Costco made waves last week with the news that cult favorite ice cream brand Nightingale Ice Cream Sandwiches would be back this summer with a new 18-pack exclusive to the store. Last year, the Cookie Monster flavor sandwiches sold out at the warehouse chain in just a week. This year, Nightingale is selling its Strawberry Shortcake ice cream sandwiches at Costco, and with such fanfare surrounding the brand, I obviously had to try them for myself to see if they truly live up to the hype.
The brand, which was new to me, handcrafts the sandwiches in small batches made with 14% butterfat ice cream and freshly baked cookies. With a slogan like "handcrafted down to the crumbs," I expected big, bold homemade flavor. And since strawberry shortcake happens to be one of my favorite summer treats, I had high expectations for this little ice cream sandwich.
The sandwich treat is described as boasting fresh strawberry ice cream sandwiched between golden-crusted brown sugar cookies, and let me tell you, I don't think I've had fruit ice cream this fresh since I was in New Zealand lapping up its famous real fruit strawberry ice cream (take me back). There was nothing artificial tasting about this ice cream, and the strawberry flavor really popped. Add to that the fresh-baked cookies and, mmm, chef's kiss. The chewy, buttery cookies brought in some extra sweetness and drove home that homemade feel. I can see why these things fly off the shelves.
After trying Nightingale's Strawberry Shortcake sandwiches, I'm primed and ready to get my hands on every other flavor, stat. As previously mentioned, they are available at Costco in an exclusive 18-pack, and I want 10 of them.
