The Ultimate Aldi Cookie Ranking

I've been eating two cookies a day for as long as I can remember — one after lunch and one after dinner. My mom always said that dessert "settles the stomach and signals the end of a meal," and who was I to argue with that logic? Because she was not a gifted baker, she stocked our pantry with Oreos, Nutter Butters, and Chips Ahoy rather than making cookies from scratch, so that's what I grew up with. I dabbled in homemade chocolate chips and slice-n-bakes when I had kids of my own, but a recent empty nest has me back in the grocery store cookie aisle looking for convenience. So I welcomed this opportunity to sample the packaged cookie offerings at Aldi with an eager stomach and an open mind.

Armed with a quarter, because I've been burned by Aldi's strict shopping cart system too many times, I took to the aisles with a singular mission: sample as many cookie varieties as possible to generate the ultimate Aldi cookie ranking. Careful to choose at least one variety from each category, including Bake Shop, Soft Baked, Girl Scout Cookie dupes, Cookie Thins, European bakery standards, and brand-name knockoffs, I left with a major cookie haul and went home to try them all. With flavor, texture, appearance, and enjoyment being my primary criteria and price point factored into the assessment, I tried 16 packaged Aldi cookie products and ranked them from worst to best.

When ranking products from worst to best, I sometimes struggle with choosing an item for the bottom spot, but there was no question here; Benton's Oatmeal Cookies were the definitive worst. I'm not sure who is a fan of oatmeal cookies that are overly flat and way too crispy, but these cookies got everything wrong from the get-go. The requisite oatmeal cookie chew was distinctly absent, possibly due to the use of too much butter or butter that was not incorporated properly. There were also no discernible oats in the mix. Whether this key ingredient had been too finely ground, overmixed, or underutilized, I couldn't say, but the texture was all wrong.

The cookies were also lacking in sugar and cinnamon. No, oatmeal cookies do not have to be sweet to be good — they can also be savory — but they've gotta be something. And these cookies just didn't have much flavor. Coupled with the fact that my eating experience resulted in hard crumbs on my face and lap, this one earned its bottom ranking easily.

I have never been a huge fan of this kind of cookie. Often referred to as frosted soft sugar or Lofthouse-style, the recipe at the heart of Aldi's Bake Shop Frosted Sugar cookies is a dupe for Lofthouse's cakelike signature cookie, which never did anything for me. But I can appreciate the love, and I've had a tasty cookie or two in this category over the years. Aldi's version of this offering, however, was a complete whiff for me.

Chalky on the tongue and seriously lacking in vanilla flavor, the cookie was dry and somewhat hard to swallow. With a little more moisture and sweetness, the cake part might have been more palatable, but the base here was just bland. As a frosting snob, I know the best buttercream frosting batches are made with high-quality vanilla. And while I didn't expect perfection on top of this cookie, the frosting was flavorless as well. And the sprinkles lacked crunch.

I'll throw back a Nutter Butter now and then, mostly out of nostalgia for my youth (and because I loooove peanut butter in all forms). So I was optimistic about Benton's Peanut Butter Creme cookie offering, which is an obvious nod to both the Girl Scout peanut butter cookie and the classic Nutter Butter. It only took one bite for me to realize this one was no match for those two cookie legends.

Not only was the waffle cookie exterior way too hard, but it was also super crumbly. Most of it ended up on my keyboard while I attempted to eat and write. Inside, the peanut butter filling was uninspired but perfectly acceptable — there just wasn't enough of it. Both the cookie and the filling had a grainy texture that I also didn't care for. A long soak in a glass of milk might have made Aldi's Peanut Butter Creme a little more enjoyable for me, but I can not endorse it as a stand-alone experience.

Overly soft with a lingering aftertaste, Benton's Soft Baked Raspberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies also fell near the bottom of my list. As someone who sometimes adds raspberries to peanut butter sandwiches or yogurt when I'm feeling fancy, I wanted to like this cookie but ended up disappointed.

A featured cookie in Aldi's Soft Baked line, the raspberry and chocolate chip is pliable by design, but I was not prepared for just how soft it was. I tried three other cookies from this category, and this one held together the worst. Pieces of it broke off in my hand, and it separated quickly in my mouth — almost like it wasn't cooked enough. And the raspberry bits reminded me a little of fruit roll-ups, which have a very interesting history but don't belong in a cookie. The white chocolate chips were relatively flavorless and did nothing to elevate this Aldi miss.

In a ranking of 20 popular chocolate bars, Chowhound once awarded second place to the Lindt Excellence Intense Orange Dark Chocolate bar, so I know chocolate and orange is a thing; it's just not my thing. But I tried to keep my mind and heart open when I sampled Benton's Orange Jaffa Cakes. Featuring a soft cake base, orange filling, and a dark chocolate coating, this cookie was really interesting, if not tasty. And I appreciated it despite not loving the experience.

