What Is The Actual Flavor Of Moose Tracks Ice Cream?

Some dessert flavors are a little easier to understand than others (i.e. chocolate vs. red velvet). But when you order a scoop of Moose tracks ice cream, what are you actually getting? It's easy to speculate about how the flavor got its name — a scoop of the stuff looks like it has brown ribbons trailing through it, like dirt tracks a moose might leave behind. But here's what it actually means: vanilla ice cream with fudge and peanut butter cups mixed throughout. It's sweet, salty, creamy, and chocolatey, all in one cone.

Technically, the true version of the flavor is made with the "famous Moose Tracks fudge" from the Moose Tracks company, which is sweet, salty, and dark chocolate. It's the brand who created the flavor in the first place, although plenty of other companies and homemade dessert makers now whip up their versions of the stuff. 

Some brands, like Favorite Day and Gifford's, use Moose Tracks fudge to make their own pints, the latter of which features mini peanut butter cups instead of the larger ones. And homemade recipes may sub out the fudge ribbons for a sauce, add in cocoa powder, and chop up the peanut butter cups. But in its original state, the Moose tracks flavor involves simple vanilla ice cream with the peanut butter and fudge additions.

Although it's easy to assume the flavor's name came from the trails of fudge throughout the scoops, that's actually a misconception. According to Moose Tracks, the ice cream was inspired by a mini golf course with the same name in Michigan, where the creators first came up with the flavor in 1988. 

Once the dessert was developed, it was originally sold at a dairy right next to the golf course. It took off from there in the 1990s and is now a licensed flavor by Denali Flavors, sold under a variety of brand names. For instance, the original Moose tracks is made into pints sold by Albertsons Signature Select, Giant Eagle, Hershey's Ice Cream, and many more.   

And the original version isn't the only one Denali licenses out. Among others, it has now created Extreme! Moose Tracks with chocolate ice cream and fudge-filled cups and Peppermint Bark Moose Tracks made with peppermint ice cream and bark. So the next time you see a Moose Tracks logo on grocery store ice cream packaging, you'll know you're getting a pint made (at least in part) with the flavors from the original company.