Tag Archives: Ben & Jerry’s

The Birth of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

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This past weekend I learned the origin story of one of our country’s most magical flavors.

Sidney and I watch a show called “The Food That Built America.” It normally airs on the History Channel but since we don’t have cable we stream it on Hulu. The series chronicles the development of iconic foods and the people/companies that invent and produce them.

“The Food That Built America” is an awesome show.

Currently we are watching season five and recently finished an episode titled Ice Cream Revolution. It told the story of how America eventually moved beyond just vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice creams to richer flavors with candy mix-ins.

At one point, the show shifted to Dairy Queen’s introduction of the Blizzard. DQ bolstered its investment by officially partnering with candy and snack companies for its mix-ins. For example, Dairy Queen and Mars signed a contract so the fast food/soft serve giant could use M&M’s and Snickers in its Blizzards while also using the logos of the candy in its restaurants and marketing collateral.

Dairy Queen also partnered with Nabisco to use Oreos in its cookies and cream Blizzard. With this exclusive partnership now signed, Nabisco went after ice cream companies using its signature product in their own cookies and cream flavors. At the top of the list was Ben & Jerry’s. For years prior to the Blizzard, Ben & Jerry’s made a mint cookies and cream flavor that implied the use of Oreo cookies. Yep, DQ put a stop to that.

Desperate to replace its beloved ice cream flavor with something different, Ben & Jerry’s tried to come up with a new cookie-based flavor. While baking cookies for testing, they had a very bright idea: Why not just put the dough itself inside the ice cream? Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream was born!

Just in the same way that Sloan was mixing cookie dough, an idea sprouted in the minds of Ben & Jerry’s.

What a genius idea it was. Who doesn’t this flavor appeal to? I really feel Ben & Jerry’s hit gold by capitalizing on what Americans like even more than actual baked cookies…the cookie dough!

Then there is the nostalgia piece. Most of us have memories of eating the leftover cookie dough from mom’s baking bowl or just plotting an outright attack on the dough before it was even placed on a cookie sheet.

The combination of cookie dough and ice cream just works. In fact, the cookie dough flavor works for pretty much everything else including Pop-Tarts, Oreos, and protein bars. But let me not digress. This post is about chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and I have just two short stories to share.

Cookie dough and ice cream just go together. I got this cookie dough sundae from Sonic.

The first one is about 27 years old. I estimate I was about 11 when I had Ben & Jerry’s chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream for the first time. We were at an old pizza parlor in north Spokane and they had a cooler case with Ben & Jerry’s pints inside of it. My mom bought a chocolate chip cookie dough pint and I was blown away. It was like nothing I had ever tasted in my life. The rich vanilla ice cream combined with the gobs of cookie dough made my taste buds dance. I never knew ice cream could taste so good.

The first time I tried Ben & Jerry’s chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream was pretty special.

My other chocolate chip cookie dough story is actually chronicled in a blog post I wrote nine years ago. My wife was a great sport as she taste-tested five different chocolate chip cookie dough ice creams. The result is still shocking to this day.

Ben & Jerry’s chocolate chip cookie dough was definitely one of the cookie dough ice creams tested.

If you have time to watch the Ice Cream Revolution episode of “The Food That Built America” you won’t be disappointed. Just the chemistry of how Ben & Jerry’s was able to pack its ice cream with cookie dough pieces is worth it. Enjoy! Don’t Blink.

Thursday Rundown Not Sponsored by Reser’s Fine Foods

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Let me start this post by asking us all to take a moment to realize how lucky we are to be alive. Life is good. Okay, now let’s get to the Thursday Rundown…

I Don’t Make Potato Salad – There is a food brand headquartered out west called Reser’s Fine Foods. The company makes potato salad, smoked meats, tortillas, and much more. Reser’s is successful enough that the Oregon State football stadium bears its name. Although I have never attended a game at Reser Stadium before, I think I should get free tickets if I ever do. With all that said I want to make something clear: My family has no relation to this company. If we did, I would probably be driving a different vehicle.

My family has no relation to Reser's Fine Foods

My family has no relation to Reser’s Fine Foods

Another “Honor” for Spokane – Last June, I wrote about an incident that brought unflattering attention to my hometown. This morning my eye caught sight of the trending topics on Facebook and sadly Spokane was in the news again. This particular headline said that citizens spend more money on marijuana than they do on milk or bread. Pot use is legal in Washington state so people in the Lilac City aren’t breaking the law but they are just making the town look really bad.

Come on, Spokane.

Come on, Spokane.

From the Archives – I wrote a couple blog posts on this date that I thought would be worth sharing again. One year ago, I took advantage of the Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day and rushed to four different stores in Myrtle Beach and got ice cream at each. On this date in 2014, I explained my dilemma with packing as I was preparing to move from one side of the country to the other. How about you pick one or the other to read?

Enjoying Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day last year (one of four stops).

