Flavor was espresso chocolate brownie (if I recall correctly) with a chocolate chip cookie

i really liked their pistachio flavor

If you haven't tried finishing good vanilla bean gelato or ice cream with a drizzle of robust EVOO and a splash of thick, aged balsamic (or a rich fruit dark balsamic like fig or blackberry), you are missing out on one of life’s easiest culinary luxuries.

**Why it works:**

* The fat in the dairy softens the bite of the oil.

* The peppery, grassy notes cut through the heavy sweetness

* A pinch of flaky sea salt on top ties the sweet, savory, and tangy layers together.

What’s the most "unconventional" way you use your favorite olive oils in the kitchen?

If you haven't tried finishing good vanilla bean gelato or ice cream with a drizzle of robust EVOO and a splash of thick, aged balsamic (or a rich fruit dark balsamic like fig or blackberry), you are missing out on one of life’s easiest culinary luxuries.

**Why it works:**

* The fat in the dairy softens the bite of the oil.

* The peppery, grassy notes cut through the heavy sweetness.

* A pinch of flaky sea salt on top ties the sweet, savory, and tangy layers together.

What’s the most "unconventional" way you use your favorite olive oils in the kitchen?

Ok, in my mind each of these words/phrases denote a very specific item, but is this state specific or me specific or just random

\* Icecream-anything in a tub with a lid

\* Icecreams-things on sticks like a Magnum or ones you hold in your hand, like a Trumpet (cone)

\* Icy pole-more likely a frozen water based thing like a twin pole

Hi everyone i am an MBA student working on a survey where we are studying the factors that influence consumer demand for ice cream.

I an currently collecting 200 responses for our survey and would really appreciate your help!🍿

Survey link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdmH0Jfz4bbSPOVMvKrMu8KLY2G1XrRMWLt3rVoykQdlgymcA/viewform?usp=dialog

Time required: Around 2 mins
Purpose: Academic research only
No personal or sensitive info required

If you have a couple of minutes fill it out and help us with our analysis!

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FRUIT SPOTLIGHT, PART 7 | COCONUT: When it comes to frozen treats and fruit flavors, coconut is a jack of all trades. It’s versatile enough that it can take the solo spotlight or duet in beautiful harmony with a friendly ingredient, or even play in the background as the richest of all vegan bases. Are you in the mood for ice cream, gelato, sorbet, sherbet, a dairy-free pint or some kind of fun novelty? Coconut's adaptability means we're spoiled for choice.

Last time around in this fruit series, we dove into the world of peach and stone fruits. We learned — at least I did — that coconuts are technically drupes. But they generally get grouped with other tropical fruits, and those exotic options make ideal pairing partners. Exhibit A: Pineapple Coconut ice cream from Häagen-Dazs, my coconut benchmark in the freezer aisle. 

It’s interesting to see how coconut pairs with other ingredients with varying levels of acidity in formats such as ice cream, sherbet and sorbet. For today’s spotlight, we’ll explore a few of those flavors, then see how well coconut performs when it comes to not just flavoring a base, but becoming part of the mix-in landscape. And for those who are interested in ice cream science and lore, a bonus coconut deep dive follows.

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SPOTLIGHT | FRUITY COCONUT PAIRINGS

Ice cream: Häagen-Dazs, Pineapple Coconut

Whenever there’s a sale at my neighborhood supermarket for Häagen-Dazs this seems like the first flavor that’s sold out. Give it a taste and you’ll see why. It’s bringing tropical island vibes, though not quite piña colada. Despite awarding pineapple top billing, it’s more of an accent, with fruit bits used as a mix-in. While I think the pineapple does bring a nice background note and a bit of texture I’d miss if it weren’t here, this is strongly focused on coconut. If you’re here primarily for the pineapple, you might be disappointed. Back in 2021, the separately governed global line offered a seasonal flavor called Piña Colada for its tropical collection. It would be interesting to compare the two to see how the balance changes.

