10 Secret Menu Dairy Queen Blizzards To Satisfy Your Ice Cream Craving
Nothing seems to hit quite as right as a Dairy Queen Blizzard on the hottest days of the year. Blended smooth with any mix-ins of your choice, Blizzards have an option for just about anybody, whether you're a chocoholic, a lover of classics, or a fruit fanatic.
The Dairy Queen Blizzard menu is extensive with endless topping combinations, so much that it can feel impossible to pick. Dairy Queen regularly updates its seasonal menu to give us fresh options, but have you ever longed for a Blizzard of the past? Or craved a shake version of one of your other favorite desserts? Just like with other beloved drive-through chains, Dairy Queen fans and employees have curated a secret menu to either replicate past limited edition Blizzards or create something entirely new.
We've gone ahead and tried 10 of those secret blizzards to let you know if they're worth a trip to DQ or if they're ... better off kept as secrets. The dog days of summer are approaching, so with temps inching ever-higher, head to your local Dairy Queen and ask for your favorite from our list.
Butterbeer Bilzzard
Harry Potter fans love to see a good Butterbeer replication. Since there is unfortunately no official recipe for this magical flavored ale from one of our favorite fictional worlds, the interpretation of what Butterbeer should taste like varies from person to person and place to place. The secret Dairy Queen Butterbeer Blizzard is made by ordering a vanilla Blizzard with Butterfinger and butterscotch (or caramel if butterscotch isn't available) mix-ins. And in our opinion, the witches and wizards of Diagon Alley would be disappointed.
The taste of Butterfinger candies in this Blizzard didn't seem quite right for mimicking Butterbeer, and we liken that to the peanut butter in Butterfinger. Most Butterbeer copycats we've tried, whether it be ice cream or coffee or a soda-like beverage, taste mostly of butterscotch and caramel. If you're hoping for a Butterbeer rendition that Harry would approve of, either pass this Blizzard up or try asking for butterscotch and caramel mix-ins, sans Butterfinger.
Of course, it's hard to make a Blizzard taste bad, so this one, in fact, did taste very good. It's not to say you wouldn't enjoy it — it just doesn't scream Butterbeer. We give it a 5 out of 10.
Caramel Pie Delight Blizzard
There's one problem with trying to replicate pie-inspired Blizzards right now: Most Dairy Queens have run out of pie pieces for the year and don't begin restocking them until the fall. The secret Dairy Queen Caramel Pie Delight Blizzard calls for a vanilla Blizzard mixed up with caramel, fudge, chocolate chunks, and pie pieces. We had to substitute Nilla Wafers for the pie pieces.
The source of this secret shake says it's inspired by chocolate turtle pie — we don't feel like chocolate turtle or caramel delight describes this pie Blizzard. A turtle implies chocolate, caramel, and a nut of choice (often peanuts or pecans), but there were no nuts in this recipe. The fudge and chocolate chunks also distract from the caramel.
We recommend nixing the fudge and chocolate chunks and asking for extra caramel to really stick to what this Blizzard is supposed to be. If anything were to describe this one, we think it would be Twix. There's caramel and chocolate, and a nougat-like crunch from the wafers. Is it as delightfully caramelly as the name claims? No. Is it still a decadent Blizzard that you'll enjoy ever last bite of? Of course. We say 6 out of 10 for this not-quite-caramel delight, not-quite-turtle Blizzard.
Cookie Jar Blizzard
Who took the cookie from the cookie jar? Whoever did decided to throw the cookies into a blender with ice cream and see what happens — and we approve. The Cookie Jar Blizzard is made with vanilla soft serve, Oreo, cookie dough, and hot fudge. This secret menu resident is actually fans prolonging the special flavor of the month for April 2019, and since all its components are permanent menu fixtures, cookie monsters everywhere need not worry about getting their fix.
The chunks of cookie dough and Oreo pieces mesh well in this cookie mash-up, but there is more Oreo flavor than there is cookie dough. The crushed Oreo throughout the Blizzard can be tasted in each bite, but no cookie dough flavor is evident until you're lucky enough to scoop up a chunk.