Enjoying Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day last year (one of four stops).

More Wisdom – I thought today’s Life’s Little Instruction was worth sharing. This advice is perfect for developing relationships with people. Simply put, everyone wins in this situation. The person who receives the compliment is flattered, the person who originally gave the compliment is established as a nice person even in his/her absence, and the person who actually says the remark comes across as a caring and attentive individual. I recommend trying it.

Whenever you can do this, I recommend you don't let the opportunity pass by.

Whenever you can do this, I recommend you don’t let the opportunity pass by.

Wedding Update #27 – Yesterday evening, Sidney and I met with the music director at St. Andrew Catholic Church to pick out our song selection for our wedding. We sat up in the choir loft with the director as she played different melodies for us. After about 45 minutes, we had our music picked out. It was quite fun.

Here is a look at the inside of St. Andrew Catholic Church in Myrtle Beach. I took this photo last night before our meeting with the music director.

Here is a look at the inside of St. Andrew Catholic Church in Myrtle Beach. I took this photo last night before our meeting with the music director.

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It has been a busy week for me! I am looking forward to the weekend. Hope all is well and I thank you for reading. Don’t Blink.

Taking Advantage of Free Scoop Day

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A cool thing for a guy like me is that Myrtle Beach is a major ice cream town. As the area is both an ocean and a tourist city, it just kind of comes with the territory. All over Myrtle Beach you will find awesome mom and pop ice cream shops. You will also find the corporate giants as well.

Today, Ben & Jerry’s held its Free Cone Day across the world. From noon to 8 p.m., customers could walk into any location and receive a free scoop of ice cream in a cone or a dish. If you live in Myrtle Beach, you don’t have to travel far to take advantage of the offer. Ben & Jerry’s has definitely invested in some real estate in this area with various stores across the city. Well, I decided to not just take advantage of the offer, I decided to abuse the offer. With Sidney accompanying me on my ice cream journey, I hit up four different Ben & Jerry’s ice cream parlors this evening. Below I will briefly summarize my experience at each  location with a few photos and a few words.

Location #1 – 1200 Celebrity Cir.: We kicked off our tour at the location right off of Celebrity Square. This shop definitely was the busiest out of the four but it was also the most efficient. About eight scoopers worked behind the counter to make sure everyone got their ice cream quickly. I wasn’t even that close to the actual counter before an employee hollered at me to see what I wanted. After you ordered they herded you down to the end of the counter where they handed you your cone. I chose The Tonight Dough, a Jimmy Fallon-inspired cookie dough ice cream with a mixture of caramel and chocolate flavors. Sidney opted for classic cookie dough. We went outside the shop and ate.

This was the first location we went to. Busiest but most efficient.

This was the first location we went to. Busiest but most efficient.

Location #2 – 1303 Celebrity Circle: For the second round, we visited the Broadway at the Beach location just across the bridge. This shop had a carnival type feel with a tent outside, a local meteorologist scooping cones, and plenty of gifts to purchase at the end of the line. This location was busy but not as crazy as the first one. I opted with a flavor called banana peanut butter and Sidney just went with classic strawberry. Out of the four flavors I tried tonight, banana peanut butter was my favorite.

The second location we went to had a very festive feel to it.

The second location we went to had a very festive feel to it.

Location #3 – 2005C Ocean Blvd: On the third leg of the ice cream odyssey we found ourselves at a location on Ocean Blvd. and 29th Avenue. It was definitely an eclectic type of shop as it shared space with a cheesesteak/burger joint. This location was the second busiest but the least efficient. We stood in line for a long time and it was a little disorganized as people entered the store from two different doors. The line was already backed up to the wall so when people walked in they didn’t really know where the end of the line was and who was there first. Not to worry though, they still had ice cream left by the time I reached the counter. With Sidney out for the count, I put in my solo order for a scoop of turtle cheesecake. My scooper pretty much gave me a double scoop, giving me more ice cream on that cone than the two separate servings I received at the other stores combined. There was just one problem…he served me butter pecan. I wasn’t going to complain though, it was free. I took a couple bites and then threw it away.

Location number three was a cluster.

Location number three was a cluster.

Location #4 – 2913B Ocean Blvd: Our victory lap was at a small location ten blocks down. Nestled next to a Starbucks shop, the location had several elderly volunteers greeting us as we walked in. Compared to the other Ben & Jerry’s locations we visited this evening, this place was pretty much dead! I walked right up to the counter and ordered a cotton candy cone. We walked out and I took a couple licks/bites before throwing it in a garbage can right before we got in my car.

I took me no time to get my cone at the final location.

I took me no time to get my cone at the final location.

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I know every restaurant/convenience store/retail shop has a “Free _______ Day.” Usually I don’t get sucked in. But with ice cream at stake and a stupid blog post right in front of me I had to take Ben & Jerry’s up on the offer…four different times. Don’t Blink.