My wife and I like to end every night with some kind of sweet treat, and while they can change up from time to time, our default option is ending the day with a bowl of delicious ice cream (okay, I’ll confess, I just eat it straight from the carton).

I was perusing the usual suspects when another option caught my eye. Belmont Extreme! Maximum Fudge Moose Tracks ice cream. I know they always carry regular Moose Tracks, but have never seen the “Extreme!” fudge version, which is so “extreme” that it has to have an exclamation point…have they always carried this, and I just haven’t noticed it before? Or is it some sort of seasonal flavor? (Edit: according to their website, this is, in fact, a seasonal flavor.) At any rate, while Moose Tracks wouldn’t qualify as my favorite type of ice cream, I did want something different from the norm, and decided to give this one a go.My wife and I like to end every night with some kind of sweet treat, and while they can change up from time to time, our default option is ending the day with a bowl of delicious ice cream (okay, I’ll confess, I just eat it straight from the carton).

One thing I should mention right off the bat: throw out everything you know about regular Moose Tracks ice cream. I made the mistake of just assuming this would be regular Moose Tracks ice cream, only with a chocolate base, instead of vanilla. However, pay close attention to the “Maximum Fudge” in the product title, which gives you a little clue that this is slightly different than the norm. This version removes one of the best parts of the original: those tasty, teeny peanut butter cups.

Outside of that “minor” (but somewhat disappointing) change, this is regular Moose Tracks, only with a chocolate base; that is, it’s just chocolate ice cream with fudge ribbons laced throughout. Somehow, this makes it feel like less of a value, considering the original has more of a flavor variety spread throughout (between the vanilla, chocolate, and peanut butter), but I guess they make that pretty clear from the packaging that I neglected to read before purchasing.

For all that complaining, though, this is still a solid entry into Belmont’s ice cream line. The chocolate base is good and chocolatey, although it’s pretty much just your typical mass-produced chocolate ice cream. The fudge ribbons are the same ones featured in Belmont’s regular Moose Tracks, so take from what what you will; I think they’re delicious, and pair up well with the ice cream here. I will say that this version does make up for the lack of peanut butter cups by throwing in a ton of the fudge: there was nary a bite where I didn’t have at least a small amount on my spoon. I still think there should be chocolate chips, or some other kind of added ingredient to help vary up the flavor at least a little bit from bite to bite – it does get pretty monotonous after a little while – but

I will say, for all the chocolatey goodness, this doesn’t run the gamut into overly sweet territory, which is also a plus. The chocolate included I would say is more “semi-sweet” than full on milk chocolate, so it’s never over-the-top, even though there’s a lot of it. I would definitely grab this again in the future, when I’m tired of my usuals (cookies and cream, cookie dough), or when there are no Special Buys that tickle my fancy. And at $2.05, you can’t really beat the price.

Overall: 6/10. This is a good seasonal variation on Belmont’s typical Moose Tracks variety, swapping out vanilla ice cream for chocolate, and eliminating the peanut butter cups entirely. While I’m a little disappointed about the second change, this at least partially makes up for it by including a ton of fudge ribbons throughout, which pair up really well with the chocolate. However, it’s still a pretty one-note flavor; I thought they would have at least thrown in some chocolate chips, or some other kind of chocolate ingredient to make up for the missing peanut butter cups. Alas, it’s just chocolate ice cream with fudge ribbons. It’s certainly good, but a little too straightforward for my tastes. For those into that kind of straightforwardness, this is definitely one worth trying.