Article

More than figgy pudding and good cheer

November 22, 2010

By Amanda French

‘Tis the season to get together with friends and family, give thanks, eat, drink and be merry. Quick-service chains have already gotten into the holiday spirit, launching a barrage of limited-time offers that would even make Scrooge giddy with joy.

Talking turkey
Through Nov. 25, Bojangles’ Famous Chicken and Biscuitshas the turkey covered.
Bojangles’ is offering whole, seasoned, fried turkeys weighing in at 10 to 13 pounds that could feed six to eight people. These fully-cooked turkeys are fried to a golden brown and feature Bojangles’ famous seasoning.

The chain is also offering all of the Thanksgiving fixings with made-from-scratch buttermilk biscuits, mashed potatoes, mac n’ cheese, green beans, Cajun pintos and dirty rice. Bojangles’ restaurants will be open on Thanksgiving day until 2 p.m.

Popeyes’ Louisiana Kitchenis also spicing up the bird for Thanksgiving. These Cajun-style turkeys, approximately 9 to 11 pounds, will be available through December or until supplies last. They are infused with a unique blend of Louisiana seasonings and flash-fried for a crispy coating before roasting.

… And for dessert
This season, Baskin-Robbinsis bringing back an old classic – the Turkey Cake – and also adding some new favorites with the harvest roll cake, turtle pie, praline caramel ice cream cake and premium churned light gingerbread man ice cream.

The Turkey Cake is shaped like a turkey, and is the perfect centerpiece for the dinner table. Customers can choose from chocolate or caramel glaze and enjoy eating sugar cone turkey legs. The Baskin-Robbins Turkey Cake feeds 12 to 16 people and has a suggested retail price of $31.99.

The harvest roll cake features a fudge frosted roll cake with decorations of leaves and pumpkins on top. The turtle pie features pralines ‘n cream ice cream on a chocolate pie crust drizzled with caramel glaze and topped with pecans and a fudge border.

The praline caramel ice cream cake features a devil’s food cake with vanilla and pralines ‘n cream ice cream frosted with whipped topping and a caramel glaze. Through November, Baskin-Robbins’ flavor of the month is premium churned light gingerbread man ice cream. This new ice cream is part of Baskin-Robbins line of BRight Choices, which has 50 percent less fat and 20 percent less calories than regular ice cream.

Dunkin’ Donutsis bringing the holiday cheer with a classic flavor line-up of gingerbread flavors, including muffins and cookies.

The gingerbread muffin is topped with a sugar coating and white icing drizzle and sold at a suggested retail price of $1.39. The gingerbread cookie is only available in the New England and Metro New York regions. The cookie is topped with a white icing drizzle and is sold for 99 percent.

In addition, Dunkin’ Donuts offers many seasonal donuts, such as the gingerbread donut, a cake donut covered in glaze, and the “Sprinkle the Cheer” donut, a yeast ring donut with red icing and holly berry sprinkles. Both donuts are sold for 89 cents each.

Cinnabon has contributed to the season with items such as the Mint Mochalatta Chill and the Pecanbon Center of the Roll. The Mint Mochalatta Chill encompasses the joys of mint and coffee over ice. The Pecanbon Center of the Roll features bite-sized pieces of sweet cinnamon roll with pecans and caramel topping.

Marble Slab Creameryhas added four cakes and pies to greet the season. The ornament cakes are decorated like ornaments on a yellow or chocolate cake and filled with your favorite ice cream. The peppermint happy holiday cake is either a yellow or chocolate cake and served with your favorite ice cream and topped with peppermints. The pumpkin cheesecake pie combines two holiday classics topped with whipped cream and walnuts. For the more traditional types, try the pumpkin pie, with all of the familiar holiday spices, topped with whipped cream and dusted with cinnamon.

Chick-fil-Ahas brought back its peppermint chocolate chip milkshake for the holidays. This hand-spun milkshake is made with Chick-fil-A’s home-style Icedream and finished off with whipped topping and a cherry. Milkshakes are available in 14 oz. or 20 oz. for $2.55 and $2.95, respectively.

Yogurtland is offering a different yogurt flavor each day from Dec. 1 through Dec. 12, mirroring the 12 days of Christmas. Yogurtland’s “Twelve Days of Yuletide Yumminess” promotion features classic and traditional holiday tastes along with sneak previews of new flavors such as brownie batter and white chocolate macadamia. The different frozen yogurt flavors will only be available for one day and include:

• Dec. 1- One Eggnog noggin
• Dec. 2- Two Nuttrbuttrs nipping at your nose
• Dec. 3- Three Blueberry Tarts a-bursting
• Dec. 4- Four Brownie Batters stirring
• Dec. 5- Five S’mores a-melting
• Dec. 6- Six Yuzus yule love
• Dec. 7- Seven Butterfingers brightly shinning
• Dec. 8- Eight Chocolate Mint Cookies cooling
• Dec. 9- Nine Tiramisus tingling
• Dec. 10- Ten Chocolate Macaroons a-ringing
• Dec. 11- Eleven White Chocolate Macadamias making merry
• Dec. 12- Twelve Gingerbread yogurts jingling all the way

After dinner drinks
Seasonal coffees have begun appearing on menus, as the cooler weather sets in. McDonald’sjust introduced its newest addition to the McCafe line – the caramel mocha. This drink features a blend of caramel, mocha and espresso and is topped with whipped cream and caramel drizzle.

Dunkin’ Donuts added a low-calorie version of its gingerbread-flavored coffee to its seasonal line-up. The gingerbread coffee and lattes are available in hot or cold. Additionally, the chain is filling stockings with its new retail line of holiday-flavored packaged coffee. Special flavors, available at grocery stores, include vanilla nut, pumpkin spice and mocha mint.