Are Frosty Fusions the next frozen dessert breakthrough?

The Year of the Frosty hit its next major phase on Monday with the release of Frosty Fusions.

You’ll probably remember when I bought a whopping SIX different flavors of Frostys last month to celebrate the release of Frosty Swirls. Wendy’s kicked this revolution off by adding three different flavors of swirls — brownie batter, strawberry and caramel — that can be added to both the chocolate and vanilla Frosty bases. The fast-food chain elevated its classic dessert to the next level this week, adding the option to mix in “perfectly crunchy Oreo cookie pieces,” “chunks of strawberry-flavored Pop-Tarts Crunchy Poppers pieces” or “crunchy toffee pieces.”

Despite possibly earning Father of the Year honors in April for bringing home half a dozen Frostys at once, a moment that’s very likely to come up in therapy for my daughter someday, I wanted to play Frosty Fusion day a touch more conservatively. I already know what the brownie batter, strawberry and caramel swirls taste like — seriously, check out that review if you missed it — so I decided to get just one of each of the new Fusion flavors when they debuted on Monday.

My stance on Frostys has long been that chocolate is the only true Frosty flavor, but I went with the vanilla base for the Fusions. I know, blasphemy. But hear me out — Frosty Fusions are meant to compete with McDonald’s McFlurries, which use a vanilla soft serve base, and for the sake of having a control, all three of the new Frosty Fusions needed to be reviewed with the same flavor base.

So, vanilla it was.

I don’t know how much support local Wendy’s locations are getting on these major Frosty releases. As you can see in the pictures in this review, my Wendy’s no longer has the Frosty branded cups or the blue spoons that we rolled out BARELY a month ago with much fanfare.

“For fans who use spoons, Wendy's created a new, custom blue Frosty spoon specially designed for the best experience, allowing fans to get every last bit of creamy goodness from the bottom of the cup,” Wendy’s announced last month.

Nope. All my Wendy’s had was the old black spoons that are for chili.

It also took long enough for these three Frostys to get made where I started to worry about holding up the drive-through. I could overhear some chatter about not having Oreo, which also made me worried. (They appeared to have Oreo, at least that’s what I hope I was eating ...)

Where I found it

Wendy’s, people. Frostys are found at Wendy’s.

What I paid

A small Frosty Fusion should cost $3.99.

Oreo Brownie Frosty Fusion

My thoughts: I really, really wanted to get the Oreo Brownie Frosty Fusion with a chocolate Frosty (in my Frosty Swirls review, the vanilla version of the brownie batter one got a skip), but rules are rules. It had to be vanilla for this review. With the addition of Oreo cookie bits, though, I really enjoyed this combo. The brownie batter sauce and the Oreo bits balanced well with the vanilla Frosty.

My one complaint here — and this is going to become a refrain across the entire Frosty Fusion lineup — is that the mix-ins were barely, well, mixed in. I’m not sure what Wendy’s is using, if they’re using anything, to ensure that Frosty Fusions are consistent from top to bottom, my Oreo Brownie Frosty Fusion had everything slightly mixed in at the very top before becoming a plain vanilla Frosty as you moved lower.

Final verdict: BUY

Pop-Tarts Strawberry Frosty Fusion

My thoughts: The Pop-Tarts Strawberry Frosty Fusion was the one in this lineup that I was most looking forward to. The Strawberry Pop-Tart is a classic, hall-of-fame Pop-Tart flavor, and the Strawberry Frosty Swirl was the standout of April’s debuts, with the chocolate version being my favorite and the vanilla version being Caitlin’s favorite.

The Pop-Tarts Crunchy Poppers are the perfect size and format for a Frosty Fusion. (I’ve definitely snacked on a bag of them during a recent car trip.) I just wish there were more of them. I think Wendy’s knows that they’re skimping a bit on all these Fusion mix-ins based on the fact that the app has the option to add extra sauces, purees, pieces and bits for everyone on of these Frosty varieties. Some extra Pop-Tarts Crunchy Poppers are probably worth that fifty-cent uncharge.

Once again, I consumed the Pop-Tart bits at the top of my Frosty Fusion and was very quickly left with a vanilla Frosty with some strawberry mixed in.

Final verdict: BUY

Caramel Crunch Frosty Fusion

My thoughts: This one was a dud. Like both the chocolate and vanilla versions of the Caramel Frosty Swirl, the Caramel Crunch Frosty Fusion is a skip. Wendy’s caramel syrup doesn’t have enough punch to not got lost in the Frosty base, those toffee pieces aren’t substantial enough to make up for that dilution.

My guess is that getting the Caramel Crunch Frosty Fusion in chocolate would result in an even less impactful caramel/toffee flavor.

Final verdict: SKIP

One final thought

At the end of the snacking day, Frosty Fusions exist to compete with the likes of McDonald’s McFlurry and Dairy Queen’s Blizzard. (Can you still get a Friend-Z at Friendly’s?) Would I pass on a McFlurry for a Frosty Fusion? If we’re talking about the Pop-Tarts Strawberry Frosty Fusion — and Wendy’s can figure out how to properly mix it — the answer is yes. But if they’re just going to toss some strawberry puree and a handful of Pop-Tart bits on the top of a vanilla Frosty, I’ll stick with the M&Ms McFlurry.