Perhaps Dairy Queen will someday come out with a third cookie mix-in to add another delicious element to this Blizzard — or you could try adding in Nilla Wafers for more crunch and vanilla flavor. On its own, this secret menu treat is perfect for when you can't decide what dessert to have. A 7 out of 10 for the Cookie Jar Blizzard.
Samoa Blizzard
The Girl Scout cookie cravings seem to always be the strongest when it's not selling season. Samoa — one of the best Girl Scout cookies out there, in our opinion – is a mix of buttery shortbread, caramel, toasted coconut and dark chocolate. As a cookie, these ingredients are great, but as a Blizzard? Sounds like heaven. The online recipe for the secret Dairy Queen Samoa Blizzard calls for a Twix blizzard with chocolate cone dip and coconut added in. However, our local Blizzard didn't have Twix — Twix candy pieces were kept in stock for a special summer Blizzard in 2018 — so we had to substitute fudge, caramel, and Nilla wafers instead.
Our expectations were high and, unfortunately, not met. The first three or four bites of this Blizzard yielded no coconut taste at all. The flavor did finally join the party about a quarter of the way into the Blizzard, but we were hopeful for a strong coconut flavor from the start — because that is, after all, the leading flavor in the Girl Scout Cookie.
We also think the chocolate cone dip can be left out if you too have to substitute fudge for Twix. The chocolate was just a touch too strong with both. Overall, the Samoa Blizzard comes in at a 7 out of 10 — a bit more coconut next time and we'll give a few points back.
Birthday Cake Blizzard
Birthday cake flavor and ice cream are like peas and carrots, only tastier. This secret Dairy Queen menu item is a vanilla Blizzard with cookie dough, rainbow sprinkles, and vanilla syrup. Sounds delicious in theory, looks like a yummy heap of cake-flavored goodness ... but let's just say that, if this were given to us on our birthday, we'd be too bummed out to even open presents.
While the flavor of vanilla is very strong because of the added syrup, there is no cake-like element to this Blizzard at all. Cake batter in ice cream has a distinctive flavor, but the cookie dough falls short in replicating that. The texture is all off, too; cake batter is normally smooth and mixed entirely into the shake, but DQ cookie dough comes in chunks.
Because of what we were expecting, this secret Blizzard is a disappointment. Sadly, we don't really think there is a way to create a birthday cake flavor in a Blizzard without actual birthday cake flavoring or batter (sprinkles, while pretty, don't do the trick on their own). Just 3 out of 10 for this not-so-happy Birthday Blizzard.
Banana Creme Pie Blizzard
Calling banana lovers everywhere: This is the Blizzard for you. The secret Dairy Queen Banana Creme Pie Blizzard is a way to keep a fan favorite all the way from 2012 alive. It's made with vanilla soft serve, sliced banana, pie pieces (or Nilla Wafers, depending on your store's stock), and whipped cream both blended in and on top.
This was easily one of our favorites out of all the Blizzards we tried, and the closest to tasting like what it replicates. The banana gets blended completely so the ice cream is still smooth, and it's extra creamy with the added whip. We think the Nilla Wafers tasted even better with the banana than pie pieces would have — more on par with banana pudding than banana creme pie, and not as overbearingly sweet as other Blizzards can be with its lack of syrup mix-ins. Where the sweetness of other Blizzards might be too much before you're finished, this one is enjoyable all the way to the end.
Of course, there's no reason to order this one if you hate bananas, but the banana flavor is not nearly as strong as you may think, since it has so many other ingredients to harmonize with. The Banana Creme Pie Blizzard gets a 9 out of 10 in our book, losing a point only because we ordered a small. It's not that weird to ask for seconds ... right?
Mocha Latte Blizzard
The secret Dairy Queen Mocha Latte Blizzard is for all those times you're stuck between getting coffee and getting ice cream. Ask for this Blizzard by ordering chocolate soft serve with coffee and dark chocolate syrup added. The recipe calls for whipped cream, which you can leave off.
For coffee lovers, this Blizzard is rich and enjoyable. The coffee flavor is on the stronger side, which may be a reason to skip this one for some. However, the taste of this shake is still very balanced: The strong coffee is equalized by the sweet ice cream, which is toned down by the dark chocolate, which is accented by the strong coffee (again). The Mocha Latte Blizzard is lacking in texture since it has no mix-ins, which are most of what makes Blizzards unique, but the scrumptious flavor did more than enough to compensate.
