{"id":5729,"date":"2024-12-20T21:13:55","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T21:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/?p=5729"},"modified":"2025-07-27T23:46:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T03:46:46","slug":"racine-danish-kringle-aldi-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/2024\/12\/20\/racine-danish-kringle-aldi-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Racine Danish Kringle (Aldi) Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I got on the bandwagon. And now I want off!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve probably<\/em> been subjected to some level of hype surrounding these blasted kringles. The Aldi Facebook groups were boiling<\/em> with unrelenting<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(The only dessert I’ve seen more heavily hyped than this one is Costco’s infamous Peanut Butter Pie \u2014 you can read my silly review here<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, some shoppers who did<\/em> 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 \u2014 SIXTY-FOUR. She bought every single one<\/em> 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<\/em> for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And thus, I feel a tad sheepish for jumping on this cursed kringle bandwagon. I didn’t intend to. This sort of just “happened.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

I truly wasn’t<\/em> expecting to buy one of these. Mostly because I wasn’t expecting to find<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(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<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The danish texture is soft. It’s not a crisp pastry. Just soft<\/em>. 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, according to the ingredients, this kringle is not<\/em> made with butter at all, but rather margarine, which features hydrogenated soybean oil. Eww.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(I also found the cherry flavor of this Danish Braid from Costco<\/a> to be rather artificial tasting. Check out my review for more snarky sadness.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

There is very little pastry here. There is very little filling. There is very little ANYTHING \u2014 except perhaps icing. There is<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"White<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway. What’s a Kringle?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kringles are traditionally a buttery, layered pastry<\/a> with a fruit, cheese, or nut filling. European kringles were originally made in pretzel shapes<\/a>, but the oval shape evolved in Wisconsin, and is unique to the United States. According to Drew Dawson of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flavor Options<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Racine Danish Kringle<\/a> 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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My local Aldi only had Raspberry or Almond Flavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Ingredients in Racine Raspberry Kringle Danish<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here is my best attempt at typing out the ingredients, from the label:<\/p>\n\n\n\n