Monday Munchies – Ben & Jerry’s Coconut Seven Layer Bar

Coconut is one of those things that both seems awesome and not worth all the fuss.  I can remember as a kid, my family trying hard to open a coconut, which seems impervious to modern tools.  And result wasn’t nearly as refreshing as television had made it seem. 

Maybe it’s because coconuts pop up on televion and in films on deserted islands, where a protagonist is without food, so a coconut is much needed sustenance.  I’ve also found coconut water as a beverage to be a less than satisfying experience. 

So how would Ben & Jerry’s Coconut Seven Layer Bar ice cream measure up to my expectations? 

Well, that’s the thing it did and it didn’t. 

Allow me to explain. 

If you’ve followed Monday Munchies, you know that baked treats rarely make an appearance.  It’s not that I’m not a fan of them, I’m just not really interested in them.  I enjoy a good blondie and an occasional brownie.  I do love pies, but that’s about it.  Basically, I was unfamiliar with the concept of a Seven Layer Bar going in. 

Thus, I really enjoyed Ben & Jerry’s Coconut Seven layer Bar as a flavor.  It’s a coconut ice cream base, with shaved coconut blended in, fudge chips and walnuts. It’s very creamy, but with the right amount of crunch.  Some people don’t care for coconut as a flavor and ingredient.  I’ve heard people complain that they don’t like how coconut feels in their mouth, but I tend to enjoy it. 

Personally I feel walnuts don’t get enough love.  They aren’t used nearly enough and are too overshadowed in the nut world.  They are a welcome addition to the flavor. 

It’s a great ice cream flavor and I loved it.  End of story, right? 

Wrong. 

According to Ben & Jerry, Coconut Seven Layer Bar is “coconut ice cream, coconut & fudge flakes, walnuts, and swirls of graham cracker and butterscotch.” 

With that in mind, the flavor gets marks off for not delivering on what’s being advertised. 

You wouldn’t necessarily consider coconut to be an overpowering flavor, but you really have to consciously seek out any hint of butterscotch.  Like you’ve got to find a swirl, and really search for the flavor on your tongue.  And it’s even more difficult to find the graham cracker. 

Unlike most of Ben & Jerry’s other flavors using a graham cracker swirl (most notably Strawberry Cheesecake) the graham cracker here is so miniscule that it barely registers. 

And on the nitpicky side, neither coconut nor the fudge are flakes.  The fudge is much larger than flakes. 

Thus Coconut Seven Layer Bar fails as a flavor, not because it’s not good, but because it doesn’t deliver on what’s promised.  The butterscotch and graham cracker swirls are in trace amounts, which is disappointing.