Mezcla Plant Based Protein Bars

I have tried a *lot* of bars in my time.  No, no, I'm not talking about the places where crowds of humans used to gather, drink, and be merry, I'm talking about bars the food products.  Generally trying to be quasi-healthy, often boasting high protein, usually non-GMO, gluten-free, etc, etc.  They started life as simple granola bars (like Quaker), and have evolved from there (like Nature Valley or Kind bars).  Available in every country (like Nakd bars, Alpen light, and Perkier bars in the UK or Go Natural, Be Natural, and SuniBrite in Australia).  Sometimes sold as meal replacements (like Quest), other times as breakfast items (like Bobo's oat bars, which I actually do like!), sometimes for sports recovery (like LUNA bars and LÄRABAR) ... you know the type.  They frequently have great sounding flavors, and most often, never even remotely live up to the names (why *did* I believe "Cinnamon bun white chocolate" by Think Thin would be good?).  Sometimes they try to do good for others, or the planet, like This Bar Saves Lives.  Or they go totally roque, like the meat and veggie bars by Wild Zora.  Or they just *sound* appealing, like Awesome Bars.

Yet still I try them.  I try them all (ok, all except those with whey protein isolate in them, because, alas, I've learned the very hard way that my body does not like whey protein).  And yes, most I try, I review, and I never get again.

Enter Mezcla.

"We are a delicious vegan bar that brings you the flavors of the world in a healthy and crunchy snack. With 10G of Protein, 170 calories, and a Pea Crisp base coated in vegan chocolate, Mezcla bars are bringing innovation and personality to the protein bar space."

I read the tag lines.  The bars are vegan, gluten-free, etc.  Yup, yup, I know the type (e.g. Raw Rev vegan bars).  Looking closer though, I was thrilled to see that the protein content comes from pea crisps (made from pea protein and rice starch), along with chickpeas, sunflower seed, and crispy quinoa.  No isolates, no soy, and best of all for me, no whey protein (my body hates it!).  

The flavors, although few, are unique, and are actually ones I'm interested in.  Not just because they *sound* good, but, because they are things I actually enjoy.  Matcha.  Cocoa peanut butter.  

There was a lot of promise here.  But still, protein bars?  Tasty?

It turns out, yes, yes they do exist.  Finally, I found a bar that delivered.  I highly, highly recommend these bars.

Even just opening the package of the first bar I could tell these were different.  They don't look funny, they look like, well, candy bars?  And turns out, they taste like them too ...

Mexican Chipotle Hot Chocolate.

"Have you ever had a warm cup of Mexican hot chocolate? If you have, you know the delicious sweetness it packs along with a little extra kick. If you haven’t, try this bar and find out what you’ve been missing. "

I opened my first bar one morning post workout when I was really really craving chocolate.  I expected to pick this flavor last, as I adore matcha and chocolate-peanut butter (the other flavors I had on hand), but, I  wanted just chocolate that morning.  Stat.  This bar sounded like just the thing.

I was quite pleased when I opened it.  It really did look appealing.  A well sized bar, full of crispies (made from pea crisps, sunflower seeds, chickpeas, and quinoa), and, yes, actually coated in chocolate.  Coated on one side, drizzled on the other.

I eagerly bit in.  So so many of these bars go wrong from that first bite, before you even get to taste, as they often have a strange texture.  I was overjoyed to find this one didn't have an odd texture in any way.  It was crispy.  

And the flavor?  It was good!  Basically, I felt like I was eating a crispy candy bar (but hey, the crispy was pea crisps, sunflower seeds, chickpeas, and quinoa!).  There was plenty of chocolate, both in the bar itself and in the generous coating.  Mezcla does not skimp on the coating.  Sure, there was mostly healthy things lurking in here, besides the chocolate, I was literally eating chickpeas, sunflower seeds, pea protein, and chicory root fiber ... but it sure didn't feel that way.  The hint of chili pepper gave it a touch of a kick, and the cinnamon came through on the finish, completing the "Mexican Chipotle" aspect of it.

I liked it.  Mexican Chipotle isn't *really* my thing, and actually I'd probably like this more just as a chocolate variety, no chipotle, but, it did make a fairly interesting flavor.  I enjoyed my crispy, chewy, decadent tasting bar, and was rather thrilled that I got 10g of protein (170 cal, 6g fat) in such a fun way. 

