When I think about all the things Ben & Jerry’s have done for us over the years, the biggest thing I can thank them for is my ass. But perhaps their greatest contribution to modern day ice cream comes by way of cookie dough.
You see, Ben & Jerry’s is the most accomplished pioneer in the cookie dough ice cream game. It’s hard to imagine a world without the flavor now, but it was only 30 years ago that such a terrible world existed. It wasn’t until a random fan walked into the original Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop and suggested the flavor in 1984 that Ben & Jerry’s got to work. After six years of science to perfect cookie dough at ice cream temperatures, Ben & Jerry’s began putting soon-to-be-global sensation into pints in 1991.
Reckless eating would never be the same.
Even in recent years, Ben & Jerry’s hasn’t stopped fooling around with cookie dough. In 2016 they teamed with New Belgium Brewing to get us drunk with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale. In 2017 they gave us handheld chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream pints wrapped in chocolate. In 2018 they just said “to Hell with it” and sold us bags of cookie dough chunks.
2019 brings us three pints of brand new Cookie Dough Cores:
This review is act three in a three-part series:
Ben & Jerry’s Wake and “No Bake” Cookie Dough Core
Ben & Jerry’s Wake & “No Bake” Cookie Dough Core. You might be thinking: “Wait, isn’t all cookie dough NOT baked? Like… isn’t that the point of cookie DOUGH?” Chill with the Caps, Smarty Pants… the difference here is that this cookie dough is the kind that is never, ever meant to be baked.
If you’re unfamiliar, here is an example of a proper “no bake” cookie recipe that relies on oats, cocoa, and peanut butter: BOOM. The review has over 200 comments, which is more readers than have ever laid eyes on my website in 3 and a half years. Gotta be good…
Ben & Jerry’s surrounds their no bake cookie dough core with vanilla ice cream with peanut butter cookies, and peanut butter ice cream with fudge chips.
Ben & Jerry’s peanut butter ice cream is probably one of their better ones, and together with the fudge chips provides some “peanut butter cup” action. Zero complaints and plenty of praise here.
Their vanilla ice cream is solid but not spectacular (pretty much how I feel about most vanilla ice cream), though adding peanut butter cookies certainly improves it. I like how they kept a peanut buttery element on both sides to make for one cohesive theme.
I really dig the core in Ben & Jerry’s Wake & “No Bake.” It’s hard for me to pinpoint this unique flavor because I’ve only had one no bake cookie in my entire life, but here I’m getting multiple things I like. I get the oatiness for sure and lots of sweet cocoa. I almost want to say I taste shredded coconut, however the ingredients only list coconut oil. In some ways, I’m kind of reminded of Little Debbie’s Star Crunch.
And now for the heartbreak that many of us have experienced with Ben & Jerry’s Core lines. The top half had a big, fat core and the bottom half was unforgivably barren.
It’s such a shame that we can’t count on the cookie dough cores to last the whole pint. My Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Core almost reached the bottom, but my first pint of both Sweet Like Sugar and now Wake & “No Bake” barely hit the halfway mark. This is a huge problem if you eat top to bottom uniformly like a normal person, but if you actually let it temper then mix it up some, there is still a good amount of core to go around.
Still… I shouldn’t have to work for this, or ideally anything…
That’s half the appeal of no-bake cookies!
Not Baking Rating: 9 out of 10
Not Giving Me Enough Cookie Dough Rating: 1 out of 10
Overall Rating: 6.5 out of 10
The Other “Cookie Dough Core” Reviews:
REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Core
REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Sweet Like Sugar Cookie Dough Core
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