Blue Bell Creameries, based about halfway between Austin and Houston, has been around for 118 years, and that’s how long it took them to come up with perhaps the most Texas-y flavor possible, Classic Pecan Pie. Maybe brisket-flavored ice cream would be a little more Texas-y, and I would definitely give that a try, but Blue Bell doesn’t really do daring or extreme flavors, so instead, it went with the official state pie. If you’ve never been to Texas, trust me when I tell you there is some sort of law that every BBQ place and café is required to have pecan pie on the menu.

I can’t tell you the difference between “classic” pecan pie and non-classic pecan pie, but I can report that this ice cream flavor is pretty dang tasty. It features brown sugar ice cream with roasted pecans, pie crust pieces, and a pecan pie filling swirl. So basically, Blue Bell took all the separate components of a pecan pie and did some reconstruction.

The first thing I noticed is that Blue Bell was quite generous with the pecans, both in terms of the sheer number and the size of the pieces. That was a bit of a surprise considering that pecans can be pricey. The pecan pie filling was perfectly gooey and sweet, and the pie crust pieces added some nice flaky texture. It was hard to discern the brown sugar flavor of the ice cream, but it served as a solid base for all the other ingredients. Blue Bell pretty much nailed this one.

One thing that would make this better, but also defy the laws of science, is that wonderful warm/cold contrast you get when you have a scoop of ice cream slowly melting over a piece of pecan pie fresh out of the oven. But if, like me, you don’t know how to bake a pecan pie, or, like me, are a little bit lazy and don’t want to mess with cutting a slice of pre-made pie and then having to push buttons on the microwave to warm it up, this is almost a perfect substitute.

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: One Pint
Purchased at: Brookshire Brothers
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 280 calories, 16 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 21 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.