Benton’s Pumpkin Spice Cookies (ALDI)

$2.49

Most of my pumpkin provisions tend to come from Trader Joe’s, however just about any grocer will come up with any seasonal item that keeps shoppers on the edge of their carts.  It’s only fitting that TJ’s sister shop is, also, one of the leaders in this category as well.  ALDI has been cranking out inspired seasonal fare at a rate that can compete with their sibling, sometimes offering the same products at a cheaper rate.  There are times when you’ll even see the same products of with a different box lining each of their shelves.  There will be some subtle differences in the two products, ranging from ingredient tweaking to sizes of packaging.  ALDI tends to have the better prices and Trader Joe’s the better ingredients.  On a recent visit to ALDI, I was staking out some pumpkin products when I noticed a soft pumpkin spice cookie from Benton’s (ALDI’s cookie supplier).  It looked strangely familiar and not at the same time.  Turns out that Trader Joe’s offers a similar eggnog cookie around Christmas time that can only be made by the same company, Benton’s, which TJ’s private labels.  Remembering how delicious that one was, I had to pick up this Pumpkin Spice Cookie from ALDI just to see how it stacked up.  Here’s what I thought:

perfect for parties

Benton’s doesn’t really get too creative with their packaging, and justly so, as their products are quite a bit cheaper than just about anything you can find on the market.  These soft, chewy cookies only ran $2.49 which is quite a deal as I would only expect to spend almost twice that at a major grocery store.  I tore into the package and was greeted by four lines of six soft cookies.  I snagged the first one out of its row and promptly bit into the cookie.  It was exactly what I said it was, and was full of pumpkin spice flavor.  Before I began sampling this product, I had told myself that I would only eat the one.  This wasn’t going to happen and I began gorging myself into the whole row finishing off every last one in line like a firing squad.  I couldn’t help it.  They were damn good and looked so tasty with their slight drizzle of white icing decorating each one.  With a row depleted, I regained my strength and shoved the rest of the delightful cookies back into their box, carefully sealing it so they wouldn’t dry out.  This was a relapse in willpower that will surely return the next time I open this box. I highly suggest going out to your local ALDI and snagging a few boxes of these as they are bound to sell out at some point in the season.  If you wait too long and get there and they’re sold out, FORK U.  I gave you a heads up