Milkjam Creamery - Eggnog Cream Puff

Eggnog Cream Puff - Spiked Eggnog Ice Cream with Cream Puff Flakes

 

Minneapolis' Milkjam Creamery has December flavors ready (instagram link here).  Today's flavor is Eggnog Cream Puff (instagram link here).  It is always interesting to see how Milkjam changes its seasonal flavors from year to year.  They did have a simple Spiked Egg Nog flavor last year!  Today's flavor appears to use something similar to that as a base and then add cream puff pastry flakes as a mix-ins.  Let's how this turns out.

Removing the lid, the egg nog base has the expected off white color and I can see quite a bit of the pastry flake mix-ins pieces already.  Digging in, I taste the rum right away in the base, as well as the nutmeg and other spices.  In previous reviews, I have written about how "egg nog" flavored ice cream may seem like a scary concept because egg nog as a drink has a interesting texture which not everyone is accustomed to.  But when you add cream, churn and freeze, egg nog ice cream is basically a frozen custard -- which everyone likes!  I encounter the pastry flakes fairly quickly.  These are fairly substantial in size and they indeed do have that same texture that the pastry of a cream puff has!  A very good reproduction.

This ice cream a fun mix of a seasonal egg nog base and a cream puff pastry mix-in.  The egg nog is flavorful and spiked with rum to the appropriate level and the reproduction of the cream puff pastry is quite accurate (better than Jeni's who shreds the pastry flakes into too small pieces in my opinion).  I suppose it might be a bit of an odd pairing but it's a fun twist on the usual spiked egg nog flavor.

Baskin Robbins - Cherries Jubilee

Cherries Jubilee - Cherry Flavored Ice Cream with Cherry Halves and a Hint of Rum Flavor

 

They stock Baskin Robbins at Cooper Foods on West 7th in Saint Paul, so I was able to pick up a couple of flavors there.  Today's flavor is Cherries Jubilee.  This is the cherries-and-rum flavor popularized in New Orleans.  I have had this from the New Orleans brand (history of the flavor described in this review), Van Leeuwen, and a scoop-shop-era Izzy's pint.  Let's see how Baskin Robbins implements this flavor.

Removing the lid, the cherry base is a very bright pink color with many large cherry pieces visible on top.  Digging in, the cherry flavor is bright and sweet.  It is very appealing.  The cherry pieces provide some additional cherry flavor but mainly give me something to chew on.  The description on the pint mentions that there is a hint of rum flavor, but I don't really taste it.  I think of Baskin-Robbins as being an especially kid-friendly brand so I did not expect this to be a 'boozy' pint, but I think the rum got watered down to the point of being unperceivable.

If this flavor was just called Cherry or Cherry Chunk, then I would think this was a very appealing and kid-friendly flavor, but since it's called Cherries Jubilee, I feel like it is mislabeled.  It's decent cherry, though.  If you or even your kids like cherry ice cream, then this is a fun option.

Sweet Science - Milk and Cookies

Milk and Cookies - Vanilla Ice Cream with Soft-Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies and Dough

The local Sweet Science brand recently snuck a new flavor on to its menu in November called Milk and Cookies.  The Golden Fig on Grand Avenue in Saint Paul stocks the collection of flavors near me and when I went down there to pick up the November flavors, I saw this flavor that I did not recognize and I scooped it up.  When I got home, I saw this instagram post explaining it's addition.  It says it will be around for a few months.  It has a light vanilla base with chocolate chip cookie and chocolate chip cookie dough mix-ins.  I like these types of ice cream.  Cookie mix-ins often imply Oreo (or Oreo-like) cookies and it's fun when chocolate chip cookies are used instead.  Then some cookie dough is used as well.  Looks interesting!

Removing the lid, the vanilla base has the expected off-white color and several of the mix-ins are visible right away.  The vanilla base is quite tasty and soon I encounter the cookie mix-ins.  These are chunks are about the size of sugar cubes.  Each chunk delivers quite a bit of chocolate chip cookie flavor.  It was not always obvious as I ate the ice cream which chunks were cookies and which were cookie dough.  I like my cookies a little dough-y, so this is not a complaint.  It's all quite good, but there is a lot of plain vanilla in between the mix-ins.  I was not always able to get mix-ins into each spoonful.