***+.  I couldn't wait to try the next flavor.

Peruvian Cocoa Peanut Butter.

"For those of you who aren’t quite ready to totally abandon the classic protein bar flavors you love, we took the already delicious chocolate peanut butter combo and made it even better. "

Next, I grabbed the Peruvian cocoa peanut butter.

I think I was really in the mood for this at the time.  I loved it. 

I again liked the crispy bits (pea crisps, quinoa, amaranth) that make up the base, and really loved the bits of peanut in it for crunch and pops of peanut intensity.  Besides the bits of peanut, there was not a super strong "peanut butter" flavor, but the peanut was present enough.  

And of course, it had an excellent chocolate coating, made with Peruvian cocoa.  A hit of pink sea salt amped up the flavor even more.

Just, truly a joy to eat.  I had it for breakfast alongside a cup of coffee and felt like a rebel, but I imagine it being a great snack bar, post workout, or even a dessert.

Again, like eating a candy bar ...  Can't wait get my hands on more of these.

****+.

Matcha Vanilla.

"Satisfy your matcha cravings with this deliciously smooth, earthy protein bar. This unique pairing perfectly satisfies that worldly sweet tooth you didn’t even know you had."

I saved the matcha vanilla for last, expecting, actually, to like it the most, as I usually love matcha, and am generally more into matcha than chocolate.

It turned out to be my least favorite.

It wasn't bad at all, same crispy base (pea crisps, quinoa, amaranth, sunflower and pumpkin seeds), this time with a vanilla coating.  And of course, matcha powder.  Like the others, it ate very much like a candy bar.  Very sweet.

But the matcha flavor was not very strong.  In fact, honestly, I barely tasted matcha.  The crunchy bits were all the same great texture, but they too didn't have as much flavor, at least, compared to the awesome peanuts in the Peruvian Cocoa Peanut Butter or the zing in the Mexican Chipotle Hot Chocolate.

So, overall, a sweet candy bar, with no dominant flavor.  Still fun to eat, and certainly still a very tasty way to get 10g protein, but I greatly preferred the others.

***.

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Gelato Fiasco

First, let's just get this out there.  If you think grocery store packaged gelato is not "real gelato", then guess what?  Yeah, I basically agree.  I've had some *incredible* gelato in my days, but it has always been from a shop, prepared only a few hours at most before.  The grocery store stuff generally is no different than any other packaged ice cream.  The serving temperature obviously has to be the same as standard freezer temp, like all other household frozen goods, so that softer texture due to higher serving temp distinguishing characteristic isn't there.  However, if a company brands itself as "gelato" rather than ice cream, they likely really do use lower milkfat.

I eat a ton of frozen dairy treats, obviously, but I don't generally prefer one style over another.  Some occasions (like, you know, warm fruit crisp) call for hard plain ice cream, others (like, a 80* sunny day) call for soft serve, in a cone, with rainbow sprinkles, and others (rainy days!) demand froyo loaded with toppings.  I don't have any "category" of time I would gravitate towards gelato, besides, well, if I'm somewhere like Sydney, and happen to be near a lovely gelato shop (hi, Messina!  Hello Anita!).

In the freezer aisle of a grocery store however, I'm most likely to just pick ice cream, not gelato (although I do remember getting drawn in when Talenti first came out in the US, the clear packaging made such an impact!).  This past summer, while staying in New Hampshire to escape from city life during COVID, I explored the freezer aisle quite a bit.  And there I discovered many east coast brands, including Gelato Fiasco, made in Maine.

"We searched and sought, but we could not find the perfect gelato. The centuries-old secrets of the Italian masters had been lost! Knowing that gelato should be magnificent, we set out to rediscover those Old World techniques and create a new standard of quality and taste with our own inspiration, ingredients, and creativity."

They use local dairy, natural cane sugar not HFCS, real fruits & nuts, pistachios only from Sicily, vanilla only from Madagascar, etc, etc.  I was drawn in by the incredible flavor range - I wanted to try nearly every single one.   They claim to have made 1,500 flavors, although many of those were available only at their shops, not by the pint in stores.  Even so, the lineup at my local grocery store was impressive enough.  They had many creative flavors, but the ones that really called out were Nutterfluffer (yup, their play on the very popular fluffernutter sando, salty peanut butter gelato base, marshmallow fluff swirls, pieces of pound cake!), the Sunken Treasure (brown butter gelato, salty pretzels, chocolate dipped bourbon butter orbs, fudge swirl), and, ok, several others.

