I recently embarked on a delightful journey through Aldi's frozen dessert aisle, armed with my former restaurant pastry chef's expertise and a keen eye for taste, texture, and presentation. I sampled a variety of frozen treats, from classic cheesecakes to innovative mochi, and discovered some gems worth buying and a few duds to skip. Here's my curated list of frozen desserts that will satisfy your sweet tooth without breaking the bank.
Buy:
Specially Selected Assorted Chocolate Macarons
What makes these macarons stand out is their exquisite balance of flavors. The dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, and mocha flavors are pronounced and well-balanced, with a delicate almond flour shell that cracks pleasantly with each bite. The generous filling is sweet, chewy, and full of delightful almond flavor. At $4.99 for a pack of 12, these macarons are a steal, offering a gourmet experience at a fraction of the cost of fancy macaron shops.
Belmont Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake Twin Packs
These cheesecake slices are a convenient and delicious option for cheesecake lovers. The sweet, chewy graham cracker crust holds together nicely, and the cheesecake filling is light and airy, layered with soft whipped topping and swirled with strawberry puree. The strawberry flavor is bright and fruity, and the contrast between the denser cheesecake and the light topping is delightful. Priced at $1.99 for a twin pack, these cheesecakes offer excellent value and are perfect for satisfying a cheesecake craving.
Village PieMaker Mini Pecan Pies
These mini pecan pies are a rich and indulgent treat, boasting a deep, rich brown sugar flavor and loaded with chopped pecans. The crust is exceptional, flaky and buttery, and the pies are fully baked, making them easy to serve straight from the freezer. While they can be enjoyed as is, topping them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream takes them to another level. At $3 per pie, these mini pecan pies are a steal and could easily cost $10 or more at a restaurant.
Specially Selected Mini Cream Puffs Dessert Pastries
These mini cream puffs are a delightful treat, generously filled with a luxuriously smooth and thick cream that strikes the perfect balance of sweetness. Each puff is perfectly sized and can be enjoyed in one to two bites, making them ideal for parties or as a quick dessert. At $2.99 for a resealable container, these cream puffs are an affordable and convenient option, offering a gourmet experience at a fraction of the cost.
Specially Selected Caramel Apple Blossoms
These caramel apple blossoms are a delightful treat, featuring sweet pastry filled with apples and topped with rich caramel sauce. The filling is generous and packed with apples, and the pastry is buttery and flaky. The crystallized sugar on top adds a satisfying crunch and sparkle. Baked to perfection, these blossoms offer a restaurant-quality experience at a fraction of the cost. Priced at around $1 each, they are a steal and inspire you to recreate them in your own kitchen.
Specially Selected Apple Berry Blossoms
These apple berry blossoms are a vibrant and flavorful treat, featuring sweet pastry filled with colorful layers of apples, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. Baked to perfection, the warm filling is bright and flavorful, with each fruit and berry layer distinct. The combination of sweet apples and tart berries makes every bite lively and vibrant. The buttery pastry perfectly encases the generous filling, while the crystallized sugar on top adds a satisfying crunch and sparkle. Priced at $1.99 for a box of two, these blossoms are a delightful and affordable option.
Season's Choice Bananas Covered in Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter
These frozen banana slices are a nutritious and satisfying treat, coated in dark chocolate with a thin layer of peanut butter in between. The chocolate has a light snap and solid cocoa flavor, while the peanut butter adds a perfect hint of nuttiness without overpowering the fruit. These bites are cold, chewy, and satisfyingly sweet, making them a convenient and affordable option for a post-dinner snack.
Season's Choice Strawberries Covered in Dark Chocolate
These chocolate-covered strawberries are a fun and nutritious snack, offering a delightful balance of sweetness and tanginess. Each strawberry is coated in a layer of decadent dark chocolate, and the strawberries inside are juicy and packed with naturally sweet flavor. While they can be enjoyed straight from the freezer, tempering them at room temperature for about five minutes enhances the chocolate experience. Priced at $2.29 for a 5.3-ounce bag, these strawberries are an affordable and convenient option.
Skip:
Mama Cozzi's Pizza Cookie - Double Chocolate
Despite its promising appearance and name, this pizza cookie was a disappointment. The cookie itself is very thin and the interior baked up dense, chewy, and gummy, lacking the desired texture and flavor. The only positive attribute was the outer edge, which baked properly. At $4.99 for a single cookie, it's not worth the price.
Belmont Turtle Cheesecake Twin Packs
While the Belmont Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake was excellent, its turtle cheesecake counterpart fell short. The rich, indulgent toppings like mini chocolate chips, caramel, and pecans failed to deliver on flavor. The chocolate chips tasted mediocre, the caramel was overly sweet and one-note, and the pecans were stale. At $1.99 for a twin pack, there are better options available.
Belmont Mini Cheesecake Bites
These mini cheesecake bites were underwhelming and lacked flavor, even the Strawberry Swirl variety. The strawberry puree was heavily swirled in the cheesecake slice, but in mini form, it was more like a drizzle. The New York-style and Turtle Cheesecake bites were dull and mediocre, and at $0.28 per bite, they are not worth the price.
Sundae Shoppe Vanilla Caramel and Vanilla Fudge Sundae Cones
These sundae cones, filled with vanilla ice cream and coated in thin chocolate sprinkled with roasted peanuts, had potential but fell short. The caramel had minimal flavor, and the fudge was overly sweet and thick. The ice cream was unusually soft straight out of the freezer, making the cones messy to eat. At $0.75 per cone, there are better-tasting options available.
Sundae Shoppe Mochi - Cookies and Cream, Mango, and Strawberry
The Sundae Shoppe Mochi, at $4.45 per box, had too many faults for me to recommend. The noticeable starchy coating on the outside and the soft, icy texture of the mochi skin and ice cream filling impacted the overall chewiness. The rice flour wrapping also had small openings where the ice cream filling was visible. At almost half the price of brand names like My/Mochi, these mochi are not worth the investment.
Specially Selected Mini Éclairs Dessert Pastries
These mini éclairs, priced at $2.99 for 30 éclairs, were a letdown. The biggest disappointment was the bland and tasteless Bavarian cream filling, which was too runny for my liking. There wasn't enough filling, and the flavor wasn't good. The mismatched shapes didn't help, and at $0.10 per éclair, they are an easy pass.
In conclusion, Aldi's frozen dessert aisle offers a delightful array of treats, from classic cheesecakes to innovative mochi. While there are a few duds to skip, the gems mentioned above offer excellent value, convenience, and flavor. Whether you're craving a classic cheesecake, a rich pecan pie, or a fun chocolate-covered strawberry, Aldi has something to satisfy your sweet tooth without breaking the bank.