The cake layer was about what you'd hope for with this kind of cookie, and the orange layer tasted a little like marmalade, which I think is the point. The dark chocolate cap was a little thin and didn't offer enough chocolate to balance out the orange for me. Again, if you're into fruit and chocolate, this one might push some buttons for you. It just didn't push any for me.

As the world's most beloved and best-selling cookie, Nabisco's Oreo sets a high bar for imitation. Simple in principle, with chocolate biscuit cookies sandwiching a rich cream filling, an Oreo hits all the right notes for me every time I eat one. Unfortunately, Benton's Original Chocolate Sandwich Cookie, which seeks to duplicate the magic at an economical price point, was a clunker.

The cookie "sandwich" parts were chocolatey enough, but like many of the Aldi cookies toward the bottom of my list, they were way too hard. When I bit into one, the whole thing cracked into bits rather than entering my mouth gracefully like a real Oreo. Inside, the cream filling was too sparse and had very little vanilla flavor, which did nothing to offset the chocolate and left me unimpressed. I've had a lot of Oreo knockoffs over the years, and this was neither the worst nor the best, earning Benton's Original Chocolate Sandwich Cookies a mid-low ranking on my list.

The first item on my list that I might consider buying again, Benton's Chocolate Chip Brownie Cookie, was pretty decent — especially at $2.99 for 10 relatively large cookies. The coloring was a rich, dark brown, and the top was fissured with tiny cracks characteristic of crinkled and brownie-style baked goods, but there was no surface luster. Aldi's bakery must have missed Chowhound's secret to brownies with a shiny crust, but I tried not to hold that against it.

The chocolate chunks were substantial in size and surprisingly tasty, but the cake inside was what knocked this one down to the mid-range for me. The texture was dry and not super chocolatey, which was kind of a bummer. And there was a cocoa powder aftertaste I didn't care for. I'd consider this an acceptable brownie cookie in a pinch, especially if I was going to smother it with ice cream or work the crumbs into another recipe, but it was far from my favorite.

Benton's S'mores Soft-Baked Cookie had more density and moisture than many of the other traditional cookies I tried, and I appreciated that about it after trying so many that were dry. My first bites were enjoyable, and the insides were chewy in a good way. Unfortunately, the flavor here was a bit of a miss. Though it was rather tasty, with good-sized chunks of chocolate and a well-textured cookie base, it failed to deliver any real s'mores taste or experience.

There were some white pieces in the mix, but the marshmallow situation was relatively skimpy and did not provide the chewy, sugary joy of a melty campfire s'mores. The batter was also pretty basic, without much evidence of graham cracker bits or even graham flour, which is special since it can elevate the base. A bump up in these elements would have given me reason to rank this one a little higher, but as it stood, I was underwhelmed.

My first impression of Benton's Hazelnut Cookies was that they were really, really cute. The biscuit shell base was thick and beveled around the edges. On top of that, a thin layer of what I presumed to be hazelnut chocolate separated the bottoms from a detailed floral cutout cookie on top. Both cookies were golden and visually appealing.

When I bit into one, I was not surprised to find the biscuit parts crisp and firm (cookies like this usually are), and the butter flavor was very good. But the filling didn't hit me with the hazelnut or praline notes I'd hoped for. Not quite Nutella and not quite milk chocolate, the middle layer had a bit of an identity crisis. Tucked into an ice cream sundae or served on a luncheon tray with an assortment of tea cookies, Benton's Hazelnut Cookies would make for a nice presentation, but there would likely be leftovers.

The second sandwich-style cookie I tried during my taste test, Benton's Key Lime Crème Cookies, was surprisingly good. The outer biscuits were a little softer than the chocolate wafers I tried, with a good butter flavor and a hint of graham cracker that reminded me of pie crust. An obvious dupe of Oreo's Key Lime Pie cookie, which is one of the many Oreo flavors sold in stores, Aldi's version had the texture of a higher market cookie. It also had a thicker layer of filling.

Between the cookies, a bright and sufficiently limey middle stole the show here. Substantial and zesty without being overly sweet, the filling was smooth and creamy. It was also brightly colored, giving this cookie a refreshing, spring-like personality. There was very little aftertaste and no excessive crumbling when I chowed down. If I were really into key lime, I might have ranked this one a little higher.

Another entry in Aldi's Soft Baked line, Benton's Monster Cookie had more peanut butter flavor than I expected since candy cookies are typically made with classic blonde or sugar cookie dough. The packaging did not mention peanut butter, and the pictured cookies looked like they had basic chocolate chips with M&Ms, so the flavor was a little surprising. But it was also good.