But I started with just one.  Sadly, it wasn't as impressive as it seemed it should be, and after discovering other brands that I liked more, I didn't try another.  I would still, if it were to just show up somewhere I was, but I wouldn't seek it out.

Wild Maine Blueberry Crisp
Vanilla gelato / crunchy oat streusel / maine blueberries.

"Remember blueberry crisp with a scoop on top? Our version has blueberries, crunchy oat streusel, and vanilla gelato. Wow."

I started with one that was featured in the Bon Appetit magazine as one of the editors’ favorite artisanal ice cream flavors, which seemed like a great place to start.  Plus, I *loved* the sound of Wild Maine Blueberry Crisp!  I do love fruit crisp.  And my fruit crisp is *always* served a la mode (and warm, unless its for breakfast, then it is cold, and with whipped cream).  This had so much promise.

Sadly, it was kinda eh for me.

The base vanilla ice cream was fine, but it was the kind that freezes *hard* and takes considerable time to soften.  The blueberry component was very sweet blueberry goo in some pockets, but not really distributed all that well, and not really as blueberry forward as I'd like - it was mostly sweet.

But the real issue was the streusel, the part I was most looking forward to even!  It wasn't chunks of streusel, it wasn't "crunchy", and it wasn't identifiable as oat ... it was just grit throughout.  Much like many of Ben & Jerry's flavors that I otherwise love, the grit texture just didn't work for me.

I didn't hate this pint, and I did make ice cream sundaes with it, and use it on top of fruit crisp, but, I certainly didn't enjoy it just as it was, and I wouldn't get another pint.

**+.

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Little Secrets

"WE FIXED CHOCOLATE TO BRING BACK THE MAGIC."

Well, that is quite a claim.  And yet it is the tag line for Little Secrets, a chocolate snack food manufacturer.

Little Secrets makes 3 product lines: crispy wafers, chocolate pieces, and cookie bars.  The chocolate pieces are crispy chocolate coated like M&Ms, with fun fillings - peanut butter, mint chocolate chip, toasted coconut, sea salted almonds, and sea salted peanuts.  The cookie bars sure look a lot like Twix.  I tried only the crispy wafers

"Little Secrets makes the chocolate you loved as a kid, for your all-grown-up-now, mature taste buds. It’s chocolate exactly how you remember it — only better."

The difference between the Little Secrets versions and the "originals" is that they are non-GMO, fair trade certified, do not use high fructose corn syrup, etc.  Quality products, yadda yadda.

Crispy Wafers

"Our Gourmet Chocolate Crispy Wafers are layered with creme and dipped in fair trade chocolate with sea salt. No artificial flavors or ingredients. Pick your favorite flavor."

Crispy Wafers come in 4 varieties: Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, peanut butter (!), and almond butter.  I only tried the dark chocolate, but I'd gladly try others.

Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt.

"Three crispy wafers layered between airy, Fair Trade Certified™ dark chocolate crème and drenched in premium dark chocolate come together for an incredible combination of textures and tastes that are guaranteed to delight. With mouth-watering, real ingredients these delicious crispy wafers make for a slightly more sophisticated snack time."

I really liked the crispy wafers.

The dark chocolate was shockingly high quality, really deep dark chocolate.  I quite liked it.  And the wafers?  Yup, crispy!  Great product, I gleefully devoured my twin back in seconds.

I'd get these again.

***+.

Update Review: I've since had these several times, and I really, truly adore them.  The dark chocolate surprises me every time by just how good it is, really, truly fabulous dark chocolate, seemingly really high quality.  Protip: These are great from the freezer too!  ****.

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Tony's Chocoloney

Mmm, chocolate.

I'm a firm believer that every morning should begin with some chocolate (alongside a black coffee, after my gummy vitamins).  And that every bored mid-morning moment needs some chocolate.  And, you know, anytime you want a little pick me up ...

Yeah, I love chocolate.  Sometimes I'm all about smooth, creamy milk chocolate, other times I want legit dark and bitter.  Yup, even 100% bars.  Sometimes I like crunchy bits in it, or sometimes filled truffles, or sometimes just pure chocolate.  I like it all, it just really depends on my mood at any given time.

Anyway, I eat a lot of chocolate.  I've tried a zillion varieties.  Recently I tried "Tony's Chocoloney", mostly drawn in by the rather ridiculous name, and, well, massive size of some of the bars.

