Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Peppermint Crunch

Chocolate Peppermint Crunch is Ben & Jerry's latest foray into the territory of chocolate and mint flavor combinations - an ongoing experiment with this traditionally popular combo that has included the now-retired flavors Chocolate Mint & Cookies, Chocolate Mystic Mint, Mint Chocolate Chunk, Mint Chocolate Fudge Swirl, Mint Fudge and Mint with Oreo Cookie, as well as the currently available flavor Mint Chocolate Cookie. Looking over this list, you might begin to wonder why Ben & Jerry's has gone through so many variations on the same chocolate and mint theme, but I would venture to guess that it's not because any of these flavors failed to sell. Ben and Jerry simply seem to enjoy working and reworking a combination, like cooks who change the spices in the stew just a little bit each time. And while most Mint Chocolate Chip ice creams produced by most ice cream manufacturers are pretty much interchangeable with all other Mint Chocolate Chip ice creams, the two Ben & Jerry's chocolate and mint flavors that I have now sampled are both a great deal different from your average carton of Mint Chocolate Chip.

I first sampled Mint Chocolate Cookie, which with its small chunks and crushed bits of Oreo is a few steps up from plain Jane Mint Chocolate Chip. Seeing a second chocolate and mint combo on the market at the same time made me curious to find out what the difference was between Mint Chocolate Cookie and Chocolate Peppermint Crunch, simce both combine chocolate, peppermint, fudge and cookie elements. Time for an exercise in Compare and Contrast.

As I sampled Chocolate Peppermint Crunch, two notable differences presented themselves. First of all, while Mint Chocolate Cookie has a mint ice cream base just like the traditional Mint Chocolate Chip flavor, Chocolate Peppermint Crunch has a chocolate ice cream base with peppermint and fudge swirls running throughout. While the fudge swirl do not stand out in any discernible way from the chocolate ice cream itself, the peppermint swirl have the effect of basically turning the base flavor into a delicious hybrid of chocolate peppermint ice cream. I'm definitely a fan.

The second difference that I noticed with this flavor is the presence of the mint chocolate cookie balls. I was expecting that the cookie balls would probably resemble the softer cookie dough in Half Baked, the cookie swirls in Milk & Cookies, or the Oreo cookie in Mint Chocolate Cookie. But this is where Ben & Jerry's has made a big change that makes this flavor a lot more of a fun experience to sample. Like Chubby Hubby, eating Chocolate Peppermint Crunch makes me feel as though I am going on a treasure hunt. Because the cookie balls are actually about as big as malted milk balls and as crunchy as the pretzel pieces in Chubby Hubby, you end up really having to dig your way through the pint of Chocolate Peppermint Crunch.  It takes something of an effort to scoop out those cookie balls, but for those of us who enjoy that kind of thing, Chocolate Peppermint Crunch is a whole lot of fun to eat.  You actually end up chomping on this frozen dairy delight.

As for the balance between chocolate and mint, Ben & Jerry's has done an excellent job yet again of finding the perfect blend between the two flavors. As I explained in my original review of mint chocolate cookie, I am very picky about the peppermint to chocolate ratio in my chocolate and mint desserts. I adore Thin Mints and Andes Mints, but there is too much nasty peppermint paste in York Peppermint Patties amd Ghirardelli Chocolate Peppermint Squares for my taste. So I am very pleased that Ben & Jerry's seems to understand the proper ratio between the two flavors that will please my taste buds.  Of the two B&J's mint and chocolate flavors that are currently on the market, I like this one even better than Mint Chocolate Cookie because it's more chocolatey. The best description that I can come up with to describe this delicious flavor is that it is like Christmas in my mouth, and that is high praise indeed, coming from someone who loves Christmas as much as I do.

Because of the excellent job combining chocolate and mint, and even more because those crunchy cookie balls make this flavor so much fun to eat, I give Chocolate Peppermint Crunch 4.5 stars.  This is another chunky paragon of the Ben & Jerry's brand that joyfully reinvents I tradition and makes my mission to sample all of their flavors so much fun.