I couldn’t wait for March 19. I circled it on my calendar and everything. Because it’s the first day of spring? Absolutely not. Because March 19 marked the release of Wendy’s newest seasonal dessert: The orange Dreamsicle Frosty.
That braid-wearing redhead can call it whatever she wants, but we all know what it is. It’s a creamsicle Frosty. And there are few frozen treats in this world I love more than a creamsicle. The mythical combination of tangy orange and creamy vanilla is truly undefeated. Kohr’s Bros. down the shore does it best — I am counting the days to my first cone on the boardwalk this summer. But if Wendy’s is able to pull off a good creamsicle, the quality of life across New Jersey will skyrocket.
Easier said than done, and not just because orange and vanilla is a tricky combo. Because Wendy’s has launched several promising seasonal iterations of their signature Frosty, and more often than not the frozen treats have fallen flat. The strawberry Frosty was decent at best. The peppermint Frosty was coal in my stocking. The pumpkin spice Frosty was the best special flavor of the bunch, but the bar was on the drive-thru floor at that point.
Call me a hopeless Frosty romantic, I was ready to throw caution to the Wendy’s wind and try again for a creamsicle flavor. I drove to Wendy’s on Tuesday knowing damn well that this was going to be either one of the best dessert experiences of my life, or one of the most disappointing. If this thing was gross, I’d have to hightail it to Seaside Heights to get the real thing and cleanse my palate.
No trip down the parkway necessary. It was love at first bite. The orange Dreamsicle Frosty is absolutely elite.
I’m not saying this thing is as good as a Kohr’s Bros. cone, but it’s about as close as you can get without actually going down the shore. The orange and vanilla are well-balanced. The orange flavor is pleasant and not at all medicinal, the sad fate that befell the peppermint frosty. I’m telling you, I couldn’t stop eating this thing.
So why does the orange Dreamsicle Frosty flourish where others failed? As ambitious as a creamsicle flavor is, it might be a better fit for Wendy’s than strawberry and peppermint. These flavored Frosties are simply the vanilla Frosty base with other flavors mixed in. While that makes for a diluted taste with others, it’s perfect for creamsicle because the flavor inherently needs vanilla.
The orange Dreamsicle Frosty might have been released to celebrate the first day of spring, but it tastes like summer to me. And whenever I can’t get down to the beach in the coming months, I’ll be spending more time at Wendy’s than I’d care to admit. Because this is the only flavor that comes close to challenging chocolate for the top spot in the Frosty power rankings.
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Jeremy Schneider may be reached at jschneider@njadvancemedia.com and followed on Twitter at @J_Schneider and on Instagram at @JeremyIsHungryAgain.