Tony's has been around since 2006, making a variety of bars, known as "Big Bars" (you'll see why soon), small bars (more normal sized ones), and "Tiny Tony's" (bite sized).   The Big Bars are the largest product range, with 4 milk chocolate varieties (all 32% milk chocolate, with different additions), 4 dark chocolate varieties (ranging from 42%-70%), and a fun sounding raspberry popping candy white chocolate.

I've tried a few, and would gladly try more.  Silly name, and ridiculously large form factor aside, it seemed to be decent enough chocolate.

Tiny Tony's: Dark.

"This bar contains at least 70% cacao. Se-ven-ty! This means we use a lot of cocoa beans. This dark chocolate delicacy is designed for the true chocolate lover."

The first item I tried was just a little Tiny Tony's, a bite sized piece of dark chocolate.  It was ... fine.  A fairly intense dark chocolate.

The form factor was odd though, small but thick, and really quite hard.  I usually appreciate the snap to a dark chocolate, a shiny element, and that was lost with the thicker form.  I'm curious why they use such a thicker form than other chocolate makers.

***.

Big Bar: 42% dark milk chocolate pretzel toffee.

"Pretzel? Yummy. Toffee? Yes please. Dark milk chocolate? Say it ain't so! Put crunchy pretzel pieces with a sweet toffee crunch in dark milk chocolate with 42% cocoa, wrap in a purple wrapper and we have ourselves a new flavor!"

After trying the regular dark chocolate, I moved on to a more interesting selection, with pretzel toffee inside.  I was curious about the "dark milk chocolate" though, 42%, so not nearly as dark as the regular dark, and considered a milk chocolate.  But a darker one.

  

I did like it.  The "Big Bar" lived up to its name - really thick, legit hunk of chocolate.  It had an interesting pattern throughout, so when you broke off a chunk you could get a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

The dark chocolate was good, solid quality, and honestly seemed darker than 42%.  It certainly wasn't a sweet nor creamy chocolate.  I liked crunch from pretzel, but was a bit let down by expecting more of a salty component, and some sweetness from the toffee.

I think due to its size I grew a bit sick of this bar, but, it was fine.

***.

Big Bar: Milk Chocolate Hazelnut.

"This flavor is a perfect combo of 32% Fairtrade milk chocolate and a minimum of 10% hazelnuts. Did you know that we hid a map of Western Africa in our unequally divided bar? We couldn't fit whole hazelnuts into the pieces that represent Togo and Benin! After a very heated debate, we completely and politically incorrectly combined two separate countries into one bigger piece so we could use whole hazelnuts."

Next up, another Big Bar, this time a milk chocolate variety (32%), featuring hazelnuts.

The bar boasts that it has 10% hazelnuts, so I guess I was just unlucky in my first few pieces, because I broke off hunks along the lines, and ... no hazelnuts.  I quickly discovered hazelnuts though, and, as you'd expect, the milk chocolate and hazelnut combo was wonderful (hello, Nutella!).

The milk chocolate was really quite nice, smooth.  High quality.

I really enjoyed this one, absolutely perfect in my morning grogginess with a cup of coffee..

****.

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Maxine's Ice Cream

I've been a fan of Three Twins Ice Cream since I first had the unique Lemon Cookie flavor years ago at an event, where one of the founders himself was there scooping up samples.  This was long before Three Twins was carried in any grocery stores, and I believe they had just one scoop shop, and did some occasional events like the one I was at.  I loved that flavor, and others that I later tried.   The unique flavors are good, but the just absolutely *nailed* the basics too.  I have long raved that Three Twins made, hands down, the absolute best vanilla and chocolate ice creams I have ever had.  For years, I always had a freezer full of Three Twins, and, literally, had at least a scoop a minimum of 5 days a week.  It just pairs perfectly with everything.  Yes, I may have a bit of an ice cream "problem".

Since then, Three Twins became quite successful.  First I started seeing their pints in Whole Foods around the Bay Area, and then other grocery stores in the area, and then ... across the country.  Three Twin's flavor line up expanded, novelties were introduced (like ice cream sandwiches and sundae cones), grab-n-go minis were added, etc.  Three Twins, one of my favorite ice creams, was seemingly everywhere.  I knew that Three Twins had "made it" when I was visiting my family in rural New Hampshire and saw Three Twins at the grocery store (albeit, in a special organic section, and only one flavor).  But alas, the company was shut down during the pandemic, which I wrote about last week.

