The Original Chipwich Review

The Original Chipwich Review

There are several things that will always bring back a warm and fun nostalgia to me when I think about growing up in the 80s. Cabbage Patch Kids were all the rage, Michael Jackson’s hair caught on fire while filming a Pepsi commercial, and Skeletor was the creepiest, coolest bad guy on TV. I can play with my original Nintendo, listen to Kajagoogoo, or see a pair of leg warmers and feel like I’m back in the greatest decade of my life. On hot California days, we longed for the ice cream truck to cruise through our suburban neighborhood. I passed up the Push-Pop and Fudgesicle for a Chipwich. Every single time. And when my dad would pack us kids in the station wagon to go to the beach, we would stop at the convenience store for an ice cream treat. Chipwich was what all five of us kids grabbed. It’s a staple of my childhood, and I’m SO happy to say that Chipwich is BACK!

After a 7-year absence, the smarties at Chipwich realized that they had to give the public (or just me) what we want!  They became harder and harder to find after the 90s, so I’m really stoked to have them back in my life now. If you aren’t familiar with Chipwich, we probably aren’t friends. But if you carried your Bonne Bell Lip Smackers and Love’s Baby Soft in a Caboodle, watched the Smurfs after school, and went to the roller rink on Friday night – then you understand why this resurrection of Chipwich is so exciting.

So what the hell is a Chipwich? Only the best ice cream treat ever. Duh. It’s an ice cream sandwich with a twist. No doubt you’ve seen the copy cats out there – 2 chocolate chip cookies with vanilla ice cream in between them. Those are good, but they aren’t Chipwich. Going off just memory from 30+ years ago…. they are super soft and really yummy chocolate chip cookies with big chips or chunks in them, vanilla ice cream, and then the sides were rolled in tiny (like, seriously adorable) chocolate chips.  They were hard to eat at first, unless you let it sit out of the freezer for about a minute. My brother used to pull off the top cookie and save it for later. But he’s an idiot. My sister would dip hers in chocolate milk. Another brother licked the chips off the sides before diving in. I just ate the damn thing. Because you don’t have to get fancy with Chipwich.

I hope these live up to my memories….

The box has three Chipwich sandwiches in it. When I pulled them out, I thought they were kinda small. Smaller than I remember – but then again, my 7-year old hands were a lot smaller then, too. I went for it and took a bite. Immediately, I knew I remembered correctly. You need to let it sit for a minute before eating, because it’s SUPER hard at first. I took another bite and felt like I was swept back to a younger version of myself. I was literally gleeful. And I don’t use that word, so that’s a big deal.

The cookies are AMAZING. I can taste the ingredients – salt, brown sugar, vanilla… just a damn good chocolate chip cookie that tastes homemade. The chips in the cookies are nice and big, too. I think there are actually bits and chunks of chocolate, as well. I would eat these cookies on their own, and I think that’s kinda the point of the Chipwich – it features and highlights the absolutely perfect chocolate chip cookies. Without those, it’s not Chipwich.  When you bite into them, they don’t fall apart. You may think they will crumble and break when you crunch down on 2 cookies and an inch of ice cream, but they don’t. I had zero crumbs, honestly. And my cookies stayed put the entire time.

The ice cream is super creamy, and just perfect. It doesn’t hold a ton of flavor, but it doesn’t need to. It’s a basic vanilla that meshes with the cookie ingredients and chocolate, and even offers a highlight of the cookies. It’s cool and refreshing, and there’s the perfect balance of ice cream to cookie. That’s another notable uniqueness about Chipwich – the cookie/ice cream ratio is SPOT ON.

The tiny chips around the edges are just as cute as they were when I was cute. I love that they use tons of tiny chips, instead of bigger chips, because it offers a unique texture and crunch with every bite. The fact that they are frozen is even more fun and crunchy.

This is absolutely, 100%, all the way The Original Chipwich. They are just big enough to satisfy and fill you up, even though they appear small.  Believe me – they are PACKED with sugary goodness! Copy cats can now back off, because the king of the ice cream truck has returned. I’m pretty full, after my first Chipwich while writing this review. That’s not stopping me from cranking up some George Michael, sitting back for another Chipwich, and reliving the vibrant decade I love so much. I might even cuff my jeans and pop my collar while I devour another one. Thank you, Chipwich. You truly are the perfect ice cream sandwich.