In our Taste Test series, BA editors conduct blind comparisons to discover the best supermarket staples (like Greek yogurt or canned tuna). Today, which cookies and cream ice cream should you snag from the freezer section?
Can you imagine anything better than a double scoop of cookies and cream ice cream on a summer day when you’ve called in “sick” to work in order to escape to the beach? I can’t, and I spend all day thinking about food (even when I’m playing hooky). I’m not the only one. In 2019 cookies and cream was the most-searched ice cream in 14 states. This popularity is starting to supplant other classic flavors. According to reporting in the New York Times, volume sales of vanilla ice cream sank more than 6 percent from 2018 to 2022, while volume sales of cookies and cream rose 72.6 percent in that same period.
The origins of Cookies and Cream—or Cookies ‘n’ Cream, if you’re, I don’t know, in a rush—are murky. Malcolm Stogo, an ice cream consultant, claims to have invented the flavor in 1976. Shirley Seas, the dairy plant manager at South Dakota State University also claims to have pioneered the flavor. Ice cream companies Edy’s and Blue Bell all make similar claims, but in light of its simple formula, it seems likely that this was a case of parallel thought.
Like many of the best food items, cookies and cream ice cream has a deceptively simple recipe: vanilla ice cream and crushed-up chocolate sandwich cookies. But there are heaps of variables in those two ingredients. To our staff here at Bon Appétit, the best cookies and cream ice cream has an indulgent creamy texture, without too much air whipped in (more on this below), a heady vanilla backdrop, and, perhaps most importantly, hefty hunks of chocolate sandwich cookies.
We put 10 brands of cookies and cream ice cream to the test to find the very best.
How we picked the products
First, we generated a list of popular ice cream brands reliably found in grocery stores. Next we took a look at other cookies and cream ice cream taste tests to see which brands are generally included—and which have been left out. We wanted to taste a range of ice creams that are widely available and, importantly, fall squarely into the category of cookies and cream. That means leaving out gelato, dairy-free versions, and some regional favorites (like Friendly’s, for example). We also omitted Ben & Jerry’s take on cookies and cream since it’s only available in their scoop shops (in stores you can find “Milk and Cookies,” a version with chocolate and chocolate chip cookies). Lastly, we double-checked our shortlist by asking the whole Bon Appétit and Epicurious staff for recommendations, which led us to some lesser known brands with a feverish following, like Graeter’s.
How we set up our blind taste test
We portioned each ice cream brand into unmarked paper cups so tasters couldn’t see the labels or even the shapes of the containers (everyone knows Häagen-Dazs comes in a cylindrical pint). We then stored those cups in the freezer and took them out just before tasting to minimize unintended melting.
How our editors evaluated
Compared to vanilla or chocolate, there’s a lot to consider with cookies and cream ice cream. Our tasters were looking for:
- An ice cream base that’s creamy (not icy), sweet (not cloying), and judicious with its vanilla. Overtly artificial vanilla was a red flag for editors.
- An easy-to-scoop and custardy texture. Many commercial ice creams have a significant amount of air whipped in (30–50 percent of the volume of the package), usually referred to as overrun. Whipping in air to ice cream is cost effective for producers—they use less of the ingredients and the final product is lighter to ship—and it makes ice cream softer to scoop. Not enough air and the ice cream will be rock solid. Too much and it eats more like cold shaving cream.
- Cookie chunks of different sizes, some big enough to stage an archeological dig around and some small enough to swirl into each bite. Those cookie chunks should be sturdy enough to provide some resistance when you bite down but not fully crunchy either—crispy-gone-soggy, if you will.
In our lineup of 10 contenders, we found three brands of cookies and cream that we’d devour by the pint summer after summer.
Like when we were kids: Häagen-Dazs Cookies & Cream
A lot of people ride hard for Häagen-Dazs. The New York City–native brand was started in the 1960s by two Polish immigrants with a made-up name and a dream. The original company produced only chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla ice creams, and branched out to new frozen desserts (like sorbet and ice cream bars) as the years went by. Notably, Häagen-Dazs doesn’t include any of the stabilizers or gums, like soy lecithin or xanthan gum, that other brands use as preservatives or thickeners.
