Mad Minis Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

[New for 2015] I was at Market Basket a couple weeks ago when I spied some very bright and colorful boxes staring back at me emblazoned with the word NEW! on them. I did a quick scan of their website and they say they were looking for a portion controlled snack made with real ice cream. They say they took several years to perfect...  apparently they never went to a Trader Joe's during this experimentation time.... sorry, that's just me being cranky, but more on that later.

Mad Minis Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

Blondie : vanilla ice cream vanilla cookie sandwiches

Vanilla : vanilla ice cream chocolate cookie sandwiches

I definitely like the packaging design, it's very modern and catchy and cute. Being all natural doesn't hurt either. There are four flavors in all and they were on sale at 2 for $5, but since they didn't have the raspberry one (though I review it later), I just went with two boxes to start.

Yeah, these are totally like Trader Joe's mini mouthfuls.... just 1 oz instead of 1.25 oz each and made at a different plant that's not cleared of cross contamination. Booooooo.

See? That's how you brand a treat!

I go with the chocolate first. Hmmm. The wafers are not crunchy, but are instead more like the typical pliable wafer you find on other Oreo style  frozen treats. Plenty of flavor.

And now for the blondie version. Hmmm. It's almost.... flour-y?

Let's try another blondie one. Yeah, it's more like a Pillsbury sugar cookie than a golden Oreo wafer. It's an overall easy going flavor. It's not going to wow or surprise you. It's the mellow one of the bunch.

And back to the chocolate. Yeah, it definitely pops more. The wafer to ice cream ratio is pretty good, leaning a bit more towards the dry cookie wafers over the creamy filling.

I don't have any particular comments about the ice cream other than it's doing a fine job. There's too much wafer action going on to get a read on it. Sure I could eat just the ice cream without the wafers, but that just seems wrong.

I'm four in and I'm going to tell myself that I'm full, but to be honest, eating half a pack of these wouldn't be hard at all. The best strategy would probably be to split a pack with two other people.

Ok, I stole one more blondie to confirm a suspicion. I think it tastes a little too much like sugar cookie dough. That may sound positive, but it's a little too flat for me. It just doesn't pop right. I don't know if I need a grittier texture to match the flavor or if I need a bit more sugar to sweeten the wafer, but it's not dialed in quite right for me.

Alright, time to check in with my daughter. Yup, she's a big fan.... of the chocolate ones. She says the vanilla ones are kind of bland. You know, maybe if the ice cream inside popped a bit more that would help, but as is, don't set expectations to high on the vanilla side.

So there you have it. I have no problem with everyone trying these out if only for the fun factor. Hopefully this review will be enough to guide you towards the flavor you want to try.

On Second Scoop: Just to clarify, the chocolate with vanilla filling is an easy win, I have no problem telling you to give them a try. The blondie is still a so-so for me. It's not terrible mind you, but that lingering bland sugar cookie flavoring definitely takes them down a notch and will prevent me from repurchasing. They don't necessarily need to ditch the vanilla cookies all together, but they need to either tweak them or experiment with other fillings inside.

Verdict?  Not a bad fun factor at 2 for $5
Buy Again?  Still want to try the black raspberry version

Note: "possible cross contamination warning" on box