The cookie base offered just the right amount of chewiness and some substantial oat texture, which I appreciated. Worked into the batter were sizable pieces of candy-coated chocolate. They were comparable in crunch and stature to mega-sized M&Ms, which are often used as mix-ins to take baked goods to another level. The candy pieces held together well for a machine-processed cookie and retained their color nicely. If it weren't for the peanut butter base confusion, I might have ranked this one even higher.

Full disclosure: I am not a Girl Scout cookie fan. There's an ingredient or a preservative in them that rubs me the wrong way. I can't quite put my finger on what it is, and I usually avoid them, but if I had to eat a Girl Scout cookie, it would be either a Peanut Butter Pattie or a Samoa. Three of the Aldi cookies I sampled in this trial were Girl Scout cookie dupes, and I found two of them to be superior (and super delicious) copycats.

The first was Benton's Peanut Butter Fudge Cookie, which features a chocolate cookie base, a thin layer of creamy peanut butter, and a hard chocolate coating. The cookie I sampled had no artificial aftertaste and an even peanut-butter-to-chocolate ratio. Its three layers were all distinct but coexisted nicely to deliver the crunch, cream, and crack you hope for in this kind of cookie. If Girl Scout cookies were this good, I wouldn't have to hide from my neighbors' kids during cookie season.

The second Girl Scout knockoff that won me over was Benton's Caramel Coconut Fudge Cookie. A culinary nod to the legendary Samoa and DeLite cookies, Aldi's version has all the good stuff and none of the bad. The shortbread cookie base is dipped in fudge, providing the foundation for a gooey layer of caramel topped with toasted coconut and striped with more fudge. It had no triggering aftertaste for me, and it was delicious.

An easy winner in Chowhound's ranking of 12 Girl Scout Cookies from worst to best, the DeLite earned its status by delivering a balanced cookie to caramel experience. It also offered a slight reduction in sweetness when compared to its Samoa predecessor and a little more crunch. Aldi's version achieved the same magic and made the formula even better, earning its Caramel Coconut Fudge Cookies a spot in my top tier.

I'm rather particular about chocolate chip cookies. I prefer them with a traditional butter, sugar, and vanilla base rather than a brown butter, coffee, or molasses foundation, which can make things unnecessarily complex. Chocolate chip cookies should be chewy, rather than crunchy, but not overly soft. And the tastiest batches feature a chocolate chunk and chocolate chip combo using the highest-quality ingredients.

With its Bake Shop Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Aldi hits all my required notes without missing a beat. The cookie I tried held together well and did not fall apart when I sank my teeth into it. The surface had good coloring, ranging from light to medium brown, and some variation in texture. Inside, the chips and chunks were soft and had some real chocolate depth, which I liked a lot. They were priced at $3.99 for 10 during my trial, which I considered a good value for cookies of this quality.

As evidenced by my previous comments, I prefer cookies that have a little chew rather than a lot of crunch. So I was really surprised by how much I liked Benton's Toasted Coconut Cookie Thins. The packaging image suggested a hard, dry cookie that resembled a rice cake in texture, so I was prepared for the cookie I sampled to shred the roof of my mouth and crack my molars. But it ended up being one of my absolute favorites.

The toasted coconut flavor was authentic and natural, which I attribute to the fact that this product is made without corn syrup, hydrogenated oil, or artificial ingredients. The coconut flakes tasted real and were defined in my mouth, mingling nicely with butter and sugar. Though I prefer a chewy coconut cookie recipe with mix-ins, the simplicity of this biscuit was what made it shine. I hid the remainder of my trial package from my husband and have been popping these little gems into my yogurt, ice cream, and mouth ever since.

My German mother-in-law used to spend days making butter cookies like this with an antique metal press that had all kinds of messy attachments. The finished products were little works of art with varied shapes and textures that we consumed as fast as she could turn them out. I'm not sure Benton's Danish Butter Cookies achieved quite her level of excellence, but they came pretty darn close, earning this product top honors in my ranking.

When I first bit into one of these cookies — a pretzel-shaped nugget dusted with crystallized sugar — the buttery dough gave way just enough to keep my cookie from breaking apart. Notably absent were artificial preservatives and coloring, which made my eating experience even more enjoyable. Since powdered sugar is the key to making irresistably good butter cookies, I can only assume that's part of why these cookies were so delicious and authentic. At $3.89 for 40 in a decorative tin with paper dividers, these are special occasion cookies at an everyday price. And a clear winner in my ranking.

For this taste test and ranking, I purchased 16 packaged cookie varieties that are sold at my closest Aldi location, and evaluated them over the course of two days — which, admittedly, took some constraint. I tried to select a good cross-section of cookie styles, setting aside my preferences for certain flavors and combinations, and relying more on having a variety to taste-test while staying within budget. While taking price point into consideration, my ranking criteria included taste, texture, appearance, and enjoyment. I put each cookie on its own paper plate and arranged them as I sampled them until I arrived at my final ranking.