Izzy's - Caramelia Cookie Crunch

Caramelia Cookie Crunch - Ice cream made with Valrhona Caramelia Chocolate, Oreo Cookie Pieces and Salted Caramel Swirl.

Today is another fun flavor from Izzy's Ice Cream in Saint Paul.  Caramelia Cookie Crunch.  I had gone to Izzy's to pick up a pint of Chubby Bunny because it had won People's Flavor Award, but this flavor looked so good in the scooping bins that I had to pick it up as well.  "Caramelia" is actually a type of chocolate sold by Valrona which contains a lot of butter and caramel flavor.  The scooper behind the counter said the base was white chocolate and there was a caramel swirl.  Unfortunately I don't have an ingredient list.  I would be curious to know how much of the caramel and chocolate is supplied by the Caramelia and how much was added with separate ingredients.  Caramel and Oreos sound delicious, though.  I can't wait to try it out.


Opening the pint, I see the base is a marbly mixture of lighter and darker caramel color.  The caramel swirls I saw in the scooping tubs have been blended a little bit by the hand packing process.  Also visible are plenty of Oreo pieces.  Digging in, the ice cream has a salty caramel flavor and the Oreo mix-ins are just like cookies and cream.  The caramel is indeed saltier than your average salty caramel.  As I eat my way further down, the caramel swirls that were blurred by the hand-packing are more visible but the flavor is the same.

I really enjoyed this pint!  It's is a simple idea to take cookies and cream and add caramel, but it works extremely well.  I'm surprised that more brands have not tried this (often I see peanut butter in the mix, but this the first time I have seen caramel).  The cookies here are Oreo-brand cookies which many non-organic brands avoid, yet they have their own distinctive flavor and appeal.  I also must note again that this caramel is saltier than usual as is the trend these days.  I like that but it's not a universal opinion, so just a heads up.  This is a fun and tasty pint.  Enjoy.