This is a good implementation of a vanilla & chocolate chip cookie flavor from Sweet Science.  Checking my archives, the gold standard for this type of flavor is still McConnell's but I also like Ben & Jerry's.  Milkjam also had a non-dairy version of this flavor during the state fair.  If I had a quibble with the Sweet Science flavor, it was the large sections of vanilla in my pint.  I did like the large chunks, though.  Perhaps if they crushed a small fraction of the chunks into smaller pieces so that every spoonful would at least have some cookies in it.  This is a rare complaint from me for Sweet Science as I usually find their flavors amazing.  Maybe I got an odd batch.  It's still good, though.  If you are at their scoop shop and in the mood for cookies, then check it out.

Jeni's - Pistachio Macaron

Pistachio Macaron - Pistachio Ice Cream infused with Honey and Almond

 

The next flavor from my holiday shipment from Jeni's Ice Cream is called Pistachio Macaron (instagram link here).  A note to local readers that I bought this online and is unlikely to be available in Minnesota.  I have had a pistachio-themed flavor from Jeni's before called Pistachio & Honey.  Today's flavor adds almond into the mix.  The intent is to mimic the flavor and appearance of French-style Pistachio Macaron cookies.  Indeed a quick check of recipes online shows that macarons are made with almond flour.  As an additional side, I learned today that macarons are almond-based cookies, while macaroons are coconut-based.  (See discussion here).

On to the ice cream.  Removing the lid and peeling back the seal, the ice cream appears to be two ice creams marbled together.  The lighting is not ideal in the photos below, but one color is greenish yellow and the other color is a yellowish green.  They match the two colors on the front of the carton.  Digging in, I taste good pistachio flavor.  The honey sweetens it a little and keeps it from getting too earthy, but it is not overly sweet.  The effect of the almond flavor is fairly subtle.  The combination is quite delicious, but it is hard for me to pick it out specifically.  I have talked before about how some flavors are "fruit blends".  This flavor appears to be a bit of a "nut blend".   I do not notice a difference between the flavors of the two colors.  At first, I thought one might have more almond than the other, but I think they just might be colored differently.  Checking the ingredients, Jeni's uses pumpkin extract and spirulina extract to create the two colors.  Perhaps they just colored the same ice cream differently twice and then marbled it.  It does look really cool.

This is an excellent pistachio blend flavor from Jeni's Ice Cream.  The mixture of pistachio, honey and almond is very well crafted here.  It's still primarily pistachio -- so it will appeal to pistachio fans -- but the blend moves it to another level.  In my opinion, this could easily replace their old Pistachio & Honey flavor as their primary pistachio flavor.  I will be curious to see if they do that or if they keep it as an annual holiday special.

OddFellows - Passionfruit Apricot Pistachio

Passionfruit Apricot Pistachio - Passionfruit Ice Cream with Apricot Jam Swirls and Pistachio Pieces

 

The next flavor from my recent shipment from the Brooklyn-based OddFellow's Ice Cream is called Passionfruit Apricot Pistachio.  Here I drop a quick aside to local readers that I bought this flavor online and I am not aware of any Minnesota grocery stores that stock OddFellows.  OK, now that that is out of the way, what an interesting combination of flavors!  I have only had apricot once before in a Spumoni flavor from Sebastian Joe's.  Passionfruit, I associate with tropical flavors and it is not often that I see pistachio used as a mix-in nut.  This should be fun!

Removing the lid, the passionfruit base has a yellow color.  I can see some orange on top from the apricot jam and I can see one of the green pistachios on top as well.  As I eat my way down, the orange color disappears, but I still taste some apricot.  It looks like the apricot jam has almost fully blended into the passionfruit base and the orange on top is from a diffusion towards a surface that sometimes happens.  The blended passionfruit apricot flavor is pretty good!  As tropical as passionfruit can be, the flavor can be a bit bitter in isolation.  The apricot provides a bit of sweetness to counter that.  The pistachios provide a bit of crunch and the pieces are large enough that I can taste some pistachio as well as I bit into them.

