Review: Breyers, Klondike, Reeses, and Popsicle Treats

I have an apology. I love getting samples. I love sharing samples with friends. I then have a bad habit of taking a while to actually write about the samples.

It's not that I don't want to. I do. Here's the thing. This blog, though it's a passion of mine and Tina's, isn't a paid gig. While we love samples, they don't put supper on the table -- well, once in a while we like to consider ice cream our supper, but it can't be all the time! So long story short, it's a hobby for us, and sometimes (all too often) it gets put on the back burner and then sometimes a post gets misplaced until I find the photos on the camera. So Breyers, Klondike, Popsicle and Reese’s, thanks for the treats and sorry for the delay in this post.

A few months ago, the rep for Breyers, Klondike, Popsicle and Reese’s sent us some lovely treats. We broke open the treats during one of our monthly playdates with our daughter's friend Rebecca and her parents.

My favorites were the Breyers Blasts. As Breyers describes the line, the ice creams feature "delicious mix-ins from America’s best-loved candy and cookie brands blasted into every bite." I love love love Oreo ice cream. I usually get it in vanilla or cake base, but I actually really liked the new twist on an old treat with a chocolate base. So my favorite of the bunch was the Oreo Ice Cream.

Husband was a huge fan of the Whoppers Ice Cream. I don't think he was thrilled when the rest of us dipped into the carton -- less for him! As he tasted the first bite he said "It's like Whopper Ice Cream and then there are actual Whoppers in it." Deep, husband, very deep thoughts. But it was. It was a perfect marriage of a Whopper (or malted milk) base dotted with actual Whoppers.

Fifteen month old Rebecca also gave the Whopper's Ice Cream glowing reviews. As her mom said, "Rebecca, who only likes strawberry [ice cream] now officially likes malted milk ball [ice cream]...sans milk balls." So she liked the flavor, just not the chunks. Chunks might be a bit much for a toddler. Either way, Rebecca, who is most definitely a picky eater, chose to include Whopper Ice Cream into her discerning list of foods she will eat. Husband will be hiding that ice cream next time Rebecca comes to visit.

While I wasn't a huge fan of the What the Fudge? Brownie Sandwich, the rest of the gang was. "It's like soft cookies, except they're soft when frozen. It's magic!" "The right combination of gooey and gooey." "Double gooey -- so good!" "Gooey goodness." "Like gooey brownies right out of the oven except their cold." 'Nuff said.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups fantastic. Ice Cream is fantastic. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups + Ice Cream = Super Fantastic. Quote of the evening: "Where's mine?!...oooooooooh!"

The Jolly Rancher Awesome Twosome Popsicles weren't shared that night because I think we reached our limit on treats! But, I tried those on my own. They brought back fond memories of fifth grade, where Jolly Ranchers were the candy of choice that year. I'm not a huge popsicle eater (I prefer ice cream when I go into the freezer for a frozen treat) but these popsicles made me happy in taste and in memories!

The samples I got in the mail didn't disappoint and I certainly felt like hostess of the year as I brought the treats to the table! Thanks Breyers, Klondike, Popsicle and Reese’s!

P.S. This isn't really relevant to this post, but as I was gathering the links for this post, I saw this little thumbnail of a sundae that looked super yummy. The I followed the link and there were lots of little thumbnails of sundaes that look super yummy.

Taste testing: Mrs. Fields Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

When I was in middle school and I actually liked to shop, my mom used to drop friends and I at Westfarms Mall. Among the new found freedoms of being away from my parents, I found this sweet treat in Mrs. Field's Cookie Cups that I could buy with my own money. What an addiction, those frosting filled chocolate chip cookies! I loved the frosting filled cookies. In fact, I even bought Mrs. Field's Cookie Book in hopes of making the same recipe. To my dismay, the recipe wasn't in the book...but there were some other pretty good recipes in it that made it worth keeping!

Fast forward almost twenty years. I haven't had a Cookie Cup in ages. I'm dangerously wandering down the ice cream aisle at Hannaford's and a red box shouts out at me "Pick me! Pick me!" What's this? Mrs. Fields cookies and Breyer's Ice Cream? What a treat. My arm, still sore from my yoga class (oh the irony) reaches into the freezer...

