Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams releases limited-edition Holiday Collection
story By Kamala Kirk | PHOTO Courtesy of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
Just in time for the festive winter season, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams has released a limit-edition
Holiday Collection that includes two new flavors, Pistachio Macaron and Mexican Hot Chocolate, along with three returning fan favorites: Sugar Plum, White Chocolate Peppermint, and Cognac with Gingerbread.
“Our Cognac with Gingerbread, Sugar Plum, and White Chocolate Peppermint are returning flavors – back because I love them deeply,” says founder Jeni Britton Bauer. “They just scream ‘holiday’ to me. Two are reimagining classics I made years ago, Mexican Hot Chocolate and Pistachio Macaron. The latter is the flavor I can’t stop thinking about lately. It’s gorgeous in its simplicity – double-toasted pistachios with bitter almond and a touch of honey that gives the cream this meringue-like texture. It’s heaven on earth.”
Pistachio Macaron is a two-toned roasted pistachio ice cream with a touch of almond and meringue-like texture. Mexican Hot Chocolate, a velvety milk chocolate cream with red-hot cinnamon and a kick of cayenne, is the flavor that inspired Bauer to make ice cream more than 20 years ago.
“It was 1996 and I was a pink-haired art student obsessed with scent,” Bauer recalls. “On a whim, I smashed cayenne essential oil into a tub of chocolate ice cream and served it at a dinner party. Everyone went wild. It was cold and sweet. And then burst into flames in the back of our throats. I knew right then and there that I’d be making ice cream for the rest of my life. I opened my first scoop shop not long after. Mexican Hot Chocolate was on my very first menu. It’s had a few names since, most recently Queen City Cayenne. The flavor is just as delicious as ever.”
Sugar Plum is a delectable trio of from scratch Amaretti cookies, puckery plum jam and plum wine sweet cream; White Chocolate Peppermint combines pink and white peppermint ice cream swirled together with white chocolate freckles, and Cognac with Gingerbread features warming cognac ice cream with notes of butterscotch and brown sugar, caramel sauce and heavily spiced gingerbread cake pieces throughout.
“This time of year I like to say that we’ve done the work for you,” Bauer says. “We’ve spent months baking, roasting, chopping and churning the most delicious ingredients we can find into flavors worth sharing. Ice creams that are made for my style of entertaining – what I call low lift, high impact. As in, open a pint of one of our new flavors and serve it in a fancy coupe or footed cup. That’s it. A few unforgettable bites are all you really need at the end of a big meal or holiday party.”
Aside from their unique flavors, Jeni’s partners with growers, makers and producers who supply them with fresh ingredients to make the finest ice cream that is free of flavorings, chemical dyes and cheap commodity milk. The company is also a Certified B Corporation known for their social, environmental and business leadership. Their ice cream is distributed in grocery stores including Whole Foods, Ralphs and Gelson’s, as well as at their own scoop shops in and around Los Angeles.
“These are the flavors that sort of put the extra in the holiday,” Bauer says. “Like the bow on top of a gift – they’re fun and lively, and truly made for celebrating the season. These are ice creams I want to serve and share with loved ones this time of year.”
Jeni’s Splendid Holiday Collection is available for a limited time in shops. A pint retails for $12.
Jeni’s Venice
540 Rose Avenue, Venice
(310) 314-2024
Jeni’s Free Market at RUNWAY
12751 Millennium Drive,
#PU- 4, Playa Vista
(213) 814-0590
jenis.com
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