Easter is literally this weekend. How did that happen? Where does the time go? I think munching on clearance Valentine's Day candy post-holiday has messed with my perception of seasonal snacking time. Spring is officially here! To celebrate, I have another seasonal Aldi cookie.
You know, after how bad the Hot Cocoa Cremes were (I ultimately threw them out) I thought I would be done with Benton's seasonal cookies, but the Red Velvet Cake flavor really did win me over. Let's hope that Carrot Cake is just as awesome.
In case you forgot, Oreo released a Carrot Cake flavor late 2018-early 2019, and at the time I thought it was limited edition, or a seasonal flavor, but I guess it's been added to the permanent line-up and it's been available ever since. Even though I really did enjoy it in 2019 when I reviewed it, I never repurchased it. So it was good, but not repeat-purchase good. And now that I know Pistachio Oreo Thins have been discontinued, I have to ask myself...why? Why have these endured when so many other Oreo flavors have disappeared. How did carrot cake, a seemingly niche flavor, outlive my beloved pistachio? (I'm very salty about it.) I guess whatever Carrot Cake Oreos have going for them has been positive enough for Aldi to release their own version, so let's see how they compare.
Oreo claimed to have a carrot cake flavored cookie, and cream cheese flavored icing, Benton's version doesn't really specify what is flavored like what. The only descriptor we get is "Carrot Cake Creme Filled Cookies." Oh, and they're "great for dipping." That's it. So I guess we'll have to jump in and find out for ourselves! (Well, I will, you're just reading a blog post.)
Let's try the components one at a time, and then all together. Like usual.
Cookie: This tastes like a crispy, light, graham cracker, with a hint of cinnamon all it's own. I gotta say, these Aldi cookies have the best texture. It reminds me of a Biscoff cookie, not in flavor, but in texture. It crumbles as you chew and I find it extremely satisfying. Just like the Red Velvet version. They're much lighter and airier than an Oreo cookie, and to me this tastes slightly oat-y, like the Oreo version, but more-so this leans towards graham cracker than anything else. Certainly not "carrot cake flavored," but it is delicious and on it's own, sans-creme, it would make a lovely tea-biscuit.
Icing: Sweet, cream-cheese-y, with a hint of cinnamon. If you look really -really- closely you can see little flecks of cinnamon in the creme. It's softer than the Red Velvet version, a bit more messy and toothpaste-like in consistency, more like Oreo filling. Does it taste like carrot cake? No. More like a cinnamon bun, or cinnamon bun icing, than anything else, but it is pretty tasty. It's not my favorite. It's a bit too sweet and leaves my mouth with a slightly waxy feeling, I much prefer the dry crumbly filling that was in the Red Velvet Benton's cookies, but this is still infinitely better than the Hot Cocoa Cremes.
Together: Combined, I feel like there is more of a carrot cake-spice flavoring, ginger, cloves and nutmeg, but it's very very faint. The cinnamon overpowers them all, but the overall profile does lean spiced-cake, just not 100% carrot cake. It has a good enough balance to not taste fall-y, and pumpkin-spice-y, but if I were eating this all by it's lonesome, I don't think I would guess these were carrot cake. There is something when combined that I can't quite put my finger on, something almost pineapple-y, or coconut-y, but it is very faint and does help with the spring Carrot Cake vibes.
With Milk: Dunked, the cinnamon-bun flavoring is amped up for sure. They're delicious, but definitely not carrot cake.
Overall, I definitely think these are yummy and worth the buy, but to me they're another one-and-done. They taste more like a cinnamon bun than anything else, which is not a bad thing, I'll have no problem eating these throughout the month, but they just don't taste like carrot cake. If that's what you're looking for you'll definitely be disappointed. But if you're a fan of the Oreo version, which also doesn't taste like carrot cake, you'll probably love these just as much.
Fans of these would also like: Carrot Cake and Banana Pudding Krispy Kreme Donuts, White Chocolate Carrot Cake m&m's, Russel Stover's Carrot Cake Egg, Carrot Cake LOVE Granola, or Carrot Cake Oreos.
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