Graeter’s Ice Cream Party and a Giveaway
As many of you know, Hubby and I moved to Boston from Cincinnati. One of my favorite things when we lived there was walking down the street to grab some Graeter’s ice cream. I was recently contacted to review their ice cream, and they had no idea I already loved it when they contacted me. As you know, I rarely do product reviews on here, but since I already knew how much I enjoy Grater’s, I thought this would be a great opportunity.
Graeter’s uses high quality ingredients and makes their ice cream two gallons at a time to ensure quality ice cream with every batch. It is extremely creamy and decadent! They have 24 pint flavors including signature chip flavors and five seasonal favorites, which rotate throughout the year.
If you don’t live in Cincinnati, you still might be able to find Graeter’s at a grocery store in your town. A list of the locations where Graeter’s is sold can be found on their website. If you’re still out of luck, have no fear, you can order ice cream online. It will be delivered to your door step just like mine was!!
The foam cooler was packed with our six pints and some dry ice to keep it frozen on it’s journey. You can order the ice cream in 6 or 12 pint packages. I think this would make a great gift for Mother’s Day, a friend who used to live in Cincinnati’s birthday, or for anyone else who enjoys great ice cream.
I decided to invite some other bloggers over to my place to share this awesome ice cream with them. So last night, Aimee, Fiona, Renee, and Amanda came over for an ice cream tasting and sundae party! Graeter’s sent me a 6 pint variety pack of ice cream to taste. I requested my favorite, black raspberry chip, to be included in the pack. The other flavors included vanilla, mocha chip, caramel, mint chip, and strawberry.
For the tasting portion, I used a 1.5 tsp scoop to scoop tiny scoops of ice cream onto everyone’s spoon. We started with vanilla and worked our way through the 6 flavors. I’m usually not a fan of strawberry ice cream, but this strawberry ice cream was very fresh and light. The three flavors that had chips were great hits. I always say they should call them chunks. We all agreed that the strawberry ice cream would have been great with the chocolate chunks in it. Turns out Graeters does have strawberry chip right now.
The chocolate in the ice cream has almost the consistency of ganache, so it’s very smooth and easy to bite into. And, everyone once and a while you’ll get a bite with a big chunk of chocolate in it. The black raspberry chip was still my favorite with the mocha chip coming in at a close second for me. (As you know, I’m lactose intolerant. But, about once a year, I eat ice cream because I just miss it so much. I participated in the tasting portion of the evening, along with the help of some medication and it was definitely worth it!)
Once we all tasted a tiny bit of each flavor, we then made ice cream sundaes. Everyone else had brought some ice cream toppings including M&Ms, caramel sauce, and candied pecans. We chowed down on our ice cream sundaes and chatted the evening away.
Eating ice cream reminded me that summer is just around the corner! And if you’d like to try some Graeter’s ice cream for yourself, be sure to enter the giveaway below! Graeter’s has agreed to give a 6-pint variety pack to one lucky reader!! Here’s how you can enter.
First, you must be a follower of my blog, either through Facebook or an RSS reader. For the first entry, go to Graeters.com and check out the flavors they offer. Come back here and leave a comment telling me which flavor you would like to try, or if you’ve had Graeter’s before, which flavor is your favorite.
For an additional entry, either Like Graeter’s on Facebook or follow them on Twitter and come back here leaving another comment saying you’ve done so.
For another additional entry, Tweet the following about the giveaway “Enter to win a 6 pint package of @graeters ice cream from @beantownbaker http://bit.ly/gs2HKn” then come back here to leave a comment saying you’ve done so.
A maximum of three entries per person are allowed. All comments must be made by midnight on April 27th. A winner will be chosen randomly at that point in time. Graeter’s only ships to the US (excluding Alaska and Hawaii), so if you win, you must provide a US shipping address. If you’re out of the US, you can still enter the giveaway if you plan to ship the ice cream to someone within the shipping area.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
PB&J for sure!
I loved bread and butter with a glass of cold chocolate milk
Definitely peanut butter cookies and milk!
My son loves chocolate chip cookies and milk!
My mom always had a piece of cake waiting for us after the first day of school. She was usually a real health nut about our snacks…so cake in the middle of the day…and it wasn’t anyone’s birthday? AWESOME, mom, thanks!
chocolate chip cookies
Chocolate chip cookies!!
I grew up snacking on (multiple) Little Debbies after school…loved them, but I never learned to appreciate healthful food. My daughter loves “stringy” mozzarella cheese, yogurt or fruit…and of course cookies as a “sometimes” food. 😉
I loved the Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies!
Mini grilled cheese sandwiches (using cocktail bread) were a favorite at my house growing up.
I give Cameron the same thing. Delicious!