Why it won us over: Superbly balanced, Häagen-Dazs has a solid creaminess but manages to shy away from a cloying heaviness. As associate director of cooking Emma Laperruque said, “I could eat a whole pint of this and feel great.” The cookie chunks varied in size between sandy and respectably pebble-sized, and our tasters said each spoonful reminded them of the ice cream they’d get at the scoop shops, diners, and beachside spots of their childhoods. Digital operations associate Alma Avalle said it was a “true expression of cookies and cream ice cream,” but the ultimate endorsement came from associate director of social video Adam Moussa who went back for seconds as soon as he’d finished his first bite.
We’d love it in: Since Häagen-Dazs is a bit lighter, it works well with some supporting players. Try it as the center of a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich.
Luxurious and lush: Jeni’s Cookies in Cream
Long a Bon Appétit favorite, Jeni’s started as a single ice cream shop in Columbus, Ohio, in the early 2000s, when “interesting” ice cream flavors like Wildberry Lavender and Brambleberry Crisp were nearly unheard of. Now you can find Jeni’s in major supermarkets across the country. Notably, the “scratch-made darkest-chocolate cookies” in this ice cream are gluten-free.
Why it won us over: Luxury! That was the feeling we got when we took our first nibbles of Jeni’s Cookies in Cream ice cream. We didn’t get many huge cookie chunks, but we were surprised and delighted to find white chocolate curls scattered throughout our pint. They added a light crunch, echoing the “creme” center of milk’s favorite cookie, in a less cloying way. Ribbons of crushed cookies provided the occasional sandy crunch, which Adam called “very enjoyable.”
We’d love it in: Since the cookie chunks are already a bit finer than usual here, Jeni’s Cookies in Cream would shine in a juiced up malted milkshake.
The ice cream It girl: Graeter’s Cookies & Cream
If you’ve been using the same ice cream recipe for more than 150 years, you must be doing something right. That’s the case with Graeter’s, which uses the French pot process to make ice cream in smaller batches, with a higher butterfat content and less air whipped in. Graeter’s was one of very few ice creams in our taste test that used actual Oreo cookies—except, of course, for the Oreo brand ice cream.
Why it won us over: We revealed the cup of Graeter’s to oohs and ahhs all around. There it was, poking out innocently from the rounded scoop: a full half an Oreo cookie. While competitors featured unidentifiable cookie bits, Graeter’s went big. “A full sandwich cookie!” Emma exclaimed. Other tasters were similarly excited; it was the first ice cream to have an intact cookie—sandwich creme in the center and all. Our tasters said the not-too-sweet flavor and custardy texture made Graeter’s a stand-out too. “To me, that is cookies and cream,” said food director Chris Morocco.
We’d love it in: Don’t do too much to complicate a fantastic scoop of Graeter’s. Try it sandwiched between cinnamon toast, or top it with your very own magic shell.
We also tried…
In alphabetical order, these are other ice creams we scooped for our taste test.
- 365 by Whole Foods Cookies & Cream Ice Cream: Though it was visually appealing, an overwhelming sweetness overpowered the chocolate.
- Breyers Cookies & Cream: The texture here didn’t work, according to Alma: The cookies were too soggy and the ice cream was overstuffed with air.
- Favorite Day Cookies ‘n Cream: Though the flavor of the ice cream was nice, there weren’t enough cookie chunks for us to deem it our favorite.
- Oreo: Tasting it blind, senior service editor Kelsey Jane Youngman said the ice cream tasted like “the center of an Oreo.” That was fitting, but, in practice, it became overly sweet after one bite.
- Tillamook Cookies & Cream Ice Cream: A strong contender with lots of well-sized chunks of cookie. Chris noticed a “floral” flavor we weren’t obsessed with, but we wouldn’t turn this away if it’s all a store has.
- Turkey Hill Cookies ‘N Cream: The cookies were “so good,” according to Emma, but others said the fake vanilla flavor and the over-aerated texture weren’t great.
- Van Leeuwen’s Cookies & Cream French Ice Cream: Tasters gave points for particularly large cookie chunks, though they were cakier than they wanted. And the flavor of the ice cream was too mild.
