The Best Vegan Dessert At Aldi Tastes Like Girl Scout Cookies (But Better)

Take a trip to Aldi, and foodies won't only find deals, but they'll find the unofficial forgotten Girl Scout cookie that just happens to be vegan. Introducing: Benton's Peanut Butter Fudge Cookies, the crunchy-coated thin peanut butter cookies draped in an outer layer of chocolatey fudge. These peanut butter chocolate cookies are perfectly Girl Scout Cookie-sized, vegan offshoots of Tagalongs, which is incidentally the Girl Scout cookie flavor Tasting Table names as our all-time favorite. Plus, in addition to being plant-based-foodie friendly, they're sold all year round (no need to lament when Girl Scout cookie season ends).

In our definitive ranking of the top 17 vegan foods at Aldi, the lineup included everything from coconut-based whipped cream to veggie burgers and cauliflower crackers. But, ultimately, Benton's Peanut Butter Fudge Cookies took the proverbial cake out of 'em all. As we mentioned in our review, these cookies artfully balance the levels of peanut butter and chocolate, steering away from heavy richness and making these bad boys ideal for snacking. The fudge isn't overly sweet, instead emphasizing the real cocoa advertised on the packaging. Other vegan-friendly ingredients in the cookies include peanut butter, enriched wheat flour, vegetable oil shortening, canola oil, cocoa, sugar, invert sugar, leavening, soy lecithin, salt, and artificial flavor — not necessarily a "health food," but certainly a solid snack to satisfy myriad foodies with unique diets.

We also gave Benton's cookies major points for pricing. A package of 18 cookies runs for less than $2, compared to Tagalongs at $5 or more per box (not to mention the four-box minimum for online ordering, plus shipping costs). Although, with the Girl Scouts, those extra bucks admittedly go toward funding troop activities, helping young children cut their teeth on both cookies and capitalist entrepreneurial know-how. With Benton's, those $2 go solely toward satisfying your sweet tooth, which is also a noble cause in our book. Aldi's Benton's brand also makes pretty solid dupes for Samoas (aka Caramel deLites) and Thin Mints (you're welcome).

Pro tip: Pop that box of Benton's in the fridge for a scrumptious, chilled, fudgy cookie treat. These vegan peanut butter fudge cookies would make a satisfying afternoon snack, picnic basket addition, or a satiating after-dinner sweet dunked in a cup of coffee with a splash of Aldi's Barissimo Coffee vanilla almond creamer, another stellar vegan product in our lineup. Or, for a fully-loaded, totally vegan sundae, try topping Aldi's mocha fudge non-dairy ice cream by Earth Grown Vegan with a handful of crumbled Benton's Peanut Butter Fudge Cookies and a generous swirl of plant milk whipped cream.