I know my street cred has always been lacking a proper pint of the well regarded McConnell's in the mix, but that ends today! I splurged on an $8 pint from Wegman's so that I could test my Swell Ice Cream Chiller. Well, it brought the pint home safe and sound. Time to try....
McConnell's Sweet Cream Caramel Brownie Ice Cream
vanilla spiked sweet cream ice cream with salted caramel and brownies
Quick note: Wegman's downgraded McConnell's to the bottom of the freezer. Are they going to stop carrying them? I was a little worried about buying a pint if this is the end of their stock, but my pint is good for another 12 months, and McConnell's puts a 15 month stamp on their stuff, so this is hopefully pretty fresh.
Sealed! (also, MOOOOOO!)
Why so serious?
I take my first tiny bite, and I gotta say, that's some good caramel right there. It has some saltiness to it, but it's really nice.
A few more small bites and I think "ok, I get why it's eight bucks".
Man that caramel is good. The brownies aint too shabby either.
So pretty.... so tasty....
Hold on, I gotta better balance the ratio of things on my spoon because I stole a little too much caramel... oh my goodness, this is tasty. I'm having flashbacks to when I discovered Ben & Jerry's in the 90s. The flavor here is on point.
Wait, what does my daughter keep saying? Ahh yes, this pint "slays", and that's appropriate, because these melting edges are killer.
Actually, for more recent context, this is reminding me of those delicious cold case pints. Just top notch ingredients coming together perfectly. Why did I wait so long to bring this home?
I know, I know, 8 bucks is going to be too much for some of you, and that's fine, but a double scoop from your local place is going to cost 6-8 bucks anyway, so why not give this a shot?
Ok, someone take this away from me before I eat the whole thing!
On Second Scoop: Yes, technically I would have loved a little more caramel in the second half of the pint, but the overall flavor was still really good and still maintained a bit of caramel goodness. Ok, technically I have one other thought too. The core of the pint did seem a bit too dense, almost like how Van Leeuwen can be. It didn't stop my enjoyment, but I am curious to try a few more pints to see how their texture game plays out here on the East Coast. Anyway, awesome job McConnell's, I look forward to my next pint.
Verdict? delicious!
Buy Again? So Much Yes!
Buy Again? So Much Yes!
Allergen Info: made on shared equipment, but they say they clean it several times a day. You can read more here: product info page
Quite a few years ago, I mentioned to you that I loved this and thought it was one of the best grocery store pints I’d had. (bought in South Florida at Fresh Market. Im in Texas now and still have easy access to it via Whole Foods) Anyway, you had not had it at that point because it was not available in your area yet. All this being said, the particular flavor you tried is not even in my favorite flavors of the brand. It’s good, just not great. Try some others! I like the double peanut butter chip, and right around July 4th I was able to get the chocolate covered strawberry and that was amazing! This brand and Graeters are my favorites.
ReplyDeleteDouble peanut butter chip? OMG. That sounds amazing! Whatever your favorites are, I bet I’m in alignment. Hope you like TX more than your previous state.
DeleteYou should have taken advantage of the Whole Foods Sale! These pints were $3-4! The sale is so much fun. I spent waaaay too long on the website first deciding what I wanted!
ReplyDeleteoh man, i would have bought one of each flavor if i saw that!
Deleteoh, I went hog wild at the Whole Foods sale! I loaded up on Jeni’s and Mcconnels and I tried a couple of new brands. (didnt like alex’s ) I tried 2 flavors of Strauss Creamery, and I was disappointed both in the texture of the ice cream and that it has no protective cover under the lid. Glad I didnt pay full price. To be fair, I did a big shop on July 3rd which I think was well into the sale and the freezers had been open so often and so long with people choosing that a lot of the pints suffered.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed it. I would buy their pints when they were in Fresh Market but eventually they stopped stocking them in the Atlanta area. I bought a pint during the WF sale but probably should have added a few more. Seems like a lot of people got a hance to purchase during that sale and see the difference in quality from other brands even with cost being higher.
ReplyDelete