The weather may finally be cooling down, but that doesn’t mean we have to close up our freezers for good. Indeed, here’s an excellent reason to keep them open: New Ben & Jerry’s Moo-phoria flavors have just arrived — and what’s more, they’re almost certainly going to make longtime devotees of the Vermont-based ice cream company incredibly happy: Many of the new flavors take their inspiration from classic Ben & Jerry’s favorites.
Although Ben & Jerry’s itself has been around since 1978, Moo-phoria only dropped recently — the line hit shelves for the first time in February of 2018. Perhaps best thought of as Ben & Jerry’s answer to Halo Top, Moo-phoria fills the light ice cream niche that’s become so popular in recent years. However, it still uses top-notch ingredients (which, truthfully, is what sets it apart from its competitors): The milk and cream are organically sourced; there are no sugar substitutes or sugar alcohols; and everything is Fair Trade-certified. Each pint typically retails for around $4.89, making it an affordable indulgence.
At the time of its launch, Moo-phoria was only available in three flavors: PB Dough, which combines chocolate light ice cream with chunk of chocolate chip peanut butter cookie dough; Chocolate Milk & Cookies, which swirls chocolate and vanilla light ice creams with little chocolate chip cookies; and Caramel Cookie Mix, which starts with vanilla light ice cream, adds a swirl of salted caramel, and studs the whole thing with bits of shortbread cookies.
According to various reviews, such as those from Junk Banter and The Impulsive Buy, none of these picks are as creamy as original Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is; that’s kind of the be expected, though. I mean, they are light ice cream, after all. PopSugar’s reviewers seemed to dig them all the same, though, with one noting about Chocolate Milk & Cookies, “My taste buds are dancing.” Additionally, Junk Banter praised the cookie mix-ins in particular, observing that the peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough in PB Dough is “full of peanut buttery, brown sugary goodness with no compromise to texture.” The shortbread pieces in Caramel Cookie Mix also earned high marks from the snack food review and news site, boasting “a ton of flavor” and an “incredibly soft and extremely shortbready” texture.
Clearly all three flavors were hits with the general public, because now, the line has been expanded. Starting Oct. 18, you’ve got four new options to choose from in addition to the original three, giving you seven flavors total. Here’s what’s on the menu now:
Cherry Garcia With A Twist
Fans of the Ben & Jerry’s classic Cherry Garcia should get a kick out of this one; it swirls together cherry and chocolate light ice creams and speckles the result with cherries and flakes of fudge.
Mocha Fudge Brownie
In this treat for coffee-lovers, old brew mocha light ice cream gets a boost from fudgy brownie bits and a swirl of toasted marshmallow. I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking about taking a scoop of this one and pouring espresso over it, affogato-style, for the ultimate caffeinated treat.
PB Marshmallow Swirl
If you already dig PB Dough, this variation on the theme will be right up your alley: It’s still got chunks of peanut butter cookies scattered throughout it but the light ice cream base is peanut butter instead of chocolate. Also, there are gobs of marshmallow stuck in there amongst the cookie bits. Yes, please.
Chocolate Cookie EnlightenMint
Mint light ice cream plus fudge truffles and chocolate cookies equals one winning combination. Basically it's a Thin Mint in ice cream form.
All of the Moo-phoria flavors are available by the pint in grocery stores nationwide; check out the Ben & Jerry’s product locator to find out where your nearest retailer is. You can also find nearby Scoop Shops with the tool, if that’s more your jam.
Happy dessert-ing!
