Racine Danish Kringle (Aldi) Review
Author’s Note: Not a paid review. These are my own weird little opinions. I have no affiliation with either Racine Danish Kringles or Aldi.
I got on the bandwagon. And now I want off!
Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve probably been subjected to some level of hype surrounding these blasted kringles. The Aldi Facebook groups were boiling with unrelenting posts about these seasonal danishes. Folks were rushing to their local Aldi, only to discover all the kringles gone, already sold out, and the shelves bare. A grave tragedy, indeed.
(The only dessert I’ve seen more heavily hyped than this one is Costco’s infamous Peanut Butter Pie — you can read my silly review here.)
Meanwhile, some shoppers who did find them bought as many as they could. I saw folks gleefully posting pictures of their car trunks loaded with stacks of the red kringle trays. One lady bought 64 kringles. That’s right — SIXTY-FOUR. She bought every single one in the store. Because, why leave any for other people? Yes, I judged you, random lady. Secretly, in my snarky little heart. I judged you so hard for that.
And thus, I feel a tad sheepish for jumping on this cursed kringle bandwagon. I didn’t intend to. This sort of just “happened.”
I truly wasn’t expecting to buy one of these. Mostly because I wasn’t expecting to find them in my store. And I’m far too tired to go back multiple times to check. But, as fate would have it, there was a stack of kringles by the register when I checked out. So, I hesitantly scooped one from the pile. It was cold and stiff (frozen?), but I bought it anyway.
I always feel a bit sorry for the hyped-up products. It’s rare that they can live up to the feverish rumors. This kringle certainly didn’t.
(Sometimes the razzmatazz is true, you know. For example, I was not disappointed by these Butter Bars from Aldi. You can read my wonky opinion here.)
I let my kringle completely thaw inside the shrink wrap before opening it. And, hoping to experience maximum freshness, I ate it the same day I bought it. Here are my thoughts:
The danish texture is soft. It’s not a crisp pastry. Just soft. Soft all the way through. Soft, and flat. Very thin. Maybe this kringle has been taking Ozempic. I love the many delicate layers, but it lacks the buttery-flakiness that I long for. It was just too mushed together to be appealing.
Also, according to the ingredients, this kringle is not made with butter at all, but rather margarine, which features hydrogenated soybean oil. Eww.
The raspberry filling is “jammy” and slightly gelatinous. But, merely a frugal smear! Fortunately (or unfortunately?), you won’t need much. This filling has an unnaturally STRONG fruity flavor. It reminded me of a Jolly Rancher candy.
To me, it tasted more “grape flavor” than “raspberry.” But no one asked me, did they? There’s also a touch of cinnamon taste. And, a teensy bit of brown sugar paste. The brown sugar ended up being one of the more appealing tastes and textures in this danish.
There is very little pastry here. There is very little filling. There is very little ANYTHING — except perhaps icing. There is a lot of icing. The icing contributes to the “very sweet” effect. I would describe the icing as a dense, thick paste with little flavor outside of “sugary.” Or maybe I simply cannot taste it over the ponderous “fruity” flavor. It’s heavy icing, so my guess is that a good proportion of this kringle (by weight) is the icing.
I ate a small slice of this kringle, and that was all I wanted. My curiosity is satisfied. I can now safely exit the bandwagon.
Anyway. What’s a Kringle?
Kringles are traditionally a buttery, layered pastry with a fruit, cheese, or nut filling. European kringles were originally made in pretzel shapes, but the oval shape evolved in Wisconsin, and is unique to the United States. According to Drew Dawson of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the kringle is Wisconsin’s state pastry. The city of Racine, Wisconsin is famous for their holiday kringle tradition, partly because of the large Danish-heritage community there.
Flavor Options
The Racine Danish Kringle website lists 30 flavors. They ship their kringles world-wide, but those are larger (22 ounces) pastries than the ones sold at Aldi (14 ounces).
My local Aldi only had Raspberry or Almond Flavor.
Ingredients in Racine Raspberry Kringle Danish
Here is my best attempt at typing out the ingredients, from the label:
- Sugar
- Bleached Wheat Flour
- Margarine (Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Water, Mono- and Diglycerides, Soy Lecithin, Sodium Benzoate [preservative], Artificial Flavor, Beta Carotene [color], Vitamin A Palmitate)
- Brown Sugar (Sugar, Molasses, Cane Syrup)
- Raspberries
- Modified Food Starch
- Contains 2% or less of the following: Eggs, Corn Syrup, Soy Flour, Yeast, Dextrose, Salt, Citric Acid, Glycerine, Gellan Gum, Corn Syrup Solids, Egg Whites, Egg Yolk with added Whole Egg Solids, Guar Gum, Sodium Bicarbonate, Natural and Artificial Flavors (Milk), Preservatives (Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Tocopherols, Calcium Propionate, Sodium Propionate), Agar-Agar, Corn Starch, Cinnamon, Malted Barley, Xanthan Gum, Color Added.
It is, of course, extremely disappointing to see “margarine” used in a pastry described as “buttery.”
It’s also disappointing to see artificial flavors. And even more disappointing to see several preservatives, particularly if the product was also frozen.
And, of course, I am wondering what the “Color Added” (at the end) means.
More information from the label:
- Kosher (Dairy)
- Made in the USA
- Contains Bioengineered Ingredients
Nutrition Facts in Kringle Danish from Racine
There are 7 servings per danish. Each 2.75″ slice has 180 calories, 8 grams of fat, and 2 grams of protein. There is a modest 16 grams of sugar, of which 15 grams are “added sugar.”
Price and Servings
My 14 ounce danish cost $6.49. If you get 7 servings, each serving would cost a frugal 93 cents.
This is a seasonal item, and I found it at my local Aldi in mid-December.
Shelf Life
The sell-by date on my kringle allowed more than a week to consume. Assuming this was sold previously frozen, re-freezing this at home probably isn’t a good option.
Re-Heating the Kringle
As I was writing this review, I stumbled upon several recommendations to re-heat the kringle before serving. I put what was left of my kringle on a parchment-lined sheet and baked mine in a 350 degree oven for 4 minutes. This did seem to freshen-up the pastry somewhat — it took on a more pleasant crispness, and the icing became more melty and less of a stiff, brittle block.
The downside is that baking my kringle turned the fruit filling into a more gummy-like, goopy texture. So, IDK.
Dramatic Conclusion
In summary, there’s nothing wrong with this kringle. But nothing that warrants the hype and fanfare. I did not enjoy the texture or flavors. The lack of butter was tragic. But I ate it. I wouldn’t buy another one. I’m not giving up on all kringles, just this one.
And so concludes The Great Kringle Bandwagon of 2024.
The End.
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