At Baskin Robbins the season of the spook remains the season of the scoop. From festive seasonal flavors like candy corn and the decadent pumpkin cheesecake, the 31 plus arsenal’s most consistent autumn offering highlights all kiddies’ favorite past time in October – trick or treating.  BR’s Trick Oreo Treat debuted in 2011 and for the first time, in 2016, the iconic flavor gets an upgrade.

Trick Oreo Treat Dark builds on the success of its predecessor, which combined vanilla ice cream with spooky orange creme Oreos, Baby Ruth bars, and Butterfinger pieces. The dark twist is the same mischievous concoction of goodies, only this time housed in rich dark chocolate and enrobed by a silky fudge ribbon. TOT version 2.0 – it WORKS.

While I am generally a bigger fan of lighter bases (vanilla, caramel, etc) the chocolate base in this ice cream absolutely blows away the flavor of the original. Its rich cocoa notes and velvety texture are taken to the next level by the ample fudge ribbon. Periodically making its way onto your spoon in gooey gobs, the ribbon helps the ice cream eat more like a sundae and adds a nice textural contrast to the chunks of candy you will inevitably run into as you continue to dig.

What some folks may find challenging, and I actually love, are the candy pieces themselves. The Butterfinger generally gets dispersed evenly in thin little flakes of buttery goodness with an occasional big chunk, but the Baby Ruth pieces tend to be larger and as a result, harder. Apparently the combination of peanuts, caramel, and chocolate nougat doesn’t freeze well (even though it’s fine in the BR Snickers flavor) and at times you’ll encounter a candy piece your teeth can’t quite handle. Luckily, if you allow the Ruth to sit in your mouth for a couple of seconds and gently chew, the caramel will get soft again and the reward will be worth the risk. What’s the fun in a treat without a little trick anyway?

The only area where the dark version of this ice cream takes a step back from the original is the pop of the Oreo cookies themselves. The flavor of the wafer gets lost a bit in the sea of chocolate, but still adds a nice dusty texture and orange colorful contrast to the overall experience. The chocolate on chocolate onslaught reminds me of one of my favorite limited Baskin Robbins flavors in recent memory, last years’ Oreo Malt Madness, and I’ll take that homage over standard cookies and cream any day.

Rating: 8.5/10