Cafe Bistro Soft Gingerbread Cookies

 

I've been talking to you guys for about nine months now which means that this blog is fully gestated and we're all family now. So strap in, I'm going to start laying some truth on you.

Winter is the best season*. People generally look adorable in winter clothes (hats, mittens, scarves, tights, perfect). Wearing giant fuzzy socks and a second cardigan at the office gets 30 percent fewer disapproving looks. Holding hot steaming mugs of hot steaming liquids. Christmas lights! Coats! ETC.!

WE INTERRUPT OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED BLOG POSTING - Sea Salt Caramels

***ALDI EMERGENCY BLOG POST***

Sorry for the panic I know this has caused, but I just got the ALDI flyer in my inbox and found something you need to know about. There is one thing at ALDI that comes around once or twice a year that turns this blog from "What's Good At ALDI" into "What's GREAT At ALDI" and it's these and they're back!

INCREDIBLE and only $3.49!

I'm not going to waste time with a review. Time you could be using to run, I repeat RUN, to ALDI and grab every last box of these. I'll only say this - this post is by me, GC and you know how hard I am on ALDI products. NOW GO!

Update from the Lady: Specially Selected Sea Salt Caramels get an A++. Bonus points for being an amazing gift and a for a having a box sized for 10 pieces but only giving you nine.

Triple Chocolate Creme Cake

Guys, my mom is the best. Without any prompting - she sent us a review for L'Oven Fresh Triple Chocolate Creme Cake! And now I'm blogging it from the Tabernacle in ATL. Technology, America, Apple; life is amazing.

Went shopping at my favorite place to save money, to see what I could cross off my list, before going to one of those glitzy, bells and whistles, stores for what was left. As is typical, I ended up with a few things that were not a part of the original plan. As we were beginning to unload the cart, I spotted the cutest little chocolate bundt cake sitting right there next to the checkout lane. Into the cart it went, and then after thinking better of it, put it back on the shelf. Then back into the cart, after a very convincing argument arose in my head.

That Triple Chocolate Creme cake would be the perfect birthday cake for the man of my house, who celebrates his birthday the day before Thanksgiving. It would have to be that Triple Chocolate Creme cake or no birthday cake at all. Now that just seemed wrong.

Aldi's Mint Oreos

After an entire week of mostly disappointing pies, I'm glad I get to bring something that was so great. So great, in fact, that I had to throw them away to keep from eating 5000 calories in three days. Benton's Mint Creme Chocolate Sandwich Cookies! I love mint oreos and I enjoyed Benton's Chocolate Sandwich Cookies original version, so these were destined to be a slam dunk.

Piepocalypse Now! - The Final Reckoning -- Cherry Pie

And so we come to the end of the Piepocalypse and I've saved the worst for last. Readers I give you the worst pie I have ever eaten...L'Oven Fresh Cherry Pie.

Just Don't!

It's products like these that make me wonder if anyone at ALDI actually eats ALDI food. I don't think I have the language skills to explain just how horrible this pie was. But I'll try.

Piepocalypse Now! - Day Four -- Dutch Apple Pie

When we last convened, we had just finished a not terrible pecan pie. I just heard the oven timer go off so it must time for the warm pies, starting with L'Oven Fresh Dutch Apple Pie.

What country is Dutch anyway? Iceland?

With both of the fruit pies, I cooked the pie at 350 for 20 minutes so it was warm but not overly hot and tented it with some ALDI foil so as not to burn the crust. It worked out pretty well but there are no heating instructions so I was just winging it. I'm not sure what ALDI is thinking - maybe heat causes some horrible reaction in ALDI pies but none of the boxes had any reheating instructions. Note to ALDI: people enjoy warm pie.

Piepocalypse Now! - Day Three -- Pecan Pie

When last I left you I had just finished a disappointing pie #1 - Sweet Potato. On to day three - L'Oven Fresh Pecan Pie.

 How do I love thee?

Of all the things I have claimed to love on this blog, this one is closest to being true love. I love pecan pie. It is delicious. Toasted pecans on top of a dark rich sweet Karo syrup flavored filling in a flaky Crisco shortening crust. It's pretty close to the perfect dessert. I think we all know this review is headed for a fall.

Piepocalypse Now! - Day Two -- Sweet Potato Pie

When I left you last time, I had just purchased 4 L'Oven Fresh pies for tasting. Now the moment you've all been waiting 24 hours for - Let the pie eating begin!

First up, L'Oven Fresh Sweet Potato Pie.

3.14159265359

Sweet potato pie is one of my very favorite pies. Do they eat this anywhere else but down here in the South? It's very similar to pumpkin pie - I think they use the same spices - but it has a distinct sweet potato flavor. 

Piepocalypse Now! - Day One

Maybe because Thanksgiving season is upon us or maybe because the boys in the lab over at L'Oven fresh made too many pie crusts, it was pie week at our ALDI . And if there's one thing I love, along with all the other things I've sworn I love in this blog, it's pie. Seriously, pie is my number one choice for dessert or dinner or breakfast...basically at any moment I'm liable to be eating pie. So this week I'm bringing you Piepocalypse Now, a review of 4 of the 6 L'Oven Fresh pies that were available.

 

The Four Horsemen of the Piepocalypse

The pies that made the cut were Cherry, Sweet Potato, Dutch Apple and Pecan. The two that didn't were Pumpkin  (haven't we had enough pumpkin lately?) and Carmel Apple (one apple pie seemed sufficient and dutch apple is a classic). The pies were about $3 each, a pretty good bargain. 

Since I'm inclined to love any pie and hate most things ALDI, the Lady joined me for this taste test. She added some needed balance to the reviews. The tasting was pretty straight forward. We heated the two fruit pies for 20 minutes and ate the other two straight out of the box at room temperature. One slice of the same pie for each of us. Comments held until the everyone was finished. No accoutrements like ice cream, cheese or whipped cream. Each pie rose or fell on it's own merits. Seems pretty unbiased right? I'm pretty sure this is how the Pillsbury Bake Off is judged.

And so loyal readers, as foretold in prophecy, prepare yourselves for the coming L'Oven Fresh Piepocalypse!