A miracle has happened. Walking through Target, I noticed a freezer case ahead, lighting up magically as I approached (no really--Target's coolers have motion sensors), and I beheld... Magnum ice cream bars.
First, a brief narrative. When I lived in Europe, I was sadly disappointed by the quality of pre-packaged ice cream treats: the European equivalents of fudgsicles and Nutty Buddies. The "ice cream" was light on the tongue, almost foamy, a far cry from the dense, rich American ice cream I was used to. One day (late in my year, sadly), I was lamenting this disappointment to an American friend, when she asked, "Wait, haven't you ever had a Magnum bar?" No, I hadn't. Fortunately, one was available for purchase at that location.
I was instantly overcome and in love. Not only did the Magnum live up to my hopes of dense, creamy goodness--it surpassed them. The Magnum ice cream bar is the best ice cream bar I have eaten to date, American or European, hands down. The classic Magnum is vanilla ice cream robed in thick milk chocolate. The only thing better than discovering the Magnum was discovering the Double Chocolate Magnum, which is a milk chocolate ice cream bar surrounded by a double wall of ganache and chocolate.
And now, apparently, they have made their journey across the pond and landed in Target. They are pricey--$4 for three bars--but I didn't care. I bought two boxes, Double Chocolate and Double Caramel, and I think I plan to share...maybe.
According to Wikipedia, Magnum is manufactured by the British/Dutch company Unilever, and has just debuted in the U.S. this year. Cheers! Whistles! Applause! Now go get your own box.