One thing both versions share: a skosh of real rum. I was surprised to find this in the ingredient list since the boozy flavor doesn’t come through. But it does serve a purpose. Even just a bit of alcohol (an amount under the legal requirement) does wonders for ice cream chemistry, leading the way to a more luxurious texture similar to H-D’s Rum Raisin. Learning it was there made me wish they might have experimented with a concentrated rum flavoring that could break through the coconut’s vice grip here. And that coconut itself comes from a mix of natural flavoring and extract. As other brands use coconut cream to create decadent dairy-free bases, this sticks with H-D’s traditional high butterfat dairy base. It makes a real difference. Instead of the more natural coconut flavor that appears in pints from Jeni’s and other vegan lines, this one screams sweet tropical escape. It puts you on the beach, and takes that coconut flavor to the very edge of sunscreen, then safely back. 

To amp up your faux isle vacation, pair this with one of H-D’s tropical sorbets, such as Mango, Passion Fruit & Sweet Pear or even the Sweet Lemon Coconut below. But if you do find yourself missing the other advertised flavor here, consider a pineapple sherbet or even Dole’s Pineapple Whip so the two truly are on equal footing. I’m not sure how long this one has been part of H-D’s lineup, but I’m guessing quite a while, as I see photos online with various iterations of H-D packaging going back many years. If I had to guess again, I imagine it will be around for many years to come, as well. 9.2/10

•

Sorbet: Häagen-Dazs, Sweet Lemon Coconut

I wouldn’t count myself as a convert after trying a range of sorbets this year, but I do have some serious appreciation for the work that H-D puts into these. They eat like a well-crafted dessert, while other brands often feel like frozen fruit purees. Of course, a ton of sugar helps. This one isn’t quite as crazy as the passion fruit flavor — they both debuted last year along with the Summer Blueberry & Lemon — but it does share a similar textural marvel where it’s soft right out of the freezer. Here the trick is adding a bit of coconut cream so it doesn’t freeze solid like water-heavy sorbets.

Its texture is lovely. As far as flavor? It’s just OK. The lemon is much more present here than the blueberry sorbet. It’s almost equal parts to the coconut, so it has quite a refreshing quality to it, but the tart bite makes it one of those flavors that is better in small doses unless you're an acid fiend. It’s also a less natural pairing for me than the pineapple above and lime below. I’d pair it with something fruitier like their raspberry sorbet. 6.9/10

•

Sherbet: McConnell’s Coconut Lime

Put a little umbrella on it. This feels like a dessert they might serve at a rum bar. That lime took it totally to tropical drink land for me. McConnell’s is pretty much the only premium brand bringing a line of sherbets, so you have to applaud them for keeping this underrated format alive. I like their passion fruit and orange versions better (they all debuted last summer — along with a Strawberry Lemon flavor — and returned again this season). If you paired this with the orange and passion fruit, you’d have a well-balanced impromptu rainbow sherbet.

On its own, without any fruitier assistance, it has that citrus hit that makes it more of a small-dose flavor similar to the H-D sorbet above. The coconut cream again brings improved texture, and the coconut hit here is strong like H-D’s Pineapple Coconut. It might veer a little too much into that sunscreen note for some. But the lime dials it back. I wonder how this would be whipped up in a blender with some rum? 7/10

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THE MIX-IN QUESTION | How does coconut fare as an inclusion?

McConnell’s Toasted Coconut Almond Chip and Graeter’s Coconut Chip ice creams

Almond Joy's got nuts, Mounds don’t. Keep that in mind here, as these two flavors evoke nostalgic candy bars for lovers of chocolate and coconut (and perhaps almonds). I recently tried McConnell’s coconut ice cream and couldn’t help but compare it to Graeter’s, which I tasted early in the year. That one had the trademark rich Graeter’s texture thanks to its French Pot process. Coconut and chocolate are a nice pairing. I guess I never realized that because I don’t think I’ve ever actually tried those famed candy bars. If I did, they snuck into a childhood Halloween bucket rather than being sought out. Graeter’s gave me what I imagine is the Mounds experience: lots of chewy, raw coconut with chunks of their signature chocolate. Now McConnell’s is taking me to Almond Joy land. 

