REVIEW: Dairy Queen Oreo Cookie Jar Blizzard

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Dairy Queen Oreo Cookie Jar Blizzard

What is the Oreo Cookie Jar Blizzard?

Dairy Queen’s Blizzard of the Month for April brings together three veterans of the Blizzard universe — Oreo cookie pieces, chocolate chip cookie dough, and fudge — which of course is all blended with vanilla soft serve.

How is it?

It’s not life-altering, but this one ranks solidly in the upper echelon of tasty Blizzard combinations. I’ve never met an Oreo-infused Blizzard that I didn’t like, and the one-two punch of that classic chocolate cookie crunch and fudge is always good, and then the cookie dough adds another level to the experience.

Dairy Queen Oreo Cookie Jar Blizzard Swimming

This has a complex and satisfying flavor combo, especially considering it has only three things mixed in. Plus, the blending of textures here is a bit unique in that is has the crunch of the Oreo wafers and the soft chewiness of the dough. A good number of other Blizzards have just one consistency — be it crunchy, gooey, or chewy — so having two together is a nice change of pace. The cookie dough also prevents this one from hitting the point where there’s too much chocolate, even though that’s a difficult threshold to achieve.

Dairy Queen Oreo Cookie Jar Blizzard Spoonful

It’s not the most creative concoction, but props to DQ for not over-hyping the name like they sometimes do by adding “extreme,” “ultimate,” “awesome,” or “blizztastic.” (OK, so it never used that last one, but I wanted to get that term out there so if it ever does, then I can file a frivolous lawsuit for theft of intellectual property.)

Is there anything else you need to know?

This Blizzard might be the record-breaker for the longest gap between the original introduction and re-introduction. According to TIB’s handy dandy Blizzards of the Month chronology, this one was first unveiled back in September 2009 and has since been in hibernation. Nearly a decade later, it’s back. Why now? I have no idea. Maybe because it debuted before Instagram, so the Blizzard wizards at DQ simply forgot they’d already done this flavor.

Conclusion:

If I were a teacher and my job was to grade Blizzards, then I would never take a vacation or even complain about the low pay. And I would give this one a high B or low A, depending on what other Blizzards were in my class and if I was using the flawed bell curve system.

Will I be sad when April is over and the Oreo Cookie Jar Blizzard is gone? Yeah, somewhat, but I’m sure the Blizzard of the Month for May will cheer me up, especially if by some miracle DQ brings back the Nerds Blizzard (Google it, and I dare you not to run out and make it yourself after reading about it).

Purchased Price: $3.89
Size: Small
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (Small) 710 calories, 27 grams of fat, 14 grams of saturated fat,
0.5 gram of trans fat, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 430 milligrams of sodium, 106 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 75 grams of sugar, and 13 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Chocolate Cherry Cold Brew

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Dunkin Chocolate Cherry Cold Brew

What is the Dunkin’ Chocolate Cherry Cold Brew?

It’s Dunkin’s ultra-smooth, full-bodied cold brew coffee with chocolate and cherry-flavored syrup. It’s available for a limited time.

How is it?

Dunkin Chocolate Cherry Cold Brew Top

Its cherry flavor reminds me of what’s in flavored colas. As someone who adores cherry colas, I find the artificial fruitiness to be pleasant. But the cherry is totally chocblocking the chocolate flavor. Sometimes it’s there, but faint, and other times I can’t taste it. Whatever flavor there is, it doesn’t overwhelm the cold brew coffee, and it’s not overly sweet. Even though I’m disappointed it’s cherry-heavy, I still enjoyed drinking it.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Dunkin Chocolate Cherry Cold Brew at 715 PM

I drank this a little after 7:15 p.m. and a small Dunkin’ Cold Brew has 174 milligrams of caffeine. So I guess I’ll be watching The Late Show, then the Late Late Show, then whatever infomercials that follow them, and then the morning news.

At home, I added a splash of sweet cream-flavored creamer, which enhanced the fruitiness and stomped out whatever chocolate flavor there was.

Throughout April, Dunkin’ customers can get this flavor, or any Cold Brew flavor, as part of a special offer of any medium-sized Cold Brew for only $2 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Conclusion:

Dunkin’s Chocolate Cherry Cold Brew is a decent tasting beverage, but I do wish the chocolate stood out more. It’s definitely worth a try if you can get it for just $2.

Purchased Price: $3.49
Size: Small
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (Small w/o cream) 70 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 25 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 16 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Kit Kat Cones

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Kit Kat Cones

What are Kit Kat Cones?

Entering into the frozen treat category just in time for the warmer weather, these Kit Kat-themed Drumsticks offer vanilla frozen dairy dessert with a chocolatey coating and a fudge core placed atop a crispy sugar cone.

Kit Kat Cones Back of Box

How are they?

Despite being as enjoyable as any other Drumstick flavor, I couldn’t help but feel a little let down by these. Although each component was good and made a tasty dessert when combined, none were able to capture the experience of eating an actual Kit Kat and translate it into a frozen dairy dessert form.

Kit Kat Cones Pristine

Putting aside the Kit Kat branding for a moment, it’s hard to find many other faults here. Between the vanilla ice cream, crisp chocolatey shell, and airy wafer bits, everything is really well balanced. Even the cones were crisp and fresh, and far exceeded my expectations. If I had to knock Nestle on anything else, it would be the fudge filling’s blandness. Although clearly present, it wasn’t flavorful enough to compete against everything else this treat has, and Nestle could have nixed it without compromising quality.

