Milkjam Creamery - Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

Peanut Butter Jelly Time! - Salted Peanut Butter Ice Cream, Red Berry Jam, Cookie Dough Brownies

 

Milkjam Creamery of Minneapolis has flavors for January (instagram link here) and today's flavor is Peanut Butter Jelly Time! (instagram link here).  This is a peanut-butter-and-jelly flavor.  Peanut butter ice cream, red berry jam for the "jelly" and they've also got cookie dough brownies.  Maybe the cookie dough brownies represent the bread of the PB&J sandwich?  I have had several PB&J themed flavors from Graeter's, McConnell's (also includes a 'bread' mix-in), Ben & Jerry's and Ample Hills.  Let's see how this Milkjam flavor compares.

Removing the lid, the peanut butter ice cream has a light color and I can the jam swirl and the cookie dough brownie clumped together in the middle.  Digging in, the peanut butter base is a bit lighter than I expected.  Milkjam is actually well-known for their non-dairy peanut butter bases, so a dairy peanut butter is an interesting change of pace.  It's pretty good, but I can tell that the main purpose of this base is to serve as a vehicle of the mix-ins.  Soon I encounter the red berry jam.  It has a good flavor.  None of the instagram posts say which red berries are included.  I assume one of them is raspberry, there could be some strawberry and/or cherry I suppose.  It is a good blend.  The cookie dough blondie pieces are not as numerous as I expected but they provide some thicker texture to chew on.

This is a fine peanut butter and jelly flavor from Milkjam Creamery.  It's fun to have these monthly experimental flavors.  I would rate this in the middle of the pack compared to the other PB&J flavors I listed above.  I think McConnell's is my favorite.  That was a limited batch flavor as well. 

Sebastian Joe's - Café Latte

Café Latte - Coffee Ice Cream 

 

Today's flavor is from the Minneapolis-based Sebastian Joe's Ice Cream and is called Café Latte.  I bought it at the scoop shop on Franklin and Hennepin in the Lowry Hill neighborhood.  This looks like a simple coffee ice cream.  At a coffee shop "café latte" means espresso with steamed milk -- in Italian café means coffee and latte means milk -- but at an ice cream shop, all dairy flavors include milk and cream so the latte designation could be considered redundant.  So, simple coffee ice cream it is.  Sebastian Joe's actually doubles as a coffee shop -- they roast their own coffee blends at the Franklin avenue location.  This has come in handy when I'm out looking for ice cream because they are open in the mornings.  Other ice cream scoop shops don't open until lunch (or even later in the winter).  I do not see any information as to which blend they use in their coffee ice cream, though.  Anyhow, let's check it out.

Removing the lid, the coffee base has a light beige color consistent with other coffee bases.  As I dig into the ice cream, I taste the coffee flavor and it pretty good as expected.  I am not a coffee afficiando, so I don't know how to compare it.  It is not super strong (some coffee bases give a big kick of caffeine).  It is not overly bitter.  I don't taste any grounds (some turkish coffees and cold brew coffees can have a grainy feel to them).  This is just good coffee flavor.  This is a homogeneous pint with no mix-ins.

This is a simple and solid coffee flavor from Sebastian Joe's.  It don't think I would go out of my way to way to get this coffee flavor over other coffee flavors, but if you are in the mood for a coffee flavor and you are near a Sebastian Joe's then this will certainly do.  They do also serve their own coffee there as well.

Milkjam Creamery - Stairway to 7

Stairway to 7 - Butterscotch Seven Layer Bar Ice Cream

 

Milkjam Creamery of Minneapolis has flavors for January (instagram link here) and today's flavor is Stairway to 7 (instagram link here).  The name is a pun on the classic Led Zeppelin song and Seven Layer Bars.  Have I never reviewed a seven-layer-bar themed flavor before?  Maybe not!  I know that Ben & Jerry had a scoop shop version of the flavor for a while, but they never made a pint out of it.  