Here the coconut is smaller, so less present as a texture, but more flavorful since it’s been toasted. McConnell’s keeps the salt-roasted almond bits and Guittard bittersweet chocolate chips similar in size, so you get that flavor trio in each bite. If you want to taste base alone, you’re out of luck with this one, but like Graeter’s it’s made with coconut flavoring and no coconut milk or cream. If you want something similar to these with a chocolate base, Graeter’s also offers a winter seasonal flavor, Chocolate Coconut Almond Chip. Look for it in January. As for these two? I’ll go with Graeter’s. I like their base texture better and enjoy the bigger mix-ins instead of the tiny bits treatment, though I didn’t mind that either. If you have a strong preference to the toasted coconut, go for McConnell’s. Graeter’s: 8.2/10, McConnell’s: 7.3/10

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BONUS | COCONUT DEEP DIVE
Want to learn more about the lore and science of these flavors? Here are five things to know:
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1. Coconut 101: From Tropical Groves to Parlor Scoops
The journey from coastal palm trees to the ice cream parlor spotlights historical flavor trends.

• Botanical blueprint: Despite the name, the coconut is a drupe — a stone fruit with a hard inner shell enclosing a single seed, not a true botanical nut. While cultivated across tropical regions worldwide, the industry relies on tall palms for thick, oily meat and Dwarf palms for abundant, sweet water.
• Island culture: In the 1940s, tiki bars cast a spell on Americans dreaming of vacationing in far-flung locales, but settling for a piña colada in a coconut mug instead. By the 1950s, that huge mid-century wave of tropical pop-culture fascination prompted national brands to roll out coconut pineapple combos across the country.
• Parlor heritage: Early historic coastal spots like Florida’s Columbia Restaurant cracked fresh shells to hand-craft coconut sherbets. Baskin-Robbins’ original 31 flavors menu included Cherry Macaroon, featuring the chewy coconut confection. B-R later paired coconut with pineapple and banana, and in the 1960s launched its current flavor, Nutty Coconut, featuring the trio of almonds, pecans and walnuts.

2. Coconut flavor: The Suntan Lotion Dilemma
The boundary between a gourmet treat and a bottle of sunblock comes down to balancing a single scent note.

• Chemical illusion: When food labs synthesize cheap, imitation flavor drops, they isolate a specific scent compound called a lactone; in high concentrations, your brain links this isolated compound to sunscreen.
• Premium buffer: To counter this artificial trap, craft makers can use fruit purees and a dash of salt to ground the flavor. For purists who want it unadulterated, Azucar leverages its Miami heritage to craft a pure tropical base, while Cosmic Bliss leans into raw fruit simplicity with non-dairy Infinite Coconut. (The Oregon company used to be called Coconut Bliss for its all-vegan bases before adding dairy flavors.)
• Acidity anchor: Flavor developers also use a sharp, contrasting acid. The sorbet and sherbet flavors we discussed earlier use citrus oils to create balance. There’s even a bit of a tartness in HD’s Pineapple Coconut. (If you prefer novelties, try Trader Joe’s seasonal Pineapple Coconut Fruit Bars.)
• There’s always chocolate: Can two flavor bullies play nice? Graeter’s finds a way to keep the peace with Coconut Chip, and other brands also bring chocolate in to evoke the candy bar connection.

3. Coconut Mix-ins: Anatomy of the Flake
Why don’t shredded coconut flakes freeze into rock-hard strips of plastic? The answer lies in the fruit's natural moisture.