My favorite snack was a bowl of Cocoa Krispies…nothing better than sitting in front of the TV watching Saved by the Bell and having cereal 🙂
My Mom would let us have 2 chocolate chip cookies after school sometimes. My kids aren’t as lucky as I usuually give them pretzel sticks or goldfish crackers.
My favorite was m&m’s and mini pretzels. I’m not sure how I discovered this combo, but to this day when I eat the 2 together, I still put my m&m’s in the pretzel holes.
I always liked having those handi-snacks after school. Either the ones with the crackers and cheese of those little breadsticks with cheese. I remember liking the breadsticks one better though. 🙂
my fave was kit kat bars!
Double stuffed Oreos! My eight-year old self thought they were the greatest thing ever
Mmm… Little Debbie Swiss cake rolls. Yum!
I loved the lil debbir zebra cakes – YUM!!!
Celery and peanut butter, its still a favorite and I give it to my kids now!
Handisnacks! Well the cheese anyway.
Chocolate chip cookies, of course!
For me as a kid it was cookies of any kind.
My kids love to get a baked treat–brownies, cookies, cupcakes, muffin…yum!
Karen
karen0801@aol.com
One time my mom had warm apple fritters dusted with powdered sugar waiting for us after school. It was a one-off but my favorite snack ever!
My favorite after school snack was graham crackers with peanut butter and banana. It still is one of my favorites!
For some reason, I loved to make my own snack. My favorite was a “Big Cheese,” essentially a cheese quesadilla.
I had Little Debbie Snacks. Don’t really buy them any more!
Anything from Little Debbie. Especially Fudge Rounds
We liked graham crackers with chocolate frosting. But now that you posted chocolate chips, I can’t get chocolate chip cookies out of my head!
Bread with peanut butter or cookies and milk!
ohhh, I liked chips ahoy cookies… warmed up in the microwave!
seriously, it was nestle toll house cookies.
sliced apples with peanut butter.
Pizza bagels were the most fun afterschool snack, because I would make them with my sisters before our mom got home!
A smear of peanut butter on a tortilla, sometimes with a few chocolate chips 😉
I loved having my moms home ade frosted sugar cookies when I got home from school
Favorite after school snack was definitely celery w/ peanut butter!
Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies. I know there’s pretty much not one real ingredient in them, but they’re so good.
my daughter loves chocolate chip cookies!
Kraft Mac and Cheese! 🙂
This is weird, but…. saltine crackers and sliced apples. My mom had me convinced it tasted *just* like apple pie so I happily ate it after school every day for many years. Haha.
Cute kit! My favorite afterschool snack was homemade chocolate chip cookies and milk.
I think that my favorite after school snack was when my mom would make a m&m sugar cookies. I absolutely loved chocolate and sugar cookies combined!! yum!! 🙂
My mom would make hot dogs in a crescent roll. We’d dip them in ketchup and they were soo good! I make them for my kiddos now and they love ’em too!
cookies of course!
It wasn’t an every day thing, but sometimes my neighbor’s Mom that watched me after school would make home made caramel apples and I LOVED them! The second I walked in the house, the smell overwhelmed me with excitement 🙂
We always had granola bars as an afterschool snack. Now for my son I always try to fix something different. No cookies tho, those are for dessert 😀 But his current favorite that he is always asking for are fresh bhajis, and Indian veggie fritter.
my favorite after school snack was a bowl of boo berry cereal. I loved it when the milk turned blue, my favorite part of the snack! 🙂
I loved a bowl of cereal when I got home from school.
I loved a chocolate chip cookie with milk!
Kraft mac and cheese
My favorite after school snack was a tortilla with butter. Or pieces of bologna. Weird, I know.
My favorite after school snack was peanut butter on crackers!
i had 2 favorite snacks. 1) Nature Valley granola bars with peanut butter 2)snyders pretzels dipped in ketchup
Bananas covered in peanut butter and marshmallows pushed into the peanut butter 🙂 yum
My mom made me “apple smiles”! Apple slices with peanut butter spread on them and mini marshmallow “teeth”!
Little Debbie snack cakes…those were awesome!!
A bowl of cereal, Labne(lebanese strained yogurt chees) w/ pita, or fruit.
I give my son pretty much the same things, he really likes string cheese and real fruit snack size popsicles too.
milk and homemade cookies
My mom used to make us the best banana chocolate chip bread with milk for the first day of school every year. I still make it, its so delicious!
We didn’t necessarily have a real snack after school, but my mom used to let us have ice pops or other frozen treats!
Chef Boyardee, cold, straight out of the can. It was weird, but delicious!
I always ate a toasted Pb & J with a tall glass of milk! Mmm… I think I might go get one right now.
After school, I remember coming home to my regular bench at the kitchen counter and my mom inviting me to relax, drink some juice and have something small like a yogurt, or crackers. What I ate doesn’t stand out, but what I will remember is how she always wanted me to be comfortable.