I do not see a wikipedia page for Seven Layer Bars, but there are lots of recipes out there.  One recipe asserts that the traditional seven layers are 1. graham crackers 2. butter (mixed with the graham crackers to form a crust) 3. sweetened condensed milk, 4. chocolate chips 5. butterscotch chips 6. pecans (or other nuts) 7. shredded coconut.

How does Milkjam's ingredient list compare?  First this is a vegan pint (non-dairy).  The base is butterscotch-based with chocolate flecks, caramelized brown sugar, vanilla, coconut milk and rum.  The mix-ins are chocolate-covered graham crackers, toasted almonds and toasted coconut.  I have never heard of non-dairy butterscotch before but if anyone can create something like that, it would be Milkjam.  They specialize in creative vegan flavors.  Otherwise, it's pretty close to the same idea as a seven layer bar.  I think the number of ingredients now exceeds seven, but you won't get any complaints from me.

OK, enough talk, let's eat!  Removing the lid the top of the pint has an interesting texture to it -- probably due to it being non-dairy.  There are a ton of mix-ins visible already.  Digging in -- and I do mean digging in as there are a lot of mix-ins -- this pint is just overloaded with crunchy mix-ins.  I taste the chocolate right away of course.  There is the crunch of the graham crackers and the almonds.  I taste the coconut as well.  The surrounding non-dairy butterscotch base really plays a supporting role here as every spoonful is just overloaded with mix-ins.  I did not notice the non-dairy-ness of the base very much because I did not notice the base itself as much as I usually do.

This is a fun, mix-in-laden non-dairy from Milkjam Creamery.  It does taste a lot like a frozen seven layer bar!  Chocolate, graham cracker, almond and coconut are the dominant flavors here while butterscotch plays a more supporting role.  If you like seven layer bars, you should check this out.  This is a successful monthly experiment which I hope returns.

Baskin Robbins - Gold Medal Ribbon

Gold Medal Ribbon - Vanilla and Chocolate Ice Creams with a Caramel Ribbon

 

Before Ben & Jerry there was Burt & Irv.  Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins, that is.  Today's flavor from Baskin Robbins is called Gold Medal Ribbon.  I bought it at Cooper Foods on West 7th in Saint Paul.  Today's flavor looks like a relatively simple mixture of chocolate, vanilla and caramel.  The chocolate and vanilla being ice cream flavors and the caramel being a swirl.  Let's check it out.

Removing the lid, I see primarily chocolate on the top.  A small yellowish white section of vanilla ice cream is visible in the middle.  I also see some orange-ish sections which I assume are the caramel ribbon.  Digging in, I start to see a bit more of the vanilla ice cream.  I feel like there is still a bit more chocolate ice cream but it is a 60/40 split rather than something higher.  Marbling chocolate and vanilla bases has an interesting flavor.  It is not my personal favorite, but it appears in some very popular flavors such as Ben & Jerry's Half Baked.  The caramel ribbon in this pint is pretty good.  It provides a bit of gooey texture along with the caramel flavor.

This is a simple and solid vanilla-chocolate-caramel flavor from Baskin Robbins.  Not super premium in quality, but still reliable.  As mentioned above, the marbling of chocolate and vanilla ice creams is not my personal favorite -- I prefer vanilla bases and chocolate and caramel mix-ins when these flavors are combined as in Ben & Jerry's Vanilla Caramel Fudge.  I may be in the minority, there, though.  Fans of marbled and chocolate & vanilla would eat this up.  

Milkjam Creamery - Pineapple Ooey Gooey

Pineapple Ooey Gooey - Malted Milk Ice Cream, Ooey Gooey Cake and Caramelized Pineapple

 

Milkjam Creamery of Minneapolis has flavors for January (instagram link here) and today's flavor is Pineapple Ooey Gooey (instagram link here).  This ice cream features a malted milk ice cream with mix-ins of ooey gooey butter cake and caramelized pineapple.  Ooey Gooey Butter Cake is a dessert popularized in the Saint Louis area.  I have had several flavors which use it in ice cream including flavors from Jeni's, Ample Hills and a more basic flavor from Milkjam.  Caramelized pineapple sounds like a fun addition to the mix.  Let's check it out.

