Nicole Amaral and I were on a quest to find the best Cookies and Cream in Morris County. We traveled to Madison, Chatham, and Morristown on Wednesday, January 3, to discover which town’s ice cream shop has the best cookies and cream ice cream. The shops visited were Madison’s McCools, Chatham’s Scoops, and Morristown’s Beanie’s.
First stop was McCools. McCools has two locations in both Summit and Madison; they sell Hershey’s brand ice cream. Many locals in Madison have clung to this ice cream shop as a place to come together after sports events, to purchase ice cream cakes for every occasion, and even just to get a scoop of ice cream after a long day of school. Although the ice cream is not homemade, there is always consistency and familiar faces behind the counter for those from town. The shop is cozy but with sufficient seating. While we both have frequented and enjoyed McCool’s in the past, after this taste test, we concluded that their cookies and cream ice cream was a bit too sweet. There were large pieces of Oreos, but not very many. The flavor was very average; it wasn’t anything that blew Nicole and I away. In the end, we found it unremarkable.
The second stop of the night was Scoops in Chatham. Scoops is relatively new to Chatham. The owners also own another food store in town called Chatham Sandwich Shop, which has also provided food at Centercourt Club. Scoops sells Gifford’s ice cream and has a large space for dining in. There is actually a second room, which you must exit to enter, they are not internally connected. When tasting the cookies and cream, the ice cream seemed more condensed with stronger flavors. The ice cream was creamier and not as sweet. We both gave Scoops a better rating than McCools, as the ice cream seemed more unique and above average.
The final stop was Beanie’s of Morristown. Beanie’s is located close to the train station in Morristown. It is named after a family dog and run by Tony Franco, who claims that he thoroughly enjoys running this small business. The shop is filled with colors and has a turf floor, which is attractive to the eye, and follows the dog theme of the store. When trying their cookies and cream ice cream, Nicole and I were very impressed. Although there was bad parking, there was a lot of space for dining in. The ice cream to oreo ratio satisfied us both and the ice cream tasted fresh. Beanie’s was therefore the best cookies and cream ice cream of all three shops.
While no ice cream is bad, and we did enjoy all three shops, if you are looking for the best cookies and cream in Morris County we recommend Beanie’s of Morristown.