'Mnookie Dough' Ice Cream to be Phased Out
After Chancellor Mnookin departs for Columbia, 'Mnookie Dough' will eventually go away
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin will assume office as president of Columbia University in July. However, when she leaves UW-Madison, so will Babcock Dairy’s “Mnookie Dough” ice cream.
Students on YikYak and other social media platforms expressed concern about the uncertain future of the popular flavor shortly after Mnookin’s departure was announced. The Madison Federalist can confirm that Mnookie Dough will eventually be discontinued, but students still have time to enjoy the flavor.
In an emailed statement, Babcock Dairy spokeswoman Bethany Jones said, “Once the transition to a new chancellor is made, we will continue our practice of developing a special flavor for that incoming leader, and that will replace the Mnookie Dough.”
After the publication of the article, she clarified that Mnookie Dough will be replaced “at some (distant) point in the future, but that is eventually. No time soon. We have no current plans to do so at the moment.”
Previous Babcock flavors named after UW chancellors included Bec-Key Lime Pie for Chancellor Rebecca Blank and Strawbiddy Swirl for Chancellor Biddy Martin. They were both discontinued after their namesakes’ tenure ended.
She continued, “We will make every effort to create an even better, more delicious new option for everyone who loves Babcock Dairy Ice Cream!”
Mnookie Dough will still be available at events for the Chancellor during her remaining time at UW-Madison and “will work with the next permanent chancellor on a new flavor, should they be interested.”
“We understand the concern, just like Chancellor Mnookin, Mnookie Dough Ice Cream will be a hard act to follow!” The change will not come quickly, as “we just learned of her announcement with everyone else.”
Mnookie Dough was first introduced in 2023. It consists of rich vanilla ice cream with chunks of cookie dough and swirls of fudge and caramel.
Customers can still purchase Mnookie Dough online and wherever Babcock Ice Cream is sold. Jones also said, “Ice cream recipes are retained; we have kept recipes dating back to 1951, and we bring the more popular feature flavors back from time to time.”
This article was updated to include additional comments from Jones clarifying the timeline of Mnookie Dough’s end.