Yogurtland Testing Gelato Sandwiches

Fro-yo girl here. Yogurtland is currently testing a new offering, gelato sandwiches. They’re sold by the box, with four vanilla gelato chocolate chip sandwiches per box, for $5.95. There’s just one flavor at the moment and you can find them in the freezer at Yogurtland CSUF (Cal State Fullerton) and Seal Beach, CA. 

The chocolate chip cookies were thin and soft. For some reason my cookies were also wet and soggy – perhaps because it took two hours for me to transport them home (but I had them in an ice chest and they didn’t look like they melted). I liked the firm crunchy chocolate chips. I cranked up the freezer and tried the sandwich again – the cookies were still very soft and even oily but not as soggy. They’re like big cookie dough discs which is great if you like cookie dough. The vanilla gelato wasn’t smooth in texture, which is unusual since Yogurtland’s yogurts and gelato are always smooth. It was gritty/sandy; the flavor was fine though pretty sweet. The flavor of the chocolate chip cookies dominated the flavor of the gelato. The flavor of the sandwich was fine but the texture wasn’t what I expected.

Each sandwich is 4.8 fl oz. One sandwich is 300 calories, 12g of fat, 32g of sugar and 6g of protein. The vanilla gelato has live and active cultures.

Ingredients: Cultured gelato (pasteurized & cultured milk, skim milk, sugar, cream, dextrose, whey, stabilizer (mono & diglycerides, locust bean gum, guar gum), vanilla extract), Cookie (enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate (Vitamin B1), riboflavin (Vitamin B2), folic acid), brown sugar, chocolate chunks (sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, dextrose, soy lecithin an emulsifier, vanilla), palm oil, sugar, butter, eggs, invert syrup, salt, natural flavor, whey, baking soda.

Has anyone else seen or tried Yogurtland Gelato Sandwiches?

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Menchie’s is Testing Freshly Made Waffles

Fro-yo girl here. Menchie’s University in Encino is where Menchie’s tests new products and flavors and provides training. Recently they were testing a new dairy-free flavor, dark chocolate made with coconut milk. I headed over less than a week later and the flavor was nowhere to be found. I guess the test flavors aren’t there long. I heard they were testing a Marshmallow Peeps flavor next. If I lived closer to Menchie’s University, I’d certainly go there regularly.

During my visit they were testing a new product: freshly made waffles. They’re sold by the weight for the same price as froyo and toppings. Head to the Menchie’s team member and ask for a waffle. The waffle iron is kept next to the round waffle iron they use to make waffle bowls.

A team member pours the batter onto the waffle iron. After a few minutes the hot waffle is ready. The waffle is rectangular (6 squares long, 3 squares wide). It’s a light waffle with deep pockets. The texture is soft and slightly crispy. It is not a liege waffle; the denser liege waffle would hold up to froyo better. Froyo gets absorbed into the Menchie’s waffle and quickly makes it soggy. Pro tip: Put your froyo on the side, not on top of your waffle.

The waffle flavor was okay but not better than those waffles you can make for yourself with a waffle iron at a hotel. The fact that the froyo makes the waffle soggy is a big negative. 

My two cents: If Menchie’s wants to offer waffles, they should make the batter more interesting and make a denser waffle that doesn’t get soggy so easily. Flavored waffles (made with flavored batter) like peanut butter or chocolate sound much more appealing than plain waffles. Or offer waffle bites dipped in different kinds of chocolate, peanut butter, etc. 

I actually like Liege waffles but they’re pretty filling so I probably wouldn’t get one plus add froyo to it.

Menchie’s University is also selling snacks by Brookside, IceBreakers Mints, IceBreakers Ice Cubes and Hershey’s Kisses Deluxe.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

* MENCHIE’S UNIVERSITY: 17245 Ventura Blvd., Encino, CA 91316

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.