A Beloved Dairy Queen Dessert Vanished – But It's Actually Still Available, If You Know What To Ask For

They say, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder," and that sentiment can easily be applied to discontinued fast food items. Case in point — Dairy Queen's Oreo Brownie Earthquake (sometimes just called the Brownie Earthquake). A host of online articles and Reddit boards have lamented the loss of DQ's take on the classic brownie sundae. Simple but rich, it consisted of vanilla soft serve, brownie chunks, hot fudge, and marshmallow sauce, topped with Oreo cookies. But before you shed another nostalgic tear, fans need to know they can still delight in this earth-shaking treat, albeit under a different name. In 2019, Dairy Queen introduced a "new" item that's really just a rebrand of this gone-but-not-forgotten sweet.

It contains all the same ingredients, but served in a cup rather than a bowl. Don't believe us? Take it from Miranda, a Dairy Queen District Manager in Michigan. "The most popular old menu item was an Oreo Brownie Earthquake," she explained on TikTok, elaborating that DQ had released a retooled version called Brownie and OREO Cupfection, which she admitted, "... is pretty much the same ... but they're using chocolate syrup instead of hot fudge and the brownie ... is just slightly different." But, if the chocolate syrup kills it for you, just ask them to swap it for hot fudge and you're back in business. Still, some die-hards may not be satisfied but let's just chalk that up to how food nostalgia guides our approach to eating.

Though there's no official word on when the iconic dessert bit the Oreo-crumb dust, a May 2015 exchange on game developer Bungie's official chatboard seems to capture the moment of impact. First, the sad news was announced, "Dairy Queen discontinued the brownie earthquake," someone says. The reply comes, "Noooooooo. That was the best thing on the menu." Followed by, "Didn't it like just get announced?" While some grumble about settling for a, "generic blizzard," one commenter tries looking on the bright side, encouraging, "The Oreo [blizzard] one is really good." The exchange ends with, "They are, but...but muh brownie earthquake is gone."

And these ardent DQ devotees would be out of luck for four years, until Dairy Queen introduced their Brownie and OREO Cupfection as a summer treat in April 2019.  But weirdly, it seems the word just hasn't gotten out about this really simple revamp of the much-beloved sundae. Even on recent Reddit boards discussing the Cupfection, one user says, "Reminds me of the brownie earthquake they had years ago," to which another commenter replies, "Do they not have it any more?" to which they receive the response, "Nope it's no longer," with a crying emoji. Conclusion — just get the Cupfection. Sub the fudge, close your eyes if you have to, or put it in a bowl, but as Miranda of DQ Michigan said, it's "pretty much the same." Now, whatever happened to the Oreo Brownie Earthquake Blizzard?