Later that night, Husband ask for dessert. I send him down to the chest freezer for the sandwiches, silently hoping he won't look too far and find his birthday present. If he did, he says nothing. He emerges from the basement, cookie in hand, and complains to me that he should have known how small they would be, the box being so light.

Later on, I bring up my own cookie sandwich. He's right. It is small. But it's actually refreshing -- in a world of supersizing, it's nice to see that Breyer's and Mrs. Fields know that this works well as a "good things come in small packages" kind of treat. If it were bigger, I'm sure I would have finished it. But truth be told, I was really truly satisfied with the three-ounce sandwich one serving had to offer.

The only thing that struck me as strange was the number of servings per container: five. Yeah, that's right. Five. I have never gotten anything in an odd number. I have gotten four, or six, or eight, but never five. Five doesn't fit neatly in a box. Why five? It does make me think of growing up in a family of five -- six ice cream treats? Who got the last one? Four cupcakes? How do you divide that? But then again, five causes those same problems for the family of four or the family of six.

Overall, I was happy with my purchase. Husband, if you have complaints, don't eat 'em! I'll gladly eat your remaining one and a half sandwiches!

We need your scoop on these scoops!

Here's the thing: I have three coupons for free Good Humor, Breyers, Klondike, or Popsicle products...they expire at the end of March and I need your help!

Be one of the first to volunteer in the comments section (be sure to include your email address so I can contact you for your mailing address) and I'll send you a coupon.

Your end of the deal? Review your product. Send me a quick email about your feedback on what you chose and how you liked it. Send a picture of you or your friends and family enjoying the treats if you want! We'll post your review and picture for the world to see!

Thanks much!

Taste Testing Part II: Popsicle Shots/Breyers Free Double Churn

Unfortunately my husband isn't as creative as Bethany's with the dry ice but regardless I thought I'd take a shot and have some fun too and then dig right into the treats that Josh over at Unilever was so generous to send us. Check out Barbie...she's waiting for her prince in shining armour to come save her from the ice cream monsters.

Faced with the tough decision of what product to try I thought I'd choose one that was fun, Popsicle Shots, and the other that suited a low cal option, Breyers Free Ice Cream. I don't know about you but after way too many ice cream cones this summer (& margaritas!) I've been leaning towards the calorie conscious options lately. Not by choice really but by the forcing of the button on my jeans. Not pretty, really.

So as you saw in a past post, Bethany and I decided we'd each get a different flavor of the Popsicle Ice Cream Shots to see what these cool treats were all about. I opted for the Cookie Dough flavor and here's what they were like. Well ya know when you break a stuffed animal apart or your dog chews it open and all little foam pebbles fall out....well that's what these shots look like. Very interesting..and cool and airy. They are definitely different and not something I would spoon up if I am craving a rich scoop but something I would get for the kids or a party. I actually used them like sprinkles on my daughter's ice cream and she thought it was so fun and loved them. As Bethany stated too, they were a bit frozen so the flavor didn't come through as I had imagined...next time I will let them sit for a few minutes as you should do with any ice cream. All in all...they are okay but a Mom is not the target audience for these so I think its okay they are not at the top of my list..because my three year old sure got a kick out of them.

Next in the icebox, Breyers Free Double Churn Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream. So I generally will not go for a light option for the fact of if I am going to eat ice cream then go for it. But as I stated, one too many cocktails and cones this summer has led me to the low cal options(won't last long believe me). I will admit I was very skeptical about an ice cream that was Fat Free and Sugar Free. BUT wow this ice cream is super creamy and has great flavor....of course, its Breyers. Yes, it does have a little bit of that fake sweetener after taste but honestly if I hadn't seen the package I wouldn't have ever known. I would definitely buy this again. The texture of the chocolate ice cream is creamy and smooth and it offered chunks of brownie throughout that had wonderful flavor. I'll keep this one on the grocery list.

Thanks again Josh and Unilever...its was great to try new frozen treats and something I'd go back for.