Cookies and milk, for sure. 🙂
Spaghettios and popcorn. Weird combination, but they went together as far as I was concerned.
Granny smith apples & pop corn. Sweet & Tart. That is what I had as a kid- and now that is what I pass on to my kid.
Cookies and milk!
Junk food all the way! Doritoes…or any other kind of chip.
I am not making this up, my favorite snack was chocolate chip cookies. My mom was a baker. (that’s where I learned it!) She was always whipping up some cookies or pies for us. On the other hand, I try to have at least one veggie snack on hand for my kids, like sliced peppers or carrots. They get plenty of sweets too, though!
I’m kind of embarrassed to say, that my parents would get me us hot dogs from the street vendor everyday after school. I wouldn’t eat it now…but we ate it all the time.
Occaisonally, my mom made home-made granola bars…as soon as I read your question, that was the first thing I thought of!
No bake cookies were my favorite because I could make them myself. I have such fond memories of whipping these puppies up with my brothers!
We liked homemade popsicles!!
A bowl of cereal.
If I ever had a snack after school it was always fruit.
definitely pb&j. yummo!!!
I know it’s strange, but I used to eat a bowl of black-eyed peas every single day when I got home from school. I was a strange kid haha. I just wish I still craved healthy foods over sweets!
peanut butter on vanilla wafers!! Still like them today
(jrklturner@yahoo.com)
apples and peanut butter!!!
Cookies and milk.
Peanut butter and jelly, but the peanut butter had to be extra crunchy!
Chocolate Chip cookies and milk!
mmm definitely oreos dipped in milk!
We enjoy making our own snack mix or baking something yummy- muffins or cookies.
This is embarrassing but I looooved Swiss Cake Rolls dipped in milk…oh they were SO good!
I always used to eat fruit-grapes, apples or whatever was in season.
Home made choc chip cookies! The best.
Cheese and Crackers! 🙂
Some kind of ice cream treat or Cracker & Cheddar Combos.
the.k.krew(at)gmail(dot)com
PB&J with the crusts cut off!
Graham crackers with vanilla frosting!
Chocolate Chip Cookies!! =)
PB & J!
As a kid and now with my kids…Chocolate Chip Cookies.
I grew up, for the first 11 years of my life, just over one mile from the Original Toll House in Whitman, MA. I always blame my love for them because “it was in the air”.
I am known for my Chocolate Chip Cookies, because I have literally made thousands of batches:)
Little Debbie brownies, or peanut butter and honey celery. 🙂
I loved celery with cream cheese or peanut butter. I also really loved triscuts with cheese.
What a generous giveaway! My favorite back to school snack as a kid was bologna and peanut butter… I would not touch it now, and it’s so funny to me that I liked that at one point but it was my favorite snack at the time! 🙂
Would love to win this giveaway. Nestle Toll House cookies are my favorite. My fiance and I are on a budget saving for our wedding and our first home so we aren’t able to splurge on things like this at the store. Winning would be so fun!
Seasidesmitten@aol.com
Well I do not have kids but I’m a nanny for a very lovely 9 year old little girl 🙂 My favorite sweet snack after school was graham crackers with frosting…delicious! The little one I watch is a huge fan of cookies. No matter the type she eats them all 🙂
I always loved coming home to peanut butter on crackers!
I don’t remember a favorite snack. But my mom had an at-home daycare and I remember loving to drink Kool-Aid.
Hi!
My favorite thing was to ride the bus home with a friend to their house, because they always had the BETTER snacks! My mom didn’t buy anything that was considered “unhealthy,” so when I did go to a friend’s house, I would savor a pop-tart or a rice crispy treat.
Thanks to my mom’s good – albeit disappointing when I was 6 – example, I pretty much eat healthy now (I’m 30 now), but I will probably always love those! 🙂
My brothers and I would always snack on ice cream sandwiches after school – I miss those days! : )
I think it must have been pb&j. Or cookies with milk! Nestle was always my favorite growing up. I know my little sister would absolutely love this kit! I’d have to keep it at my house and she could come make cookies on the weekends! I love it 🙂
I’m not just saying this…it was definately chocolate chip cookies!!!
My favorite to give my kids is cookies because it is so rare, so to see their faves light up when they see the warm, chewy cookies…so fun for me!
I loved fruit snacks as a kid, and I still do!
My favorite school snack was home-made rice crispie treats!
I think it was probably just a homemade quesadilla. Just a plain flour tortilla with cheddar cheese sliced melted in the microwave!
This is really gross. I would eat raw hotdogs. I would never do that now.
I used to eat Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls for a snack. Surprisingly I was super skinny too.
Green apple slices with peanut butter. Yum!
Mini pizzas made from english muffin slices, prego sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Mmm.