As if all the reasons we already love Ben & Jerry’s weren’t convincing enough, the company has gone and made it that much easier to fall into a pint and never want to leave.
Four new flavors, dubbed “Cores,” each boast an ooey-gooey center of caramel, fudge, or raspberry jam. Who said heaven doesn’t exist on earth?
Let’s break it down:
Salted Caramel
Salted Caramel never looked so fine. Image courtesy of Ben & Jerry’s.
When is salted caramel not a winner? It’s basically the opposite of Russell Crowe (A Winter’s Tale? Seriously, Russell?). Ben and Jerry personally make it that much better by surrounding a swirling chunk of pure salted caramel (same basic ingredients as crack) with fluffy vanilla ice cream and real blondie chunks.
If Ben & Jerry’s Salted Caramel Core was an Olympian, it’d be Sage Kotensburg. Blond and oh-so-smooth on ice. You’re welcome for that.
But alas, even a Salted Caramel core has my taste buds a little bored. Time to ramp it up a bit:
Peanut Butter Fudge
Chocolate and peanut butter need to just get a room already. Image courtesy of Ben & Jerry’s.
I’m a chocolate person, hands down. As long as it cacao is involved, you can count me in. And that goes double for a chocolate and peanut butter explosion that would put Reese’s to shame. If you think Half Baked is Full Excellent, eat now and ask questions later.
Moving right along:
Hazed & Confused
No shame in eating the whole pint. At least you finished something. Image courtesy of Ben & Jerry’s.
Oh, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. Besides claiming my favorite meet-cute of all time, you’ll forever have my heart thanks to your lively puns. Seriously guys, you’re putting John Oliver to shame.
Is it any wonder they’re still best friends? Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Hazed & Confused is basically Nirvana in semi-liquified form. This time, it’s chocolate and hazelnut hugging a fantastically fudge-y center strip, with plenty of chunky fudge chips to keep things interesting. “Come As You Are,” indeed.
And finally (drum roll, please), my spirit animal in ice cream form:
That’s My Jam
Speechless. Image courtesy of Ben & Jerry’s.
How has it taken the world this long to dream-up the wonder that is That’s My Jam? It puts my standard Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough to shame. Chocolate and raspberry ice cream never tasted so good, lovingly surrounding a hunk of jam with actual seeds in it. This is the real deal.
Sounds gross, looks insanely amazing. Seriously, raspberry jam hasn’t been used this well since Spaceballs.
So far, only a few Core flavors are available in the U.S. We’ll see how long it takes Ben and Jerry to expand the lexicon into flavor combinations we can only dream about. It’s already starting in the U.K., where Peanut Butter Me Up — why are these names are so adorable?! — takes a risk by combining a raspberry jam core with peanut-butter cup ice cream. Not sure I’m down for that just yet.
But where Ben and Jerry are concerned? It’s best to always keep an open mind. And a spoon at the ready. According to the Huffington Post, these bad boys are only $4.39 each and will be hitting stores in the U.S. this month. We can’t wait.