J.J. Scoops – Clinton, NJ

Part of the reason behind creating this ice cream blog was to give us an opportunity to explore new places and see what ice cream shop gems are out there. This week, the gem happened to be an ice cream shop that was less than ten miles away from where I have lived pretty much my entire life. It only took over two decades for me to get there…. And, now that I’ve been, I know I’ll be back.

J.J. Scoops is located in the cute, quaint downtown Clinton, NJ. You can’t miss it’s bright pink doors and shutters! The shop has an adorable classic ice cream shop feel, which I loved.

Colorful signs with wording and artwork line the walls and windows, and boast of the shop’s numerous delectable treats. There is seating on the sidewalk in the front of the shop, as well as a patio out back.

• 

Personally, I preferred to walk up the street a bit and find a bench where I enjoyed my ice cream overlooking the water and the Red Mill, for which Clinton is known.

• 

• 

The shop has a lot of unique flavors of homemade ice cream, sundaes, milkshakes, and many other treats. Best of all, they allowed samples, so you bet I tried quite a few flavors before making my ultimate decision. The flavors range from the classic (vanilla, chocolate, fudge ripple, and chocolate chip cookie dough) to seasonal favorites (apple pie and pumpkin) to specialty flavors (Jolted Cow, Cinnamon Churro, Bourbon Pecan). I enjoyed every flavor that I tried!

I tried samples of both the Maple Walnut and Bourbon Pecan. The Maple Walnut was sweet and the nuts added a lovely crunch. I also enjoyed the Bourbon Pecan – I’ve never had bourbon ice cream and I loved the taste of it.

• 

• 

The Flavor Review:

Peanut Butter Moose Tracks: I’ve never seen Moose Tracks with a peanut butter base, so this was a must try for me. It featured the classic chocolate swirls with mini peanut butter cups nestled in a peanut butter ice cream. The highlight was the sheet of chocolate that was in the ice cream. I’ve never seen such large proportions of chocolate in a moose tracks ice cream and it was delicious – the chocolate simply melted in my mouth. However, I was disappointed by the peanut butter base, as the peanut butter flavor wasn’t very strong. In some bites it tasted almost like I was eating regular moose tracks (with a vanilla base). So, as a peanut butter ice cream aficionado, this ice cream base wasn’t my favorite.

Jolted Cow: Besides for having a creative name, this flavor had an espresso sweet cream base, a salted caramel swirl, and chewy brownie pieces. It was quite good! The dominant flavor was definitely the salted caramel, but I did get notes of espresso as well. The salted caramel was so impressive – it was thick and swirled generously throughout the ice cream. The brownie pieces were a perfect size to add some chew and chocolatey-ness without dominating the flavor. This was my favorite flavor of the day!

Overall Scoops (out of 5):

4.5 Scoops: Overall, I was very impressed with the breadth and the taste of the flavors. Each flavor that I tasted was rich and creamy, and chock-full of add-ins and swirls that delivered with texture and more flavor. The only thing that disappointed me was the peanut butter base in the Moose Tracks – I would have loved a stronger peanut butter flavor. But I can assure you that I will definitely be back to try the many other flavors that J.J. Scoops has to offer!