Wendy’s is officially rolling out a new spring menu today, adding some sweet and spicy items to its lineup. On the sweet side, watermelon has a starring role in Watermelon Lemonade, Watermelon Sparkling Energy and even Sprite Watermelon. On the spicy side, jalapeño kicks up the heat with a Jalapeño Ranch Cheeseburger, Jalapeño Bacon Breakfast Potatoes and Jalapeño Breakfast Biscuits.
But the star of this spring lineup has to be the new Cookie Dough Frosty Fusion.
This is Wendy’s first new Frosty flavor since we got the Girl Scout Thin Mints Frostys back in February. Unlike those flavors, Wendy’s says that the Cookie Dough Frosty Fusion is a part of the restaurant’s core menu, calling it “creamy, indulgent and here to stay.”
“With spring comes warmer weather and refreshing changes in routines, and we are seeing an appetite for bold flavors that mix comfort and discovery,” Lindsay Radkoski, chief marketing officer at Wendy’s, said in the company’s announcement. “Whether it’s something nostalgic, like cookie dough or a bold kick of spicy jalapeño, guests are seeking out menu items that simply feel fun. We’re committed to delivering fresh flavors for every fan with the quality they expect from Wendy’s.”
While this entire menu goes live today, the Cookie Dough Frosty Fusion was actually available early if you ordered it through the app starting last Thursday. Allegedly.
I’ve never had a problem getting any of these Snackology items the day they go live (or even sometimes a few days early), I was actually at my parents’ house in the Rochester suburbs last week, and every Wendy’s in that area absolutely did not have the Cookie Dough Frosty Fusion. I tried. A bunch of times. The Wendy’s app was happy to let me order and pay for the new Frosty, but when I got to a location, they kept trying to offer me an Oreo Frosty instead.
This is how I wound up at Wendy’s at 11 a.m. on Sunday when I was back in Northern Virginia. Was it worth it?
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You know drill when it comes to a Snackology review of a new Frosty. In this newsletter, we believe that a Frosty is supposed to be chocolate. Other flavors may come and go, but chocolate is the default and go-to mode for a Frosty.
Of course the classic chocolate Frosty was going to pair well with these new cookie dough pieces. The introduction of the Fusion line is quite possibly the best thing to ever happen to Frostys, and tossing cookie dough bits into the mix feels like the natural next step for the frozen dessert.
Each version of the Cookie Dough Frosty Fusion has two key elements: The cookie dough pieces and the brownie batter sauce. The latter was pretty much perfect from the moment Wendy’s introduced it with the Frosty Fusions last year. And the fast food chain nailed the cookie dough bits too. They’re soft but not too soft. There’s a bit of a bite to them.
I’m glad I didn’t give up when it came to hunting down this Frosty.
There’s a very good chance that the vanilla version of the Cookie Dough Frosty Fusion is the best version of the vanilla Frosty that Wendy’s has ever rolled out.
If you’ve read Snackology long enough, you know my thoughts on the vanilla Frosty. It’s too artificial. Its flavor overpowers whatever mix-ins are added. But the Cookie Dough Vanilla Frosty Fusion? This is the vanilla Frosty that I’ve been waiting for.
The combo of the vanilla Frosty and the cookie dough pieces deliver that classic cookie dough ice cream flavor that you hopefully know and love.
My only complaint about the vanilla version of the Cookie Dough Frosty Fusion? The one I got on Sunday had all the brownie batter sauce at the bottom while most of the cookie dough bits were at the top. For a cookie dough-forward Frosty, I guess that’s the best version of a Frosty that still needed proper mixing, but I would’ve loved to have easily had the cookie dough pieces and the brownie batter sauce in one spoonful without having to dig my way down to the bottom of the cup.
The Omnicosm founder. Snackology, Popculturology and The Cold Open writer. A Rochester, N.Y., native now living in the Washington, D.C., area. Won’t pass up a Genny Cream Ale.
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