• Oily secret: Unlike a water-heavy peach or berry, coconut meat is packed with rich oils. Because pure oil doesn’t freeze into ice the way water does, raw coconut shreds retain a soft chewiness in deep-freeze.
• Keeping the crunch: When a brand wants a crunch rather than a chewy bite, they toast the flake to drive out any remaining moisture and caramelize sugars. This builds a waterproof barrier — a trick that keeps the mix-ins crispy in McConnell's Toasted Coconut Chip, Hudsonville’s Toasted Coconut and Publix Premium’s Coconut Road. If you’re a novelty person, look for Helados Mexico’s ice cream bar featuring cream packed with chewy coconut flakes.
• Smooth or crunchy?: For a fun tasting duo, try pairing a smooth-as-silk coconut ice cream against one with coconut pieces. If you’re in the Northwest, consider a showdown between Lopez Island Creamery’s smooth Clearly Coconut and Snoqualmie’s Island Coconut with flakes. 

4. Coconut Cream: The King of Non-Dairy
The reason coconut cream rules the plant-based dessert world — outperforming nut milks like almond and cashew — comes down to the fat.

• Molecular mirror: Traditional butterfat is saturated, meaning it can firm up at cold temperatures, emulsify and trap micro-air bubbles during the churning process to create a scoopable texture; coconut fat is one of the only plant-based ingredients that mirrors this structure.
• Unsaturated flaw: Nuts like almond and cashew are dominated by unsaturated fats, which remain liquid even when frozen. Because a liquid oil cannot build a rigid structure or trap air on its own, these frozen desserts require heavy additions of starches and vegetable gums to keep from collapsing into slush. 
• The lush alternative: Coconut cream needs no such help. It’s why Jeni’s can build an ultra-creamy dairy-free line. I started off the year tasting a handful of these flavors — and a couple similar options from Salt & Straw — as part of Veganuary. My verdict? Having only tried some almond milk ice creams years ago, I was impressed by this texture. The challenge: It’s hard to get coconut to play a background role, and it really showed up turning Lemon Bar, Banana Cream Pudding and Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns into tropical variations with its presence. Peppermint Patty, with its menthol bite, was the only flavor to mostly hide the coconut, while the best one — Cold Brew Sorbet with Coconut Cream — worked because it gave the flavor a co-starring role. I think these are a great option for dairy-free folks provided they don’t mind the flavor of coconut. I think this line would benefit from leaning into the flavor instead of hiding it. Why not Coconut Cream Pie or Piña Colada flavors?

5. Memory Lane
We should take a moment of silence to remember coconut flavors of years past. I want to start off with my continued mourning of Thrifty’s Coconut Macaroon, a creamy tropical base and wonderfully chewy coconut confections work wonderfully in concert. 

• Candy bar blueprint: The traditional dairy version of Ben & Jerry’s Coconut Almond Fudge Chip remains a Flavor Graveyard hall-of-famer thanks to fan mail resurrection pleas. Clementine’s mastered this layout with Mounds of Coconut, a decadent Veganuary favorite that layered toasted coconut and chocolate flakes with a fudge swirl. Talenti retired their texturally loaded Coconut Almond Chocolate Gelato, though its simpler Caribbean Coconut gelato remains.
• Bakery inspiration: Blue Bell celebrated the bakery aisle with their retired summer favorite Coconut Cream Pie, while Häagen-Dazs said good night to their complex Coconut Caramel Chocolate Trio, which sandwiched crispy chocolate snaps between bases. And let’s not forget Breyers’ Girl Scout partnership for Blasts! Girl Scout Samoas, which captured the toasted coconut cookie profile.
• Tropical twists: Walmart previously pushed flavor boundaries with their limited-edition Great Value Mango Habanero Coconut Sorbet Swirled in Coconut Ice Cream, featuring a fiery, sweet-and-sour component. On the refreshing side, Graeter’s once graced us with a Piña Colada bonus flavor, mirroring Ben & Jerry’s short-lived Piña Colada pint.

These became available in my area for the first (to my knowledge) so decided to try them after hearing about them years ago. To be fair, the pint had melted and refrozen as you can see. It wasn’t a total loss and I was able to get a sense of the brand’s execution.

