I am a die-hard cereal fanatic, and I love ice cream (almost) as much as Joe Biden. A bowl of either sweet treat never fails to bring me joy (and in accordance with the KonMari method, my kitchen is fully stocked with both). So when I heard that Portland-based ice cream maker Salt & Straw dropped a line of limited-edition cereal-inspired flavors, I knew I had to try it.
The Cereal-sly Delicious Series features five nostalgic yet innovative cereal-inspired ice cream flavors, which I was lucky enough to sample. I reviewed them based on the completely subjective measures of deliciousness, cereal-ness, and fun. Here’s a rundown, in no particular order.
Peanut Butter Brownie Cereal Puffs
Peanut Butter Brownie Cereal Puffs has a base of chocolate and sweet cream ice cream, swirled with peanut butter and chocolate peanut butter glazed brownie bits.
My thoughts: You can't go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter, and this ice cream is continues to prove that. Think of the chocolate milk leftover from a bowl of cocoa puffs, add peanut butter, and make it into an ice cream. The generous peanut butter swirl melts perfectly into the creamy chocolate-y base, accented by chewy, ice cream infused brownie bits. This flavor went fast in my family.
My one complaint is that the cereal is not exactly the star of the show — the brownie bits are apparently coated with a Reese’s Puffs glaze, but there is no visible cereal happening here. What it lacks in cereal-ness, however, it makes up for in deliciousness.
OffLimits Zombie w/ Coconut & Pandan
This ice cream has a base of coconut and muscovado ice cream, mixed with buttery-glazed Zombie Pandan cereal from OffLimits with a bright green pandan swirl finish.
My thoughts: I was super excited to try pandan (a Southeast Asian plant known for its distinct notes of coconut and vanilla), and I love OffLimits unique cereal flavors. I had high expectations going in, and I was not disappointed. I adored the combination of buttery and complex pandan flavor and chewy, ice cream saturated cereal puffs. This is a uniquely delightful ice cream, from the beautiful green color to the wonderfully complex flavor. Also, it’s so buttery and creamy, I honestly didn't realize it was vegan until writing this!
Rum Custard w/ Raisin Shortbread & Bran Butter
This rum ice cream’s base is, of course, rum custard ice cream. Mixed into the ice cream are golden raisin shortbread cookies with bran butter frosting and swirls of raisin-studded bran butter.
My thoughts: I'll be honest, I was a little nervous about this one. Rum raisin is not my favorite flavor combo. This ice cream didn’t change things, though I found it surprisingly pleasant. The base featured strong notes of Grape Nuts, which paired well with the sweet, plump raisins. If you like rum raisin, you’ll love this. As for me, I don't know that I'm converted to the rum raisin fan club, but I will definitely be finishing the pint.
Cornflake Cookies with Marionberry Jam
The ice cream has a base of malted cereal milk ice cream, mixed with caramelized brown butter cornflake cookies and swirled with marionberry jam.
My thoughts: This flavor was very cereal-y, in the best way possible. The base tasted exactly like cereal milk, complete with a generous sprinkling of ice cream soaked cornflake bits. The bright, tart marionberry jam contrasted beautifully with the mildly sweet cereal milk ice cream and crunchy cornflake cookies. The rich brown butter crumbles were the proverbial cherry on top. This is Salt & Straw at its best — singularly delicious and totally decadent.
Pots of Gold & Rainbows
Lucky Charms cereal is hand-sorted (!!!) to steep the whole-grain cereal into a sweet cream ice cream base, which is then churned with a mountain of rainbow marshmallows (AKA charms).
My thoughts: This flavor sounds like it came out of a five-year-old’s sugar coma induced fever dream, and I'm here for it. Only Salt & Straw has the patience, the genius, the lowkey insanity to hand-sort Lucky Charms in the pursuit of ice cream perfection. I mean, Breyer’s could never. Imagine the sweet, sweet cereal milk left at the bottom of your Lucky Charms, concentrated into ice cream. This pint is guaranteed to nurture your inner child.
Ice cream and cereal lovers (so, basically everyone) can order flavors from the Cereal-sly Delicious Series at Salt & Straw stores through the end of March. If you don’t live near a scoop shop but still want to sample these nostalgically innovative flavors, you can order the entire collection from Salt & Straw’s website for $64.75, and it can be shipped nationwide.