If you love the mess of an ice cream sandwich but hate getting your fingers cold, your moment has arrived. What a time to be alive!
We have Australian mom and businesswoman Kelly Arvan to thank for this creamy, crunchy paradox: The McDonald’s McFlurry Hash Browns Sandwich. Her family’s TikTok is full of wild snack attacks, but the first one they uploaded is a hilarious masterclass in cooperative gnoshing. Not wanting to wake their sleeping baby, they silently take turns smearing soft Danish cheese and pitted dates onto wraps, rolling them, and feeding each other in a wordless, seamless dance so sweet and funny, it’s been viewed over 1.4 million times.
The McFlurry sandwich is all her, though. Arvan tells me she had a random craving for both hash browns and ice cream in bed one night, and the next morning, she headed straight to her local “Macca’s” in Point Cook, near Melbourne, to try it out. The local crew there are big fans of the Arvan family review videos, and cheered them on in the drive-thru. Even Arvan wasn’t sure whether this one would be the treat of her dreams, or a hashdud, until she tried it.
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“I dreamed about this,” she says. “Salty, crunchy, potato-y, sweet.” It’s gone in just a minute or two.
More than 5.6 million people have watched Arvan wax poetic about this sandwich, and she is having a great time seeing all the reactions, almost all of which are positive. And the employees at the Arvan family’s local Macca’s aren’t the only ones to get in on the fun. TikToker Jordan Howlett got a hot tip from his local restaurant’s staff: Add bacon.
The Scene
With near-universal praise, it seems like a must. I found a McDonald’s location on the app showing both Hash Browns and McFlurries available at 9 a.m. (a McMiracle!), decided to try the M&M's version from Arvan’s second review, and had a big bite.
And then I had another big bite. I’m not surprised this one is making the rounds. It’s reminiscent of a more familiar salty-sweet fast food combo — Wendy’s Frosty and fries — but even more decadent, and the texture from the candy seals the deal. If I try the Oreo flavor (and I will), I plan to eat it parfait-style, with Hash Brown bits sprinkled on top like unholy granola, because it melts in a flash, and there’s a risk of squishy ‘taters.
That’s not the only reason to check the local time and temp before heading out. Since not every McDonald’s offers ice cream in the morning, some fans resort to going through the drive-thru twice, once for the Hash Browns right before breakfast hours end, and a few minutes later when the menu ticks over for lunch items.
TikToker Courtney Mangan noticed the warm potato with cold ice cream equals something of a boon for those with sensitive teeth, too — the warm potato keeps the cold ice cream from causing that frosty jolt. And, since it’s wintertime in Oz, it’s a hand-warming seasonal treat in its home territory.
Arvan tells us this is just the latest in a long line of her own crazy cravings, but it’s led to a series of videos trying strange combination snacks that commenters swear they love, like Nutella and cucumber, or banana bread grilled cheese, with lots more planned.
If you want to give this one a try, bring your biggest, speediest appetite, or maybe some friends; there’s more than enough McFlurry for three or four sandwiches, and it melts faster than a Christmas snowman in Sydney.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