The Three Twins folks realized however that not everywhere goes for all organic premium ice cream sold only in small pints.  The mainstream masses can appreciate quality ice cream too.

Enter Maxine's.  Maxine's was the newer line aimed at mass-market (although it is still all organic!) - less premium product, lower price point, and, distributed in larger 1.5 quart packages.  Available in only 6 flavors - two of which were vanilla (regular or vanilla bean) - and all quite simple classic flavors.  No lemon cookies nor cardamom here.

I was eager to try it out and see how it compared to my precious Three Twins.

(Side note: Three Twins has also introduced Slim Twin, a high protein, light offering with only ~240 calories per PINT.  I have yet to try this.)

Vanilla Bean.

"Organic vanilla bean ice cream."

I started with vanilla bean, a flavor also available in the Three Twin's line.

The first thing I noticed is that the texture actually is quite different.  It is a fluffier, lighter style than classic Three Twins.  Not as rich.  I actually liked this, it was more akin to whipped cream, and I always struggle to decide if I want whipped cream or ice cream with my pie (ok, who am I kidding, I usually go for both).   My mother wasn't as pleased with the fluffier style, although she has never had Three Twins, she just wasn't a big fan in general.

The flavor was good, but not quite as intense as the Three Twins vanilla (although, I usually have Three Twins Madagascar Vanilla, not the Vanilla Bean).

It was interesting to compare the ingredients in the Three Twins and Maxine's versions of the same flavor.  The ingredient lineup is nearly identical, all organic, but in Three Twins the egg yolk comes before nonfat milk, clearly, what makes it richer.  Maxine's also has guar gum added.  But besides that, identical components.

Anyway, I liked it.  It was clearly not as rich as the Three Twins, but this style worked.  I'd still pick Three Twins Madagascar Vanilla over this for the deeper flavor, but, it is a good product, and I would also gladly have it again.

****.

Mint Chip.

"Organic mint chip ice cream."

Next up I picked the Mint Chip, as I was not particularly inspired by any others (chocolate or coffee are good, but, I limit caffeine to earlier in the day, so not my top choices, I rarely like cookies & cream, and other than that, my choices were just the other vanilla, dubbed "Maxine's vanilla", or this).

It was ... fine.

Much like the vanilla bean, it simply wasn't as creamy, it wasn't as rich, it wasn't as ... premium, as Three Twins.  It was mostly just regular, fairly unremarkable, ice cream.  It did have a minty base, and I liked that it was studded with flecks of quality chocolate.

It was fine.  But it wasn't particularly something I wanted, and it mostly just made me miss Three Twins. ***. 

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Mrs. Freshley's

Convenience store or vending machine baked goods.  I can't say I generally seek them out, even though I certainly eat plenty of desserts.  Even as a kid, I didn't grow up with these sorts of items in the snack drawer, or packed in my school lunches, as my mom was an avid baker, and I always had fresh homemade items.  On the rare occasion that we got a box of Little Debbie Nutty Bars, it was actually a treat in my mind.  I still remember those (and oatmeal creme pies!) fondly.

Maybe because they have only been around since 1994, or maybe due to my general lack of knowledge in this industry, but Mrs. Freshley's was entirely unknown to me until this past summer, when I tried one of their products, quite randomly while in New Hampshire.  I then noticed them at nearly every gas station around town, basically, the same products as my Little Debbie (yes, they have "Buddy Bars" and all!), but also a few more unique ones.

I wish I had been able to try more items, but alas, I returned to the Bay Area, and haven't seen them here.  I'll be on the lookout next time on the east coast though ...

Reese's Deluxe Peanut Butter Flavored Cupcakes: Shockingly good!

These were the first, totally random product I tried from Mrs. Freshley's, on a total whim.  I couldn't believe how delicious they were.

Cream Filled Cakes

"Theres something special inside these Mrs. Freshley's cakes and you can taste it in every bite - delicious creme. We've got creme-cakes for every sweet tooth - from our icing-topped Chocolate Cupcakes to our special Swiss Rolls and Red Velvet Creme Cakes, a Southern specialty. After one taste, you'll agree that Mrs. Freshley's creme-filled cakes can't be beat! "

The cream filled cakes lineup contains Mrs. Freshley's spin on all the classic packaged snack cakes: Swiss rolls, "Dreamies" that look very much like Twinkies (and come in several flavors, besides just classic vanilla, there is a raspberry one), Snow Balls, and the chocolate cupcakes have the same hard chocolate topping and white drizzle as another well known snack cake ... 

