Monday Munchies – Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Butter Jam Session

Expectations can be tricky things.  Sometimes expectations can lead to disappointment, particularly if things are overhyped or expectations are too high.  Other times expectations can be minimal, which leads to them getting exceeded. 

Which brings us to Peanut Butter Jam Session, a Target exclusive Ben & Jerry’s flavor.  I’ve already addressed my thoughts on “exclusive flavors” so today is all about the ice cream. 

So on the surface Peanut Butter Jam Session is a tricky proposition.  It’s Peanut Butter ice cream with a crunchy peanut butter swirl and a raspberry swirl. 

For me Peanut Butter isn’t anything special.  It’s not something that I really love, though occasionally I do have a hankering for it.  I know some people for whom peanut butter is a huge selling point.  That’s not me.  I’ve really got to be in the mood for peanut butter. 

That said, I do enjoy crunchy peanut butter.  I loved the added texture of the peanuts.  It’s my preferred peanut butter.  I was very eager to find out how it was going to be incorporated into the ice cream. 

The fact is, it’s incorporated rather well.  The actual peanut butter ice cream is actually underwhelming.  It’s not particularly strong in terms of flavor and it honestly barely registers on the tongue.  I’ve definitely had other peanut butter flavors that tasted more peanut buttery.    

But the crunchy peanut butter swirl and the raspberry swirl bring so much to the table that they more than compensate for the ice cream.  The peanut butter is actually crunchy peanut butter and it’s delightful.  The raspberry swirl is surprisingly powerful, it actually packs a punch.  The two swirls make every bite of ice cream something to look forward to. 

Again, as someone who love crunchy peanut butter, I can not underscore how awesome it is to have crunchy peanut butter in the ice cream.  The bits of peanut, that crunch, it’s just so perfect.  And of course it give the ice cream a bit of texture, which is never a bad thing. 

I can’t say that Peanut Butter Jam Session is a flavor that I’d have in heavy rotation, but it would certainly be a flavor that would be one of my “go-to” flavors and the one I’d pick if I needed a peanut butter fix.  Because I went into the flavor with few expectations I was pleasantly surprised.  

If you’re a fan of peanut butter, do yourself a favor and head to your local Target to pick up Peanut Butter Jam Session.  Trust me, you won’t regret it.