Removing the lid, the malted milk ice cream base has an off-white color to it.  Quickly I encounter the mix-ins as I eat my way down.  The gooey butter cake is soft and chewy and the caramelized pineapple is a bit tangy but also has a bit of caramel flavor to it.  The malt flavor of the base is evident and acts to mute the flavor of the caramelized pineapple just a bit.

This is an interesting and unique flavor.  It reminded me a little bit of Jeni's Pineapple Upside Down Cake flavor but instead of a sweet pineapple and cherry, they use a caramelized pineapple and malt.  I enjoy and applaud the uniqueness of this flavor.  I did not love it as much as I wanted to,  Perhaps I prefer a sweeter pineapple?  That could be a personal preference.  This is worth sampling if you get the chance. 

Sebastian Joe's - Coconut Cream Pie

Coconut Cream Pie - Coconut Ice Cream with Pie Crust Pieces

 

I stopped by the Sebastian Joe's scoop shop in the Lowry Hill neighborhood and picked up a couple of pints.  The first of those pints is Coconut Cream Pie.  I have had many coconut flavors, but I believe this the first time a flavor based on coconut cream pie.  Coconut cream pie is my mother's favorite pie, so I will think of her as I eat this (I hope she is not too jealous).

Removing the lid, the coconut cream base has the expected off-white color and I immediately see quite a bit of pie crust.  The crust looks a bit bready.  It is not the typical pastry flakes or ground graham cracker that other pie flavors use.  Digging in, the coconut cream base is lush and delicious.  Appropriately, it is much "creamier" than the usual coconut base.  Coconut often does well in non-dairy settings because it has its own cream.  I had gotten used to that type of coconut, but here I can tell there is a lot of dairy cream.  Sebastian Joe's does not provide ingredients so I do not know if it is added whipped cream or cream cheese or something else.  The effect is quite delicious.  The bready pie crust pieces work well.  The way they blend with the coconut cream base reminds me a little bit of bread puddings.

This is an excellent implementation of a coconut cream pie ice cream from Sebastian Joe's.  The extra creaminess is a fun change from the usual coconut base.  Fans of this pie should not hesitate to check this out when they see it in the scooping bin at Sebastian Joe's.

Milkjam Creamery - Fool's Gold

Fool's Gold - Caramel Ice Cream with Brown Butter Pecan Apple Blondies, Dulce de Leche and Sea Salt

 

Milkjam Creamery of Minneapolis has flavors for January (instagram link here) and today's flavor is Fool's Gold (instagram link here).  This features a caramel ice cream with brown butter pecan apple blondies, dulce de leche and sea salt.  It is an interesting mix of flavors.  Let's see how this turns out.

Removing the lid, I see only the caramel ice cream base.  This reminds me.  I don't think Milkjam has a simple Salted Caramel ice cream on their menu.  I suppose that's what special releases are for.  Digging in, the caramel base has a simple and agreeable flavor.  I can taste a bit of salty, but it is not too strong.  Soon I encounter the mix-ins.  The dulce de leche provides more caramel flavor (dulce de leche is caramelized milk while plain caramel is caramelized sugar).  The blondies seem to be mostly embedded within the dulce de leche.  These are pretty good.  They provide more even more caramel flavor with the brown butter.  The apple flavor in these blondies is not that strong -- this is not an apple-y pint -- but I do notice it if I focus.

This is a fun caramel-themed pint from Milkjam Creamery.  The dulce de leche and brown butter blondies provide even more caramel to the caramel base.  The contributions of the apple and pecan are more subtle, all the forms of caramel are the stars of the show here.