But Mrs. Freshley's also has some unique items, a large cupcake lineup ranging from orange, vanilla, peanut butter, and red velvet to even *banana pudding cupcakes*, the last of which I'd love to try - it has banana pudding filling and is made with vanilla wafers!

But it was one signature item I couldn't pass up as my first dive in Mrs. Freshley's products: yes, they have a regular peanut butter cupcake, but they also have Reese's co-branded ones, part of the Deluxe lineup.  The Deluxe lineup also has other co-branded items with Hershey's, so, chocolate lovers, be on the lookout!  They aren't exactly hard to find, found at Walmart and gas stations everywhere.

Reese's Co-Branded Deluxe Peanut Butter Flavored Cupcakes: Twin Pack.

"Reese's Peanut Butter Flavored Cupcakes are made with Reese's peanut butter."

The Reese's line bears packaging that makes it easily recognizable.  A version is available with Reese's Pieces on top, or, as I went for, orange/yellow/brown sprinkles, and a drizzle.

How is this different than the standard, non-deluxe, peanut butter cupcake?  The regular peanut butter cupcake is a chocolate cake with peanut butter filling too, but lacks the extravagant topping, settling for a simple swirl like the chocolate ones.  The Reese's ones are higher calorie, but the ingredient list is shorter, fewer chemical sounding ingredients ...

Deluxe Reese's Peanut Butter Flavored Cupcake.

I had zero expectations for this packaged product, and ... well, I was blown away.  I *really* liked it.  Granted, I had been on a chocolate and peanut butter kick, but, wow.  I *really* liked it.  As much as any fancy bakery baked good, or even my mom's homemade desserts.

Ok, starting on top ...

The peanut butter icing was fantastic.  Hard style, crusted on, thick, and loaded with peanut butter flavor.  Loved it.  Loved the sprinkles.  Sweet - check.  Peanut butter - check.

Deluxe Reese's Peanut Butter Flavored Cupcake.

Ok, how about what lie under the icing?

A chocolate cupcake, actually pretty good.  Not dried out.  It didn't taste stale, it didn't taste generic, it didn't taste fake.  Better than most grocery store cakes, better than box mix cakes/cupcakes.  It wasn't amazing or anything, don't get me wrong, but it was light, fluffy, moist, chocolatey.  Far better than any other packaged snack cake I've had, and blew away my expectations.

And then, the filling.  Peanut butter cream.  More excellent peanut butter flavor.  Filling amount was decent, well distributed.

A bite of all elements - fluffy cake, creamy peanut butter filling, and sweet toppings - was really fantastic.  The peanut butter flavor was really quite strong, and it all combined together fairly magically.

I was thrilled to just eat this, as is.  I didn't need to pair it with ice cream, warm it up, or anything.  It is rare for me to be satisfied with something so "simple" but, this was a winner.  I'd get it again.

I was glad they were fairly small size, but a bit stunned at the nutrition stats, but I guess it was loaded with sugar, is highly processed, and does have peanut butter ...

****+.

Snowballs.

"Mrs. Freshley's Pink Snowballs are deliciously created with a moist chocolate devil's food cake with a yummy creme filling. This sweet creation is covered in a thick layer of marshmallow and then dipped in a pink coconut."

After the success of the  Deluxe Peanut Butter Flavored Cupcakes I decided I wanted to try more products from Mrs. Freshley's, so when I was at a gas station, and saw a huge display of Mrs. Freshley's goods ... I definitely impulse shopped, randomly grabbing the fluffy pink snowballs.

Spoiler: I didn't care for them AT ALL!

The pink coconut outer layer was pretty I guess, but just kinda dry.  The "thick layer of marshmallow" really seemed more like a very odd sponge cake, I really truly hated the texture, and would never identify it as marshmallow.

Snowballs: Inside.

Inside, the "moist chocolate devil's food cake" also did not live up. The cake was extremely mild in chocolate flavor, and I wouldn't call it "moist", but it wasn't too tried out.

And the "yummy creme filling"?  CRAZY sweet, tasting basically of corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup and probably some palm oil too, you know, what it is actually made of.

