cream

So in order to do this review justice, I had to find out what a praline was, exactly. So according to Google a praline is :

• A smooth, sweet substance made by boiling nuts in sugar and grinding the mixture, used esp. as a filling for chocolates
• A crisp or semicrisp candy made by a similar process and typically consisting of butter, brown sugar, and pecans

Now that we have that settled, I can tell you that I’ve had other brand’s pralines ‘n cream ice cream before and Blue Bell blows them out of the water! The praline sauce is perfectly blended throughout the creamy vanilla ice cream. I taste a little hint of salt in the sauce itself which makes it that much better. I honestly can’t get enough of this flavor and neither can my husband. We really should have bought the half gallon, a pint just wasn’t enough to share!

5 out of 5 scoops for praline goodness!

Moo-llenium Crunch

I love nuts just as much as the next girl, but this is just nut overload. The caramel and chocolate chunks mixed into the vanilla creaminess were perfection, but then you throw in a triple nut medley and its just TOO much! My advice, pick one nut and call it a day (preferably the almonds).

3 out of 5 scoops for being nut-rageous

Pistachio Almond

The first time I had pistachio ice cream was at Baskin Robbins when I was about 7. Once again it was the green hue that caught my eye, and once I heard pistachio I was sold. Who didn't love pistachios as a kid; especially the red shells that left everything stained crimson, sorry mom!

As usual Blue Bell takes a classic and makes it just a little better with toasted almonds and extra creamy pistachio ice cream.

5 out of 5 scoops