Kit Kat Cones Core

The main issue I have with these is that the box was the only aspect actually reminiscent of a real Kit Kat. The wafer bits stuck in the chocolatey coating weren’t prominent enough to simulate biting into a finger of the famous candy, and neither the sugar cone shell nor the chocolate coating tasted anything like the classic candy.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Kit Kat Cones Bite

Nestlé would have been better off by taking the lead from Snickers Ice Cream Bars and modeling the form of these after actual Kit Kat wafers. They would have been a lot more successful if they had layered vanilla ice cream in-between stacked wafer cookies and just covered the entire thing in milk chocolate.

Conclusion:

Although Nestle’s new Kit Kat Cones are a worthy entry into the Drumstick line, they aren’t similar enough to their candy inspiration to justify the branding behind them. Rather than buying these, I’d recommend eating regular Kit Kats out of the freezer.

Purchased Price: $3.00
Size: 4 cones pack
Purchased at: Kroger
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cone) 280 calories, 12 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 105 milligrams of sodium, 42 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 27 grams of sugars, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Chick-fil-A Frosted Key Lime

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Chick fil A Frosted Key Lime

What is the Chick-fil-A Frosted Key Lime?

A close cousin of Chick-fil-A’s Frosted Lemonade, the Frosted Key Lime is nearly identical with the same mix of vanilla IceDream soft serve and lemonade, but with the addition of lime flavoring.

How is it?

I enjoyed this with as much pleasure as Chick-fil-A employees claim to have every time I visit. Actually, maybe more pleasure, because I have serious doubts my presence gives said employees that much joy, but this frosty drink certainly did for me.

Surprisingly, I didn’t taste the lemonade, but the pleasant yet not overpowering lime flavor came through along with the vanilla soft serve. The lime gave it a nice tart and sour taste that was well balanced against the sweetness of the soft serve.

Is there anything else you need to know?

The word “pie” — one of the greatest words in the English language — is absent from this product’s name, and that’s my only quibble here. As is, the Frosted Key Lime is delicious. Maybe it’s because I got spoiled by some of the Dairy Queen Blizzards with graham cracker crumbs to complete the pie experience, but I couldn’t help but think the addition of that taste and texture might take this to the next level. Unfortunately, I do not carry graham cracker crumbs on my person (except sometimes accidentally after eating pie), so my theory is still unproven.

Chick fil A Frosted Key Lime Top

According to Chick-fil-A, the green color of the Frosted Key Lime comes from spirulina and turmeric. Not having any idea what the former is and only an inkling on the latter, I turned to my friend Google, who informed me that spirulina is a “biomass of cyanobacteria.” Mmmm, sounds good, right? It turns out it’s just blue-green algae. That’s certainly not something I would normally put in my drink, but that description at least sounded a little more palatable. At that point, however, I decided to end my biology lesson and let the turmeric mystery remain unsolved.

Conclusion:

Chick fil A Frosted Key Lime Spoon

Even though what is essentially a lime shake might not seem like anything special, this does stand out compared to the endless variety of shake flavors available. Sometimes simple is the way to go, and the Frosted Key Lime proves that. It’s a really good treat.

Chick-fil-A says this will be available until May 25, or “while supplies last.” I’m not sure the world will run out of soft serve, lemonade, or limes before then, but I don’t know much about the current supply of spirulina, so don’t dawdle.

Purchased Price: $3.95
Size: Large
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 450 calories, 7 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 90 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 64 grams of sugar and 7 grams of protein. (Also available with diet lemonade which reduces the calories, carbs and sugar).

REVIEW: Hazelnut Spread M&M’s

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Hazelnut Spread M M s

What are Hazelnut Spread M&M’s?

M&M’s debuts its newest flavor which features a hazelnut spread center covered in milk chocolate all encased in a colorful candy shell. And yes it’s a riff on Nutella which is synonymous with hazelnut spread in most people’s minds. Look at the container on the package that Blue is holding! A clear jar. Verrrrrry interesting. Basically, these are bootleg Nutella M&M’s.

How are they?

These were announced way back in September which means a long time to get excited and build your anticipation for them. So how did they do? At first glance, they’re larger than standard M&M’s and breaking one opens reveals its two-toned interior. There’s the obvious chocolate layer and then the inner hazelnut portion, which is surprisingly light almost like a cookie butter color. It did seem to have speckles (maybe chocolate?) throughout though.

Hazelnut Spread M M s Closeup

Initially, they were disappointing because they tasted like regular M&M’s. However, as I ate more, the hazelnut flavor came through. They were sufficiently nutty! I can’t mention Nutella as much as I have without putting the real thing to the test, so I grabbed a jar from my cupboard and dug in to compare.

It dawned on me instantly what these really are. They aren’t fake Nutella M&M’s or even Hazelnut Spread ones; they’re just Hazelnut M&M’s. What’s a more accurate comparison? They’re unlicensed Ferrero Rocher in a different form. While Nutella is insanely creamy with the chocolate and hazelnut as one, these aren’t creamy in the slightest. Also, chewing the crunchy shell along with the unmarried chocolate and hazelnut components evoke that gold wrapped confection way more than Nutella spread.

Is there anything else you need to know?

These aren’t the first hazelnut M&M’s to come to market as the UK got a version way back in 2017 although it looks like those contained actual hazelnuts instead of the mixture inside these.

Conclusion:

These are a pretty good new take on M&M’s, which makes you wonder why it hasn’t been done before. Just don’t go in expecting the next coming of Nutella in a new portable form. These are more like smaller, cheaper Ferrero Rocher. If you like those, you’ll have no problem finishing a bag of these as quickly as I did.

Purchased Price: 99 cents
?Size: 1.35 oz. bag
?Purchased at: Wegmans
?Rating: 8 out of 10
?Nutrition Facts: (1 Bag) 190 calories, 10 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 40 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 22 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

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