So yes, these were a fail for me on every dimension, honestly, more of what I'd expect from a package snack cake, after all. 

*+.

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Good Humor Ice Cream

Ice cream.  I eat a lot of ice cream.  It is part of my *daily* life (yes, really).  Thank goodness I have a large freezer.

I eat ice cream as the "a la mode" to warm pie or fruit crisps, I stuff cookies with it to make ice cream sandwiches, and of course, I make a mean ice cream sundae. 

I've been this way my whole life.  As a kid, we always had gallons of multiple flavors of ice cream in the freezer, Carvel ice cream cake was the birthday cake of choice (even though my mom is an avid baker!), and for a quick grab-n-go, we always also had assorted "novelties" from the frozen food delivery service on hand.  And of course, elementary school lunch had ice cream day, iirc it was Fridays, and I took it quite seriously - I was the one who took the ice cream order regularly, or was the distributor, etc.  

For the most part, I left generic ice cream novelties, the kind sold from neighborhood ice cream trucks or the school lunch program, behind long ago.  I continued my ice cream eating, no question, but upgraded to more premium brands (ok, in college I'd trade in my "meal equivalency" for pints of Ben & Jerry's at our diner ... sssh, don't tell mom!), but otherwise, I've turned towards more ... grown up offerings.

That is, until I started traveling for my job frequently, and learned about all the generic brands in other countries, which were rarely better than what we had, just, different.  It became part of my world travel experience, checking out the ice cream freezers at every office, and trying as many ice cream novelties as I possibly could (like Heartbrand in Europe or its Australian counterpart Streets).  And of course, for the lucky offices that had quality products, trying those too (such as the Belly Artisan Ice Cream in Toronto, the Great British Ice Cream Company or Jude's in London, Mövenpick Ice Cream in Zurich, and international only flavors of Ben & Jerry's).  It was during these times that I also got back into American novelty ice cream, partially out of curiosity how we compared, but also, well, because the ice cream freezers in other US offices had them, so, why not try?  In the Cambridge, MA office I had all the regulars - Hood, Nestlé, and Blue Bunny/Blue Ribbon - and really fell back in love with novelties (but sorry, I still will rarely go for an It's-It ... does this make me a bad San Franciscan?

Anyway.  Are you still reading?  Let's get back to reviewing some ice cream, er, frozen dairy desserts.

Good Humor is perhaps the most well known brand in the US.  They were the original sponsors of ice cream trucks, the ones who introduced us to "the ice cream jingle", etc.  I probably don't need to tell you much about their product line: ice cream sandwiches, eclair bars, etc.  These are the same kind of items I remember from elementary school, although I do not know for sure what brand we had in particular then.

It turns out, some are actually quite decent ...

Giant Vanilla
"Frozen vanilla dairy dessert sandwich"

The ice cream sandwich.  Classic as they come.  

Not a treat that I think I have ... ever picked?  Literally.  I am pretty sure I never, ever, ever picked an ice cream sandwich like this in my life.  I have no idea why, but, they have never called out to me.  Even as a child.  

And yet, here I am, an adult, deciding to try one for the first time.  I tried it on a day when I was having a strange craving for a chocolate whoopie pie (so random) but also kinda wanted ice cream, and remembered seeing the classic, soft chocolate cookie, vanilla ice cream filled, ice cream sandwich in my parent's freezer.

It was time to try.  This one came supersized, "Giant".

Giant Vanilla.

"A giant treat with vanilla ice cream packed between two chocolate flavored wafers – each bite better than the last."

I knew exactly what to expect, having obviously seen many an ice cream sandwich consumed over the years, although this one was, as named "Giant", bigger than a standard ice cream sandwich.  Otherwise, it looked exactly like every ice cream sandwich I have seen other's enjoy: large, soft, chocolate rectangular wafer cake-like cookies that have little tiny holes in them for some reason, filled with vanilla "dairy dessert".  Simplicity.

I took one bite, and ... well, I liked it.  It really did match the craving I had, in many ways.  Sure, not a whoopie pie, but the "chocolate flavored wafers" were quite soft, lightly chocolately, and more like a soft whoopie pie cookie than anything else I can think to compare them to actually (certainly not a cookie ...).

The vanilla dairy dessert inside was sweet, not really "vanilla" in any way, but sweet and plain, and quite smooth.  Not a premium ice cream, not even an ice cream, technically, but it melted perfectly, and balanced well with the chocolate wafer.