This is a very interesting and well-done flavor from OddFellows.  It is a very unique combination combination of flavors.  After reviewing hundreds of flavors, I greatly appreciate something completely new from time to time.  The flavor is mainly passionfruit, but some sweet apricot in the mix as well and pistachio is a premium nut for mix-ins.  If you are in the mood for something fruity and new and this flavor is available to you, then check it out.

Jeni's - Mexican Hot Chocolate

Mexican Hot Chocolate - Chocolate Ice Cream with Vietnamese Cinnamon and Cayenne Pepper 

 

I made a holiday order from Jeni's Ice Cream of Columbus, Ohio!  Rather than wait for the Black Friday sale, I pulled the trigger early this year as I am worried about shipping delays this year.  A reminder to local readers that although Whole Foods, Kowalski's and a few other places, I have never seen the holiday flavors in stock at local grocery stores.  Ok, I have had a few of the holiday flavors before (Sugar Plum, White Chocolate Peppermint and Cognac with Gingerbread), so I will refer you to those reviews.  The first new flavor from the shipment is called Mexican Hot Chocolate (instagram link here).  This flavor used to be called "Queen City Cayenne" and is one of Jeni's earliest and most favorite flavors.  It is a chocolate ice cream seasoned with Vietnamese cinnamon and cayenne pepper.  This mexican or spiced chocolate flavor is not uncommon.  I have had implementations from Häagen-Dazs, Steve's, McConnell's, and Sebastian Joe's.  Jeni's themselves even had a similar flavor called Xocorosa which had slightly different spices and was spiked with rosé.  Let's dig in!

Removing the lid, the chocolate base has a medium brown color -- about normal and not "dark".  Digging in, I taste the spices in the chocolate right away.  Mainly I taste the the cinnamon.  I taste a little bit of the cayenne pepper as well.  I have a high spice tolerance, so for me it just raises the level of the cinnamon to that of  Big Red gum.  But here in the Midwest, people have lower spice tolerances, so they may feel more of a kick.  I do not mean to belabor these spice-level observations -- this is delicious!  This is a homogeneous flavor with no mix-ins.

This is a solid implementation of a spicy chocolate from Jeni's.  It is simple and flavorful.  Part of me wishes it was a bit hotter, but that could be my high spice tolerance talking.  This is spicy enough for most.  Enjoy.

Milkjam Creamery - Pumpkin Dulce Crunch

Pumpkin Dulce Crunch - Roasted Pumpkin Ice Cream with Dulce De Leche Swirl and Crunchy Pepita Crumble

The next November flavor (instagram link here) from Milkjam Creamery is called Pumpkin Dulce Crunch (instagram link here).  Like the recent Sour Cream Apple Pie flavor, today's flavor is again another permutation upon a flavor from last November.  Last November's Pumpkin flavor was called Roasted Pumpkin Dulce.  Both flavors include a roasted pumpkin base and a dulce de leche swirl.  Today's flavor adds a pepita (pumpkin seed) crumble.  Let's dig in!

Removing the like the roasted pumpkin base has an earthy dark orange color and there are some darker brown chunks visible.  Digging in, the pumpkin flavor is quite good -- a bit of a darker flavor and not as sweet.  The chunks here are a mixture of a dulce de leche and crunchy pepita crumble.  The dulce de leche adds some sweetness in a darker, more caramel-like way and the pepita crumble adds crunchiness to the pint.  This is quite a delicious combination.

This pumpkin flavor from Milkjam Creamery is quite well done.  It is a bit earthier than some pumpkin implementations -- a bit of a pumpkin caramel blend.  It is a lot like last year's Roasted Pumpkin Dulce, but I think the pumpkin seed crunch does improve things.  Perfect for those in a holiday mood.  Will this flavor return next year or will they refine it again.  It will be fun to see.