Thank you, Ben and Jerry’s, for coming out with a delicious new core line so now anytime a medical or physical professional tells me I need to “work on my core”, I can walk five feet to my freezer instead of drive 30,000 feet to the gym (environmental conservation is key).
Throughout the years, Ben and Jerry’s has killed the game with its innovations in two areas: cores and chocolate chip cookie dough. Cores, which are swirls on steroids, occupy the middle real estate of a pint, and have been notably successful in the flavors brownie batter, salted caramel, and fudge.
As for chocolate chip cookie dough, Ben and Jerry's reinvented the decadent dessert, turning it into their most popular flavor. Further reinventions on the cookie dough wheel include a boozy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale ice cream, fan-favorite chocolate covered cookie dough pint slices, and even snackable dough.
Now, Ben and Jerry's is breaking boundaries by featuring two of its greatest innovations in one pint (yes, there was a documented tectonic shift in Earth's crust). Introducing the Cookie Dough Cores line—three of Ben and Jerry's hottest new flavors which will take the shelves this upcoming week. Each of the flavors, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Core, Wake and “No Bake” Cookie Dough Core, and Sweet like Sugar Cookie Dough Core is stuffed with a unique flavor of cookie dough which will have you digging to the bottom of your pint for more.
#SpoonTip: Ice cream is more than a purchase, it's an experience. Let your ice cream to thaw on the counter for a few minutes before consuming. The cores tend to freeze solid, having a rough and grainy texture. By allowing them to thaw, you can experience the unique texture and flavor of each cookie dough in its fullest. Also, since the ice cream is separated in sections, the warmer pint makes it easier to swirl all the flavors together and really get the most out of each bite.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Core
Without being biased, this was the flavor I was most excited to try. I am a huge fan of chocolate chip cookie dough, and Ben and Jerry’s Instagram promo tease of the new flavor sent me (just look how sexy).
Essentially, this flavor is a more boujee version of typical chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Ben and Jerry's swaps standard vanilla ice cream for "cookie milk" ice cream in an effort to enhance the flavor and retain its authenticity. While a good idea, I believe this flavor would be better without going the extra mile. The cookie milk ice cream had a strong cereal milk taste which overpowers the main star of the show, the cookie dough. It struggled to bind all the flavors together, creating a tasty, but nonetheless disjointed, dessert. Personally, I was missing the standard vanilla ice cream here as a sweet conduit to link all of the flavors together.
However, Ben and Jerry’s was quick to redeem itself with its ridiculous chocolate chip cookie dough core. Unlike standard cookie dough tidbits, which often taste artificial and synthetic, Ben and Jerry’s chocolate chip cookie dough core stays authentic by offering a taste reminiscent of Toll House cookie dough straight out of the bowl. Buy this pint for the core, not the cream.
Overall Rating: 6 out of 10
Wake and "No Bake" Cookie Dough Core
Ben and Jerry’s consistently dominates with their peanut butter creations, and this flavor only further solidifies their lead as purveyors of nutty goodness. As a Reese's fiend, I was thrilled to see a chocolate peanut butter inspired flavor in the line.
Peanut Butter Fudge Core fans, you'll love Wake and No Bake; the flavors of the two ice creams are very similar. Wake and "No Bake" is a complex, layered flavor divided into three sections like an amped up Neapolitan ice cream—vanilla ice cream swirled with peanut butter cookies, peanut butter ice cream loaded with fudge chips, and a no-bake core running down the middle.
The two ice cream flavors worked in harmony, producing a flavor churned in decadence. The peanut butter ice cream was creamy, like a peanut butter mousse, and the fudge chips only enhanced the taste, sending major Reese's vibes.
However, the core didn’t compare. It was hard for me to pinpoint the exact taste, toeing between a chocolate oat aftertaste and something nutty. It wasn't horrible, but it had a strange chewy texture. I guess it’s a lot to ask for a no-bake cookie to have a solid texture, but the chewiness felt misplaced, like a hopeless third wheel. I needed more of a crunch to go along with the fudge and peanut butter cookies and believe a chocolate cookie core would have set this pint over the edge.
Overall Rating: 7 out of 10
Oh sh*t I need to go to the gym rating: 11/10
Sweet like Sugar Cookie Dough Core
Not going to lie, this was the flavor I was least excited about. After seeing Ben and Jerry’s Instagram post of the mouth-watering cookie dough and sexy chocolate peanut butter swirls, this flavor came off bland and underwhelming.
Spoiler alert: I was wrong. Soooo wrong. Whoever said “don’t judge a book by its cover” truly told me so.
I honestly could not hype this flavor up enough and anything I write won't do this flavor the justice it deserves. If you like Cherry Garcia, you will love this flavor—it's basically a revamped take on the Ben and Jerry’s classic. Sweet Like Sugar Core is another layered flavor, featuring sweet cream ice cream with a hint of almond and shortbread cookies in one section, cherry ice cream loaded with cherries in the other, and a decadent sugar cookie dough core splitting the two.
The simple, fruity and vibrant taste makes it so easy to “accidentally” eat the entire pint in a sitting. However, unlike other ice cream flavors, eating this pint made me feel refreshed and relatively light (maybe I tricked myself into thinking it was healthy because there were twelve cherries in it). The biggest take away: cherry and shortbread is the most underrated combination. The two flavors and textures work symbiotically and the sugar cookie core only enhances the chemistry. The sugar cookie dough core was, surprisingly, my favorite of the three. It has a satisfying bite and grit, tasting just like a homemade sugar cookie. And did I mention it goes really well with cherry loaded ice cream?
Overall Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Ice Cream Left Behind: 0 out of 473.176 mL
If you’re balling on a budget or on that swimsuit season diet and can only try one flavor from this new line, I recommend the Sweet Like Sugar Core— it’s truly the best one.