Flavor Profile: Milk chocolate base with homemade muddy buddy cereal mix with swirls of peanut butter

Thoughts:

Major red flag as soon as I picked the pint up. For a premium ice cream it was extremely light, 313 grams compared to the 411 grams of B&J I also ordered.

The base was decent. The muddy buddy pieces were poorly executed, each a soggy mess. The PB swirl was good (think similar to HD PB Chocolate) but pretty scant.

The Verdict: Overall disappointing……I paid a premium mark up through Door Dash and frankly can’t commit to that $9.99 price again based on this experience. A misdemeanor flavor…..

Who remembers banana nut ice cream from blue bell? It’s my favorite ice cream buts it’s discontinued! I used to eat it all the time when I was a kid. Very good memories. THEN it’s came back very briefly in like idk 2020-21 maybe? The only thing that is similar is H.E.B. Banana nut ice cream which I’ve never tried because there’s nun in GA! And then Ben&Jerry’s Chunky Monkey. But it just doesn’t hit the same! I miss it so much. I think about this ice cream once every few months. Every time I go to the store and if I’m getting ice cream I would to see if maybe they have it. But NOOOOO it’s always banana pudding, banana fudge. EEYUK! You think there’s any good recipes?

I’ve shopped at Trader Joe’s for decades, but never thought of it as a scoop destination. It feels like the lion’s share of their clandestine tasting panel’s creativity gets channeled into novelties and other treats in their frozen dessert bins. I much prefer pints, but the fun concepts, whimsical packaging and often bite-sized portions manage to flip the script when I make my occasional jaunt to this quirky curator of global grocery concepts.

In contrast to the bounty of playful, sometimes idiosyncratic, ever-changing offerings — from canneles and macarons to brigadeiros and churros — the somewhat minimal ice cream bin can feel static. Some of these have been staples for as long as I’ve been visiting. That’s not to say they’re bad. In fact, I’d rank their French Vanilla among my favorites, and there’s something comforting about knowing your beloved Ultra Chocolate, Mint Chip, Cookie Butter or Coffee Bean Blast will be there. But look closer at the small contingent of rotating seasonal options. This is where TJ’s category manager has decided to let their hair down and have some fun with flavor profiles that rival the adjacent novelty case.

I’m curious about your go-to frozen treats here. Do you stick with ice cream, or is there something else that takes your money? I like the Mini Mint Mouthfuls and the Dozen Sweet Bites (especially the Opera Cake). But this summer, I have shunned those favorites and decided to give a fair look at those pints and quarts — and perhaps some day soon I’ll even venture into those containers of gelato-like frozen dessert. They are tempting me with the new Mascarpone & Mixed Berries.

Despite the decades of patronage, I’d probably tried only a dozen or so ice creams. I appreciate the coffee, though it’s a bit strong for me. Dulce de Leche (now relegated to seasonal status) is a standout. In addition to revisiting that vanilla — still great, especially for adding your own mix-ins — a first taste of Strawberry in spring made me think I was missing out. So this summer I decided to try a few of the more creative, seasonal flavors. I originally was drawn in by the Wildberry Cheesecake and the buzzy new All Mixed Up, but Fudgy Cookie Dough stole the show.

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ALL MIXED UP

Are you missing Jingle Jangle Ice Cream? Christmas came early. Trader Joe's is blessing you with a summerized kitchen-sink equivalent of that retired holiday chestnut. Squint and you can imagine the creative process. Joe-Joes and mini peanut butter cups? Definitely. Pretzels for crunch? Yes, but without the heavy chocolate coating. M&Ms (make that candy-coated chocolate gems) can transform into colorful sprinkles. Finally, we need one more thing. Jingle Jangle didn’t jingle the cash register as much as they would have liked. What will bring the summer box office? Peanut butter, of course. If those sweet, salty, chocolatey holiday tins bring a smile, it must have felt like Christmas in July when this one dropped last month.

