Jeni's - Cookies in Cream

Cookies in Cream - Chocolate Cookies with Flecks of White Chocolate in Vanilla Scented Cream

Today we move on to the third pint in my recent six-pint shipment from Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream.  This is called Cookies in Cream.  I have noted in the past that although almost every brand implements a simple cookies and cream flavor, there is no standard way to spell it.  Many brands use "Cookies & Cream" (see Graeter's, Häagen-Dazs, McConnell's), some use "Cookies and Cream" (Sweet Science), or "Cookies N' Cream" (Izzy's).  Today's flavor is the first I have seen that uses "Cookies in Cream".  I know this is perhaps not the content you were looking for, but it did give me an excuse to link to several other previous cookies and cream implementations.  Let's see how Jeni's does this classic flavor.

Removing the lid, I see the white base with lots of chocolate cookie specks.  There is a difference across various brands as to which base to use for cookies and cream -- vanilla or sweet cream.  Jeni's splits the difference by using a vanilla-scented sweet cream.  It tastes pretty good -- I can taste the vanilla but it is not too strong.  The chocolate cookies are crushed into small crumb-like pieces and are dispersed evenly throughout the pint.  These are not Oreos but premium-all-natural imitation Oreos.  Imagine a nice bakery re-imagining the Oreo without trying to exactly copy it.  The cookie crumbs are softer, dark brown instead of jet black and they have a more pure chocolate flavor.  This sounds like an improvement, but Oreos have such a distinctive and familiar flavor that many people swear that it is not really cookies and cream if it is not Oreos.  I will leave that up to the individual person to decide.  There is white chocolate in the mix as well, but I do not notice it too much.  White chocolate is an inert flavor for me.  Perhaps it adds some richness to the overall flavor combination?  I am not sure.

 Every brand needs this flavor on the menu because it is a lot of people's favorite and a scoop shop would be lacking without it.  While this is a solid implementation of cookies and cream from Jeni's, I prefer either embracing the Oreo brand and using big pieces (like Graeter's does) or for create a larger twist on the flavor.  For example, Coolhaus and Milkjam Creamery use a cookie milk base which is amazing.  Alternatively, McConnell's and Ben & Jerry's use chocolate chip cookies instead of chocolate sandwich cookies which works incredibly well.  Still, if you are at a scoop shop and someone in your party needs a simple cookies and cream, then Jeni's will have you covered and it will be good.