Anyone who’s read this site or received a sobbing 3:00A.M. voicemail from me knows that I really, really miss Oreo O’s. During the early 2000s, those cookies ‘n’ creme flavored O’s were as meaningful to me as wedding rings. But then they were tragically discontinued, leaving me to “Extreme Cry” over their discontinued “Extreme Creme Taste.”
So you can understand why my ears perked up when I heard that Baskin Robbins’ August flavor of the month puts the words “Oreo” and “Cereal” in the same sentence.
Alas, Baskin-Robbins Oreo Milk ‘n Cereal Ice Cream has nothing to do with Oreo O’s, though it does sound interesting. It combines cereal milk-flavored ice cream with Oreo chunks, frosted corn flake cereal pieces, and a frosted corn flake swirl. We all know that “frosted corn flake cereal pieces” is generic marketing speak for Frosted Flakes, but I just think it’s funny that by adding in the word “corn,” Baskin-Robbins can avoid—to paraphrase a certain jungle cat—”a legal GRRRRey area!”
Let’s pounce into a scoop, shall we?
It’s like a black leather Mustafar in my car, so I have to eat and photograph this treat fast. I never thought I’d have to mark “Oreo ice cream-stained jean shorts” as an expense for this site, but here we are.
Despite Baskin-Robbins claim of “cereal milk-flavored ice cream,” the base of this Oreo ‘n Cereal Milk tastes like standard issue cookies and creme: creamy vanilla with that iconic twist of processed sandwich cookie-flavored cocoa flour. After smacking my lips a few times, I did detect some sort of artificially milky sugar glaze, but it was faint. I will note though that my ice cream palate is probably too inexperienced to detect subtle flavor notes: if reviewing ice cream is like wine-tasting, then I’m the guy in the corner comparing Pinot Noir to Welch’s Grape Juice.
The fractured Oreo gobs, on the other hand, provide robust and delicious pops of milk-soaked cookie goodness. That milky sugar glaze seems to have absorbed into the bits of wafer and creme, so for the fleeting few seconds it takes to suck down each chunk, it tastes just like an Oreo dunked in milk.
The frosted corn flake pieces aren’t very photogenic, and my melting ice cream utopia didn’t make them any prettier by bathing them in pasteurized soup. But there is a healthy amount of them, and even though they’ve been swimming in cold dairy, the flakes still have a surprisingly pleasant crunch to contrast the cream. Both the frosted corn flakes and the frosted corn flake swirl have the authentic taste of their cereal namesake. They’re sweetly corny with a drool-worthy coating of golden, syrupy vanilla.
The problem comes when I try eating everything together. The cereal components are pretty mildly flavored (especially the frosted corn flake swirl), and Oreos are famous for being strong, independent cookies who don’t need no flavor companions. So for the most part, the rich cookies & creme flavor swallows up the frosted flakes’ nuances, leaving behind only a faint, sweet ‘n’ salty corn flake aftertaste.
I love Oreos, and as an Oreo O’s devotee, this tasty and unique ice cream gave me some happy flashbacks. But I just can’t help but think Baskin-Robbins missed a lot of potential here. If they had used Golden Oreos instead of chocolate, the frosted corn flakes might have had a better chance to shine. Or if they had used Nilla Wafers—another Nabisco cookie—instead of Oreos, the addicting vanilla cereal ribbon would have had something more complementary to wrap itself around.
But heck, at that point they might have been better off using Golden Grahams instead of frosted corn flakes to create an entirely different masterpiece of honey and vanilla.
There are just too many “what ifs?” for me to comfortably give this ice cream a stellar grade. Despite this, if you’re out for a chilly summer treat, I say give Oreo Milk ‘n Cereal a try for a fun spin on the classic cookies & creme formula. No two scoops of ice cream are created alike, so your bowl, waffle cone, or headfirst dive into Baskin Robbins’ ice cream vat will likely vary. After all, others have already said that they got more potent cereal vibes from this one.
But for now, I think I have to put the final freeze on this review. At this point, I think even my
words
are starting
to melt away
from me
The Bowl: Baskin-Robbins Oreo Milk ‘n Cereal Ice Cream
The Breakdown: Despite its kickin’ Oreo goodness, this ice cream’s overwhelming cookie flavor leads to an underwhelming milk & cereal sensation.
The Bottom Line: 7 irritatingly missing apostrophes* in ice cream flavor names out of 10
*Seriously, why isn’t it called “Oreo Milk ‘n’ Cereal?”
(Nutrition Facts: 200 calories, 100 calories from fat, 12 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 110 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 16 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein per small, 2.5oz serving)
I had it and loved it. The Cookie and Cream element is much richer and more cocoa filled than most renditions. I suspect it has something to do with using actual Oreos and using a lot of them (mine were very crunchy, as opposed to soggy). I also loved the cereal element, even though I thought the texture had a sort of ground honey cornbread/Cap’n Crunch consistency!
Didn’t matter that it *could* have been more cereal-milky. Ice cream eating is all about the moment for me. That said, this is my new favorite Baskin Robbins flavor.
I have to admit: my own inexperience with ice cream taste testing is the result of a mild lactose intolerance. I made a gut sacrifice for this review, but I think it was worth it, haha.
I will say, though, I like how our reviews both start with the same thought. Oreo O’s fans, unite!
Way to take one for the team!
WAIT! you’ve to suffer from a mild lactose interlorance? Does that mean you eat your cereal with soy milk then? (i mean i love soy milk and would actually always choose it before skim milk if it wouldn’t be more expensive… way more ^^)
Yep, I usually go with almond milk first, actually (honey almond milk is my favorite). But soy milk is great too; it just tends to not photograph very well because of its naturally yellowish tint.
oh man Dan… didn’t know, but great to know now ^^
One question left, i mean i love soymilk somehow (maybe ’cause it’s a bit sweeter than normal milk, though milk is also great – they’re just different so hard to compare ^^), but almond milk? Doesn’t that change the flavor of the cereal way too much? :blushes: ^^
No, not at all. I don’t know what kind of almond milk you’re used to, but if you buy the vanilla sweetened kind here, it has almost no nut flavor and a pretty robust creaminess.
Had to reply to this comment, don’t know i i wasn’t able to answer to your last comment, but hey this will work too:
I’ve to admit i never really tried almond milk. (too expensive ^^)
but iirc you’re right the one time i did i was disappointed ’cause you didn’t really taste “almond”. So yeah almond milk shouldn’t really effect the taste that much. My bad ^^