Craving phantom ice cream

I love ice cream. More than anything else in the world. I won't bore you with my long personal history related to ice cream. Every so often, I get an intense craving for a specific ice cream that, sadly, doesn't exist anymore. In the late 1990's or maybe early 2000's, Edy's launched a new line of ice cream called "Edy's Dreamery". This was meant to be competition for Ben & Jerry's. That is, individual pints of super rich premium ice cream with catchy names and whimsical illustrations on the cartons. I remember the greatest flavor of this line, Grandma's Cookie Jar. It consisted of plain vanilla ice cream with three, count em, three different types of cookie dough, the old standby chocolate chip, a chocolate fudge cookie dough, and peanut butter cookie dough. I have fond memories of how amazing this ice cream was, and every once and a while, get a strong craving for it. This has inspired me to do a little bit of research on the topic. First, the Dreamery line was discontinued around 2006, although I remember the specific flavor being gone before then. Digging deeper, I began to wonder if I was misremembering the ice cream I loved so much. This was brought on by looking up the official website of Dreamery. Here, they describe my favorite flavor as Grandma's Cookie Dough, consisting of "creamy vanilla ice cream loaded with chunks of chocolate cookie dough". The picture on the carton depicts chocolate chip cookie dough, so I'm not sure where the "chocolate cookie dough" comes into play. In addition, the original flavor had THREE different types of cookie dough. WTF Edy's?

To prove that I wasn't crazy, I dug a little deeper with my internet research. Several message boards revealed people, not unlike myself, craving this delightful flavor years after its passing. In fact, this blog, reports that the Dreamery line is not dead, however, I have yet to see it in ANY stores (and believe me, I check the ice cream aisle every time). Another handy internet source, lists nutritional information for the flavor, confirming the three separate types of cookie dough present.

My theory? I believe the flavor Grandma's Cookie Jar originally existed in all its glory. I even managed to find some fuzzy photographic evidence.

Note the subtle differences in packaging. I believe this flavor was so amazing, that Edy's was probably the victim of lawsuits from people claiming to be addicted to the flavor, or complaints that people were becoming morbidly obese, as a result of indulging in such deliciousness. The flavor was probably modified to become "Grandma's Cookie Dough", a less delicious version of the original. The Dreamery line, may or may not still be in existence. All I know, is that if I ever find this ice cream again, I will buy cases of it, or hire a scientist to replicate it perfectly for me.

In the meantime, I've continued to search for a flavor that comes close. I thought I hit pay dirt a couple of months ago when I purchased Edy's Triple Cookie Fudge Sundae. Instead, I was terribly disappointed. With a flavor that includes "triple cookie" in the title, I expect three types or variations of cookie. Instead, one-third of the ice cream is vanilla with chocolate chip cookie dough, one-third is chocolate ice cream with fudge swirl, and the remaining third is vanilla ice cream with brownies. Not even close to triple cookies! Additionally, the ice cream is of the "lite' variety, with half the fat and one-third the calories of regular ice cream (see also: it tastes like disappointment).

The only other flavor that has come somewhat close is Ben & Jerry's Milk and Cookies. It has vanilla ice cream with an Oreo/cookies and cream type swirl with chocolate chip cookie dough AND chocolate-chocolate chip cookie dough. In addition, it has mini chocolate chips mixed in, in case you didn't get enough chocolate chips in your cookie dough. I'm not gonna lie, I do like this flavor quite a bit, but it still leaves me dreaming about Edy's. Also, Ben & Jerry's is famous for "retiring" flavors just when I am starting to become addicted. Thank guys.

For now, I suppose Ben & Jerry will have to suffice. My next plan is to either suggest the flavor to Ted & Wally's, hoping that they will recognize the potential (and name the flavor after me! Rebecca's cookie jar?), or to roll up my sleeves and make my own version of Grandma's Cookie Jar. However, this would involve me needing an ice cream maker, which would mean I would have to get married. I challenge you to find an unmarried person who owns their own ice cream maker. Perhaps I will venture out and buy one and be the first ever...