I also truly enjoyed the form factor - not sure why I always went for other sorts of novelty treats, really, as it fun to lick around the edges as it melted.  I will note however that it did leave quite the chocolate residue on my hands!

Overall though, this matched my craving, and pleased me.  Classic for a reason.  I'd have another, if the mood ever hit.

***+

Chocolate Eclair.

"Chocolate and cake on a stick, yum! We wouldn’t blame you if you d-éclair this cake-coated frozen Chocolate Éclair dessert bar as your favorite."

Another variety I don't really remember often going for: the chocolate eclair (nor, the strawberry eclair for that matter).  Although I did vaguely remember liking the crunch coating, so, as an adult, on a research mission, I tried one.

It looked better out of the package than I expected.  I enjoyed ... elements of it.

Chocolate Eclair: Coating.

"Creamy chocolate and vanilla dessert bar. Made with our famous signature cake coating."

The "signature cake coating" really was quite generously, and well, applied.  

The "signature cake coating" really was quite generously, and well, applied.  You could see the bits of 3 different styles of cake - two chocolate, one white.  All was stuck on with some kind of very mild chocolate ("milk chocolate flavored coating"), per the ingredient label.

I liked the coating. It didn't taste stale, was sweet, was really just pretty tasty.

***+ for the coating.

Chocolate Eclair: Inside.

Inside though, is basically just ... kinda icy, not really creamy, ice-cream-like vanilla stuff, and, a fudgicle/fudgsicle like core.  Not really my thing.

I do think there is a time and a place for a fudgicle, perhaps, but just not what I go for.

** for the core.  I won't likely grab one of these again.

Oreo Dessert Bar

"All those Oreo® Cookie Pieces! Our fan-favorite frozen dessert bar is loaded with Oreo® Cookie Pieces, with scrumptious Oreo® cookie crunch coating. Glass of milk not required."

Well, this was ok, but keep in mind that I only quasi-like Oreo.  You definitely need to want to be in the mood for Oreo to enjoy this bar - this is for Oreo and cookies-n-cream lovers, no question.

Decently coated in chocolate bits, "Oreo Crunch", tons extra in the bag.  They were, well, Oreo crumble.  

Oreo Dessert Bar: Side View.

From the side, it was less well coated, but this allows you to see the "milk chocolate flavored coating".  It really just helped affix the crunch bits, didn't really have any flavor nor add to the bar.

Oreo Dessert Bar: Inside.

Inside was the ice cream like filling, studded with Oreo cookie pieces. 

The ice cream wasn't very good, not creamy, icy, but if you like the sweet "stuf" inside an Oreo, it surely tasted like that.

So ... overall, you had the Oreo cookie bits, the sweet "stuf", and it certainly had a lot of Oreo going on, and would appeal to any cookies-n-cream lover, but, you had to want, well, Oreo.

*** for me.

Reese's Dessert Cup.

"Made with REESE’S Peanut Butter Swirl! Enjoy this fan favorite peanut butter ice cream cup with chocolatey coating."

While the other items I mostly tried just out of curiosity, and were not things I ever cared about even growing up, *this* one I was extremely excited for.  Peanut butter cups?  Sign me up.  I adore a chocolate + pb combo.

I gleefully broke into it.

It delivered.  It was delicious.  And yes, it tastes pretty much like a peanut butter cup.

The chocolate shell had a nice snap, creamy milk chocolate, seemed reasonable quality.  It was quite satisfying to bite into, cracking open.  Reminded me of a Klondike Bar (Klondike also makes a version of this, but people tend to have higher accolades for the Good Humor version).

And inside?  Um, yeah.  PEANUT BUTTER.  This is a peanut butter forward product, no question.  So rich, truly wonderful tasting peanut butter ice cream.  Unlike many of Good Humor's frozen novelties, this one is actual ice cream, and you can tell.  Considerably creamier.  Great peanut butter flavor.

It took a while to find the "real Reese's Peanut Butter swirl" it said it was made with, but I suddenly found a harder chunk near the middle, off center a bit, that turned out to be basically pure peanut butter.  Glorious.

Overall, this was a delight.  You definitely need to be in the mood for peanut butter, and richness, but if you are, and if you love peanut butter cups, this is basically a giant ice cream version of a peanut butter cup, and is done really quite well.

****, and I'd certainly have another when craving peanut butter.

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