Our only beef with the Mocha Latte Blizzard: When the heck do you order it? As much as we hate to say it, you can't (and shouldn't) have an ice-cream based coffee drink in the mornings when you would normally have coffee. But there's caffeine in this Blizzard, so you may not want it as an after-dinner dessert if you're sensitive to caffeine. This Blizzard may be best as an afternoon treat to beat the heat.
We dub the Mocha Latte Blizzard a 7 out of 10, but we recommend choosing a candy mix-in to spice it up a bit and ranking it yourself.
Puppy Chow Blizzard
Midwesterners unite! The secret Dairy Queen Puppy Chow Blizzard is about to become your favorite dessert. Everyone else, don't be alarmed: This beloved regional snack is not made with dog food, as its name might suggest. Traditional Puppy Chow is Rice Chex cereal doused in peanut butter and melted chocolate, then coated in powder sugar. It's messy, sugary, and oh-so-good. The Blizzard version is vanilla soft serve, graham pieces, fudge, and peanut butter, blended up and topped with whipped cream. The online recipe also called for Dairy Queen's graham base, but our location didn't have this in stock, so we omitted it.
As delicious as all of these Blizzards were, this one is our favorite. It tastes just like this Midwestern childhood treat, but better. (Because adding ice cream to something can only improve it, right?) Peanut butter can easily overpower other flavors, but it was very balanced in this Blizzard (there could have even been just a touch more PB, in our opinion). We would have liked just a bit more texture in this Blizzard and will ask for extra graham pieces next time, since actual Puppy Chow is meant to be crunchy, after all.
Even if you've never had the real thing, you'll be happy you gave the Puppy Chow Blizzard a try. An easy 10 out of 10 for this secret menu item.
Sugar Cookie Blizzard
Have you ever craved a sugar cookie, but just didn't have the gusto to spend the whole afternoon in the kitchen? The secret Dairy Queen Sugar Cookie Blizzard is an easy compromise. Made with vanilla soft serve, rainbow sprinkles, marshmallow creme, and graham pieces (we substituted this in for the out-of-stock pie chips), this is the perfect DQ treat for sweet-tooth-havers out there who aren't big on chocolate.
This Blizzard is creamy and very sweet, no doubt thanks to the marshmallow creme. You could leave it out if you really wanted to; however, it seems to be a necessary component for the sugar cookie flavor. The sprinkles and graham pieces add nice texture, but we think the graham flavor altered this Blizzard slightly, and that pie chips would have worked better for this recipe.
Don't wait until pie chips are back in stock to give this a try, though. You'll enjoy it all the same with graham pieces, because they add that crunchiness of a cookie you'd expect in a cookie-inspired Blizzard. It's a 9 out of 10 for the Sugar Cookie Blizzard, and once pie chips are back in stock, we just might try this again to redeem that lost point.
Sneaky Ninja Blizzard
If you'd like to partake in a fun game played by Dairy Queen employees, try out the secret Dairy Queen Sneaky Ninja Blizzard. This employee-made secret shake is made of vanilla soft serve with four ingredients added: cake crunch, fudge, marshmallow creme, and one more mystery ingredient of the DQ team member's choice — the "something sneaky."
Your fourth mystery ingredient could be anything from flavor syrup to candy to coffee. Our local Blizzard master decided on a banana — and it was, in fact, sneaky. We had no idea what was in our Blizzard until taking the first bite, and while we weren't sure what to expect, we definitely didn't expect banana. This just so happened to taste like a banana split, so the surprise was thoroughly pleasing. If you are up for a surprise and want to let a DQ employee have a laugh, ask for the Sneaky Ninja — and brace yourself, because you never know what you're going to get. Of course, be sure to share any food allergies or sensitivities you have first.
We give the Sneaky Ninja a 7 out of 10. The concept is fun, and we enjoyed interacting with the people making our ice cream. And as an added bonus, our Sneaky Ninja was delicious ... a banana split in a cup.