Edy's Limited Edition Slow Churned Hot Cocoa

It's time for another seasonal treat, this time from the folks as Edy's ( Dreyer's ). Now, as this was a weekend treat, we had to earn it by endlessly searching for a Christmas tree. As always, I combined being too picky with going to all the wrong places. In the end we wound up getting an "adequate" tree who I need to remember to water when I get home.

So I brought the tree inside, got it positioned, watered, and ready for action. With that done, it was snack time and I knew just what I wanted. Now Edy's has a few seasonal flavors out right now, but Slow Churned Limited Edition Hot Cocoa was the one I knew I had to review before it disappeared. (I know it's been out for several weeks, but I'm not sure when exactly they will stop making it). Side note: While Eggnog and Peppermint have both regular and slow churned versions, hot cocoa is limited to just slow churned.

Here it is, Hot Cocoa: (hot cocoa flavored ice cream with marshmallow bits). I expected Starbucks Hot Cocoa Ice Cream to taste like hot cocoa, but was disappointed. Let's see if Edy's can do any better.

 

Right off the bat, things are looking better. There are those infamous Edy's marshmallows everywhere. Call me a kid, but hot cocoa ain't hot cocoa without marshmallow. Those plentiful editions are more than enough to make me anxious for my first bite.

I dig in and overall it's surprisingly good. The marshmallows are chewy like they always are, and they taste a bit off like they always do, but they are better than nothing (I'm looking at you Starbucks). I don't know if I would describe the base ice cream as hot cocoa, though I will admit to getting a little bit of a Swiss Miss vibe from the whole thing. It's basically milk chocolate flavor as you would expect. I still don't feel that HOT cocoa is a fair label for any ICE cream, but this ice cream has a secret weapon.

The best part of this ice cream? 30 fat calories per serving, so it's easy to justify plopping 2 or 3 servings in your bowl. We cracked this open on Sunday and as of last night we've (mostly me) have gone through about 10 of the 12 "servings" in the container. Yes, it's rubbery like most of Edy's slow churned flavors, but hey, it matches the marshmallows! wait, that wasn't nice, but honestly, I am more forgiving of Edy's reliance on chemicals when they manage to nail down a very respectable flavor. It's not awesome, it's not the best ever, but when you're still feeling loaded down from turkey day, a tasty light flavor like this is just what you need.

Don't expect the moon on this one, and be ready for the texture, but I'm having way too much fun finishing this one off not to recommend it to everyone.

2012 Update: While Egg Nog and Peppermint made their seasonal appearance this year, Hot Cocoa did not.