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| Nonna D's Oatmeal Lace - Brown Sugar Cinnamon Base with Nonna's Oatmeal Lace Cookies |
I try the second pint from my Ample Hills shipment today. I decided continue with the recent oatmeal cookie theme and go with Nonna D's Oatmeal Lace. A lace cookie is a low-flour cookie made with melted butter (sometimes the butter and sugar are mixed over heat). The dough is then pre-flattened on the sheet. Bubbles often form in the thin cookies while it bakes giving it the appearance not unlike a piece of lace. Nonna is the Italian word for grandmother, so this is probably recipe from the family of the founders of this creamery. Ample Hills actually publishes a cookbook which includes instructions for how to make some of their classic flavors and I found another blog which reprinted the recipe for this flavor. Looks good and I can't wait to dig in.
Removing the lid, you see the beige color of the brown sugar cinnamon base. One of the cookie pieces is visible on the top as well. Digging in, the brown sugar flavor is quite intense. I've had several brown-sugar bases but usually it just adds enough to accent the flavoring -- this really tastes like brown sugar. There is quite a bit of cinnamon in the mix as well. The lace cookie pieces were quite good. They were chewy and I could see and taste whole pieces of oatmeal in there. Some of the pieces were a bit large which I liked.
This is an amazing pint of oatmeal cookie ice cream. The flavors were very strong and blended well. It was very filling too. I was still full the next morning and had to skip breakfast. Oatmeal lovers will surely enjoy this but the brown sugar base arguably steals the show.
This is one of my Top 3 Ample Hills picks!
ReplyDeleteI think this is a good flavor, as well ... but I have decided that I do not love Ample Hills (as much as some of the other high-end ice cream companies). I feel like they put too much focus on having a lot of mix-ins, and less focus on depth of flavor in the base (to me, McConnells and Jeni's and Salt and Straw pay more heed to those things). I know mix-in density is a trend, so I am in the minority. I just tried Little G's ice cream for the first time, and feel the same way about it. Granted, I only tried one flavor (triple cookie dough) ... I am at a conference in Boston and found it at a Whole Foods. It's good ice cream, but not something I would ever pay $10 for again. It's more about big chunks of cookie dough (and to Grace's credit - there is a TON of cookie dough) than it is about sophisticated flavors (which is fine, since it's not what she is going for).
ReplyDeleteI like Ample Hills a lot ... don't get me wrong ... I just think they are aimed at the crowd who wants ice cream with a lot of mix-ins. I like the subtle beauty of pairing lavender with honey or rose with pistachio or cilantro and lime with strawberry cheesecake or juniper with lemon curd. Those flavors blew me away. I see culinary genius in them.
I guess I am saying that Ample Hills is fun, and it hits the spot when I want sweet ice cream that is full of "stuff" ... but if I want something sophisticated, something that tantalizes my taste buds, something worth savoring ... I am going elsewhere.
In my opinion, Ample Hills has some fantastic bases. Their It Came from Gowanus flavor's base is incredible. The Munchies pretzel-infused base is one of a kind and I've never seen it replicated as well.
DeleteLittle G's store pints are pretty mediocre. I'm a huge Little G fan and was disappointed when I visited Boston a few months back. Grace's vanilla base is fantastic though and definitely is above other premiums/super premiums (looking at you B&J). Little G shined with her unique flavors that have never been done before - prime example: Peppermint Bark.
Agreed that Ample Hills has good bases - but to me they don't have the same complexity that other companies do (I like floral notes, spices, fruity undertones). Perhaps all of the hype caused my disappointment about the two flavors mentioned. My expectations may have been way too high. When in NYC, I tried The Munchies three different times. It just didn't do it for me. I did, however, love their pistachio squared, and I think their peppermint patty is awesome (although the pint I bought was not nearly as good as what I got in the scoop shop). I also ordered the NY pack ... because I wanted to try It Came from Gowanus. I could not have been more disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it was good - I'd eat it again. But it didn't blow me away. I felt like it was lacking something. (I am also not impressed with the inconsistency of their pints. My first Taste of NY pack was awful. It Came from Gowanus had one brownie piece in and no other mix in. Two of the other flavors had an icy texture. To their credit, they sent me another order. Three of the four were better, but the root beer flavor looked like and had the texture of Halo Top. Not cool for ice cream that costs $25 a pint when you factor in shipping).
ReplyDeleteIf I was in NYC, I would absolutely eat Ample Hills multiple times. It is some of the best ice cream available. But I will not pay the high shipping prices for it. It's not worth that to me. For example, I kept eating It Came from Gowanus hoping to love it. When I tried Jeni's darkest chocolate, I couldn't leave it alone (and it's technically a more boring flavor).
Little G - I wish I could have tried some of the other flavors. I do agree that the vanilla bean base was good; certainly better than B&J. But good enough to pay $10 for it - especially considering how dry the cookie dough chunks were? I don't think so. I felt like I bought dry cookie dough with a little bit of ice cream. The experience I had with it means I wouldn't pay the high shipping costs - it will be interesting to see if Little G survives. I hope she makes it, even despite my disappointment with the flavor I tried.
I guess I like the base more than the stuff thrown in. I think Jeni's vanilla is gorgeous. The mellow honey notes are incredible. Sometimes the simple flavors are the more complex flavors. That's what I like.
I do agree that Ample Hills' shipping is too expensive and they over-freeze to prevent melting. In my summer order, I had to let it sit on the counter for ten minutes to soften it. With my current order, it has helped that I fell behind on my eating and the pints have sat in my freezer for a couple of weeks. None have been overfrozen by the time I've opened them.
DeleteThat's interesting. It just seems to be Ample Hills that I have had that problem with - at least to that extent.
ReplyDeleteThe flat-rate shipping at McConnell's and Jeni's certainly makes it a bit easier to justify orders through them.
I agree 100%. Ample Hill's insane shipping rates (at least to me in Texas), makes each pint average ~$25 or more. That's insane. Ample Hills also has some QC issues, namely pint weights.
DeleteI've never had these issues with Salt & Straw. Why can't they offer flat-rate shipping like McConnell's/Jeni's? They might not have the scale yet I suppose?
Oh, and I'm sure you are aware, but Jeni's usually has a fantastic Black Friday deal on their shipped pints. Be on the look-out if you are interested!
DeleteThat's interesting. It just seems to be Ample Hills that I have had that problem with - at least to that extent.
ReplyDeleteThe flat-rate shipping at McConnell's and Jeni's certainly makes it a bit easier to justify orders through them.