McConnell's - Cookies & Cream

Cookies and Cream - Sweet Cream with Chewy Chocolate Cookies

Today we return to the Santa Barbara-based McConnell's brand for their implementation of a Cookies & Cream flavor.  This is a new flavor for 2017 from them.  I mean, it is a classic ice cream flavor so they have probably had it before (at least in their scoop shops) but it is a newly released pint flavor for 2017.  Previously, they've had a Sea Salt Cream & Cookies flavor which is more of a twist on the classic flavor using salt and chocolate chip cookies.  Here, it is the expected chocolate sandwich cookies.  They do not use Oreos here, they use a chocolate cookie from Newman's Own.  

On to the ice cream!  Removing the lid shows the expected speckled grey color of the sweet cream base.  This particular pint had a thin layer or unblended sweet cream folded over one side.  Very thin and it tasted fine.  Just a manufacturing curiosity.  I only note it to explain one of the pictures below.  The sweet cream is very thick.  Still tasty but some McConnell's pints are so dense that they sacrifice a bit in creaminess.  They chocolate cookies mix-ins are different from Oreos.  They are dark brown and chewy rather than black and crumbly.  It made for a good mix-in though.  Quite chocolatey.

This is a solid, implementation of the traditional, cookies and cream flavor but to tell you the truth I strongly prefer their Sea Salt Cream & Cookies flavor.  Not that this was at all bad.  It is good to have the classic version on the menu, but for a special salt and chocolate chip cookie flavor that is unique to McConnell's, I would go for the other one.