{"id":146,"date":"2023-11-17T01:59:29","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T01:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/squarespace.joannawhiteart.com\/wp\/2023\/11\/17\/aldi-soft-gingerbread-cookies-winternacht-review\/"},"modified":"2025-03-29T10:03:57","modified_gmt":"2025-03-29T14:03:57","slug":"aldi-soft-gingerbread-cookies-winternacht-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/17\/aldi-soft-gingerbread-cookies-winternacht-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Aldi Soft Gingerbread (Winternacht) Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Author\u2019s note: These are my own unbiased opinions. I have no affiliation with <\/em>Aldi<\/em><\/a>, and I was not compensated in any way for this review. Send socks.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019ll knock your socks off. Even if you don\u2019t have<\/em> socks.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Oh my. I was not expecting much from these weird little brown cookies, but they blew my socks off. And I was already barefoot, so that\u2019s pretty impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the flavor. Good lord. The flavor! It\u2019s a strong, magical, spiced flavor. Cinnamon and citrus and other inexplicably delicious tastes, all wrapped up in an unassuming little baked circle of joy. I sound ridiculous, but I don\u2019t care. I devoured all six of these cookies in just two days, they were THAT good. Surprisingly, the ingredients include figs, apricots, orange, apples, hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, and cashews. Whew! Almost<\/em> a little fruitcake, but better. Spicier. Fluffier. More self-contained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Looking for another holiday dessert filled with magical flavor? Check out my review of this imported British Sticky Figgy Pudding from Cartmel<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Gingerbread Babies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The package contains two types of German Lebkuchen<\/a> cookies \u2014 iced gingerbread, and chocolate covered gingerbread. They come in a cute little cardboard crib-shaped tray. Gingerbread babies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I personally liked the iced version better than the chocolate version. The iced cookie has a more intense spice flavor. The cinnamon is powerful. My brain neurons were jolted to a new level of consciousness with the first spicy bite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I liked the chocolate-coated version in different<\/em> ways. The cocoa taste added another layer of sophistication to the gingerbread flavor profile, and the smooth chocolate texture was a satisfying contrast to the fluffiness inside. Although the chocolate layer is thin, it has a deep dark chocolate taste and a pleasing cocoa buttery richness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The cookie itself is soft and pillowy. An almost cake-like dome. There\u2019s a slightly stiff shell on the outside, which yields to the tender interior. On the iced version, the shell is a sugary glaze, which cracks under pressure, like thin ice on a pond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ok, but what are these weird wafers???<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A truly odd<\/em> aspect of these treats is that they are gingerbread \u201con<\/em> wafers.\u201d That\u2019s what the label says. There\u2019s a strange (and not particularly delicious<\/em>) crispy disc behind the soft gingerbread. I have no idea what purpose this wafer serves. I honestly thought it was a thin piece of cardboard at first, and I clawed at it anxiously, trying to peel it off the cookie. Then I reluctantly convinced myself it was probably<\/em> edible. I ate it cautiously, but I kept checking to make sure it WASN\u2019T cardboard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of me remains unconvinced, because it had a dry, stale, papery taste that seemed only vaguely edible. If I had a way to remove these offending \u201cwafers\u201d from the gingerbread before consuming, I would. In my mind, the wafers contribute nothing positive to the taste experience, and they detract significantly. Fortunately, the rest of the cookie was so absurdly<\/em> good, I scarfed them up anyway, papery wafers and all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to this article on the history of Lebkuchen<\/a>, the soft gingerbread was historically baked on leftover communion wafers, so this is probably the origin of the wafers in this modern version. And now I feel like a filthy heathen for hating these wafers so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fingers<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although there is a cornucopia of nuts and fruit inside the cookies, the concentration is low. I only encountered two or three little fragments of citrus peel or nuts per bite. The figs and apricots are shy, don\u2019t make their presence known in discernable chunks, but rather as a subtle back flavor. If you don\u2019t typically relish the texture of orange peel, you probably won\u2019t mind it here \u2014 the citrus peel is tender, but in very small pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Something that surprised me is the absence of brown sugar or molasses in these cookies. I would have expected otherwise from the deep flavor and color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ingredients<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients<\/strong> in Aldi Soft Gingerbread Cookies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These aren\u2019t entirely meritorious ingredients, but they\u2019re not horrible, either. I am personally wondering what exactly \u201cflavour\u201d means? That seems a bit vague.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the ingredients:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n