I had sampled the Aldi brand before and thought they were pretty good. Tagalongs are delicious and this was a great $.99 treat in lieu of a Girl Scout cookie. At least that is what I told myself. Bonus, I could also scrape this peanut butter with my teeth.
But, which is the better cookie? How could we ever know? I had never eaten them together, as I had never considered wasting a Girl Scout cookie to eat a store bought cookie of the same variety. I had never faced such a conundrum. Armed with only a degree in journalism and a few hours to kill, I knew I had to get the answer. What better way to get to the bottom of this than a Pandemic Taste Test. I put a crack team of cookie specialists together and fortunately we were able to carve out some time all in the name of science.
"There's a quest for answers
The Facts:
An unquenchable thirst
In the darkest night
Rising like a spire
In the burning heart
The unmistakable fire..."
In the darkest night
Rising like a spire
In the burning heart
The unmistakable fire..."
These words were swirling in my brain as my staff and I took the unfathomable task of taste testing Girl Scout Tagalongs vs Aldi brand Peanut Butter Filled Cookies. It was East vs West, baby. We are lucky we survived. Fortunately, the Survivor song guided us through the perils of this challenge.
The Facts:
Girl Scout Tagalongs
Girl Scout Tagalongs are sold one season a year (usually in the winter.) They are available only through Girl Scouts of America by ordering from a Girl Scout (or most likely their parent,) or by being accosted in front of a Kroger or Bed Bath and Beyond. Tagalongs are $5 a package for 14 cookies. Another $9 if you order online and ship them.
The Girl Scout packaging is a plastic tray that holds each cookie and eliminates breakage. The tray is then wrapped in a cellophane and placed in a box that can be open and closed with a tab. Freshness may be a factor as the cellophane doesn't reseal.
The first three listed ingredients of Tagalongs in order are peanut butter, sugar and enriched flour.
Aldi Benton's Peanut Butter Filled Cookies
Aldi Benton's Peanut Butter Filled Cookies are available all the time, all year round and you just need your a quarter to get your shopping cart (fully refundable) and your own bag to carry them out. They sell for $.99 for 18 cookies.
The Aldi brand packaging is similar to the Tagalong packaging. Same plastic tray and cellophane, but the box is eliminated. Freshness is definitely a factor as it is hard to keep fresh once the cellophane has been opened as it cannot be resealed. The remainder were relegated to a plastic bag.
The first three listed ingredients of Benton's Peanut Butter Filled Cookies in order are sugar, peanut butter and enriched wheat flour.
The blind taste test.
Using two plates, I marked the Aldi plate with a sticker. (Full disclosure, the only sticker available was from a book of stamps. I need to request further funding.) Without looking, I took two cookies each and placed them on the appropriate plate under a napkin. I then mixed the plates several times having no idea which was which. My associate removed the napkin.
At first sight, one set of cookies was thicker and darker. I had my suspicions of their identity.
The darker cookie was richer, denser soft cookie that had been split and filled with peanut butter and covered in chocolate. Very easy to scrape with my teeth.
The lighter cookie was a shortbread-ish single cookie with peanut butter and also covered in chocolate. Also very easy to scrape with my teeth.
My lead cookie expert and I agreed. While both cookies were delicious and a reasonable excuse to indulge...the darker cookie was better. For good measure, we each sampled another. Our eyes locked and we simultaneously nodded. We each turned over a cookie plate.
Aldi has the superior peanut butter cookie.
I received a few comments during our extensive and exhaustive cookie challenge. (I did not read them until experiment was complete as to not jade science.) Since the cookies are available daily at Aldi, readers felt the need to overindulge at Girl Scout cookie time was eliminated. One even commented since they were always available, she needed a break from the Aldi brand. Interesting. No need to wait until winter to have that elusive Girl Scout cookie - if it is always available. It is no longer a special treat.
That makes me sad. The thought of peanut butter chocolate goodness becoming mundane. The only cure to lift my blues from this experiment is to scrape a chocolate covered peanut butter cookie with my teeth.
Do you think our results are accurate? I'd love to know your thoughts! We will soon be revealing the results of our Girl Scout Samoas vs Benton's Caramel Coconut Fudge Cookies. It's a tense time in our test kitchens.
Comments
Post a Comment