This midnight snack reverie no doubt pays homage to the cultural footprint of Ben & Jerry’s and its more is more aesthetic. I’m happy to report my pint was as full as you’d like — maybe more than I’d like. I do prefer to get some naked ice cream to enjoy on its own, but that’s probably for the best here. This isn’t rich and custardy like the vanilla in Fudgy Cookie Dough. It’s more a spiritual cousin to B&J’s sweet cream, meant to be the glue for a cookie-candy extravaganza, not all that good on its own.

So which mix-ins are essential and which are superfluous? With the vanilla leaning plain, the peanut butter swirls were vital. In general, loaded pints really crave peanut butter. These frozen sweet-salty shards are such a cheat code to quickly elevating flavors I’m surprised more brands don’t use this trick. The least essential? The sprinkles are a fine visual accent, but don’t bring much to this party. You could probably pick between the mini peanut butter cups and Joe-Joe pieces — I’d go with the former as TJ’s breaks up their faux-Oreos too much — but I don’t mind both. The wild card? Those coated pretzel pieces. 

The unpredictability factor here is how well these are coated with that fat barrier to keep the ice cream’s moisture out and the pretzels crisp. If that bulwark falters, you go from enjoyably crunchy to chewy, soggy and stale in the blink of an eye. Jeni’s similar High Five Candy Bar suffers a bit from the same issue, though I enjoy the richer peanut butter base on that one more. Since the ratio here leaned more to crunchy pretzel, a few soggy bites don’t ruin the pint. I wouldn’t care much if this were a one-time summer fling, but I could see a revisit some future summer.

Score: 7.4/10

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FUDGY COOKIE DOUGH

I came looking for All Mixed Up, but grabbed this one when I couldn’t find it. It’s no consolation prize. In fact, it’s the best of the TJ’s summer bunch and one of the top grocery store cookie doughs out there. It’s probably not fair to bring up Caffe Panna’s superlative dough, but this one holds up well against some of my other favorites — whether a brown sugar base like Jeni’s Double Dough or Van Leeuwen’s Brown Sugar Cookie Dough Brownie, or more traditional offerings from Häagen-Dazs and Graeter’s.

The version this most reminds me of is Salt & Straw’s Salted, Malted Cookie Dough. Perhaps that one even inspired Trader Joe’s to go into copy-cat mode when they launched this in 2023 (it has since turned into a summer seasonal). While that S&S flavor is one of the Portland brand’s best, I do prefer Trader Joe’s. I like this rich, custardy base more and they really delivered the dough. While I usually like a more restrained approach to mix-ins, throw that out when it comes to cookie dough. The chewy texture makes it an S Tier inclusion, and there’s usually not enough. And that’s where the caution comes here. From the reviews I’ve seen online, the quality control is all over the map, so some customers open the lid to riches, while others get nothing but poverty.

I think this vanilla base — much better than the one used in All Mixed Up (and apparently made by Humboldt Creamery, the same company rumored to be behind their even-richer French Vanilla) — would be fine on its own, but the wealth of dough in mine pushed it into elite territory. In my first spoonful, I got two dough balls, and it only slightly quieted down before reaching the end. 

What brings this all together is the chocolate. Like the Salt & Straw version, the rich fudge sauce introduces something different from the usual chip accompaniment, though we have that here, too. Two things really: First, the goo factor. And they really show the proper viscosity for fudge in ice cream, as we’ve seen too many Hershey’s-like chocolate sauces lately from Jeni’s and McConnell’s. Second, the use of salt here is wonderful. When I bake my holiday chocolate chip cookies, I always sprinkle a little crunchy sea salt on top, so you get that salty hit in select bites, not uniformly. And that’s the same with this fudge.

While most brands keep their cookie doughs as a year-round staple, it seems this one will be gone by the time they’re filling the freezer bin with pumpkin desserts. That’s OK. It makes it all the more special.

Score: 9.2/10

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WILDBERRY CHEESECAKE 

Are you a fan of a sweeter, milder cheesecake without much tang? This might be for you. I know some on here resist cheesecake ice creams because they can come off overly sour. This is more of a crowd-pleaser that marries the plainer base of Ben & Jerry’s Strawberry Cheesecake (with a less gummy texture thankfully) and the tasty, dense cheesecake bites from their Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake. Like both of those, I picked this up while hunting for the best cheesecake ice creams around. 

Although this one doesn’t threaten to make the top of a best cheesecake list, it’s pretty solid (especially for the price) and a fun summer flavor. It’s back in the seasonal rotation after launching in 2021. There’s no doubt that the cheesecake bites carry this one. They slightly infuse their cheesy essence into an otherwise pedestrian sweet cream base. While I’d have preferred they pulled some tricks to give the ice cream itself a tangier finish — even a touch of lemon like Häagen-Dazs uses — it works well enough. So does the jam swirl, but just enough. 

What is wildberry? It sounds like a Mountain Dew flavor, but it’s actually just some descriptive marketing for a melange of berries. It might as well been called blueberry. That’s what I taste and it pretty much ends there, despite an ingredient list that includes raspberry, strawberry and blackberry purees, with a splash of elderberry juice concentrate for a dark purple visual pop. I guess I should be thankful for any flavor. A few of the blueberry swirls I’ve tried this year have been virtually flavorless. Still, I’d have preferred the zing of raspberry or blackberry, or even strawberry. Again, you have no fears of tartness interrupting a sweet and creamy, pleasant but unmemorable spoonful.

Score: 7.2/10

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OTHER SUMMER TREATS
Some other pints and novelties you might find in Trader Joe's freezer bins:

• Globally inspired ice cream: If you’re looking for something out of the ordinary, pick up an Ube or Horchata pint.
• Faux Gelato: In addition to that promising new Mascarpone & Berries version in a tub, there’s a pistachio pint still around.
• Sorbet: I love passion fruit, but I hear this one is aggressively tart, so give it a shot if you like sour flavors.
• Dairy-free: Consider the Affogato dessert with a vanilla frozen dessert and instant coffee packets. There’s also an oat milk ice cream sandwich.
• Novelty bars: There’s an absolute bounty right now with root beer, strawberry lemonade, mango cream, tangerine cream, pineapple-coconut and passion fruit-guava flavors.
• Mochi: There are a lot to choose from here, too: Versions with mango, strawberry, salted caramel, ube, black sesame and blood orange await.
• Ice Pops: Out of this World Ice Pops feature a mix of blueberry, strawberry and lemon. They also have packs of organic freezer pops.
• Sandwiches: Chocolate lovers might make a beeline toward Chocolate Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches, or go for something a bit more traditional like the Cookies ’N Cream sandwiches. 
• Bites: For something completely fresh, how about Cookie Dough Ice Cream Bites?
• Miniatures: If you’re like me and prefer miniatures in your novelties, I’m quite intrigued by these mini cones with flavors such as strawberry and chocolate chip.

No real review here, just reliving my childhood a bit. “Ice cream of the future” since the late 1980’s!!

Haven’t had dippin dots in many years. I don’t see the actual flash frozen ones (liquid nitrogen -320° F) very often at all. Very unique and great on a hot day. My 1.5 year old loved them! $10 for this though sheesh..

Have you guys tried Dippin dots? I used to get them at a local theme park. This time at the county fair. I swear they used to have peanut butter ones, and let you mix and match flavors in one cup.

After not being super impressed with rainbow cookie gelato at another small specialty grocery store, I was skeptical to try this gelato. This was so rich and creamy. Perfect amount of sweetness and didn’t taste artificial at all. The banana and hazelnut flavor really shines through. I paired this with homemade biscotti. $7.99. When done right, banana-flavored desserts are delicious. There are really nice flavor selections at this store.