So, you're jonesing for a fig bar, but your favorite Fig Newtons are going to cost more money than you can shake loose from under the cushions on the couch. WAT DO?
Well, you can go to the dollar store, the job lot place, or ALDI and see what you can get for less than a dollar-three-eighty. At ALDI, that would be Benton's Fig Bars. But how do they measure up against Fig Newtons - the Real Thing, the Gold Standard against which all fig bars are measured?
Well, for starters, the cutting blade at the bakery must not be up to Nabisco sharpness standards, because the Benton's bars always look like they were cut apart with an old hack saw. Other than that, the cookie part of the bars are pretty much the same thing you'll find wrapped around the center of a Newton.
The filling is sweet and figgy, as you would expect, though it is somewhat "wetter" and more gooey than that of a Newton.
These cookies will satisfy a fig bar jones, to be sure, and are perfectly fine for the casual fig bar fan, but if Fig Newtons are your OMG FAVE cookie, you won't be satisfied with Benton's. You'll spend every bite comparing them unfavorably with the Newtons you wish you had bought in the first place.
I was just looking at these today at Aldi... I really should have bought them. I could use a faux fig newton right now.
ReplyDeleteI've found very little difference between these and Fig Newtons, that is, the name. The price is fan-freaking-tastic compared to Newtons so it trumps them any day in my book.
ReplyDeleteI love how it's 2016 and the packaging is exactly the same I just got them from Aldi and they are cut a lot better now and look just as good as the Fig Newtons do. But they're still wetter and gooey than a Fig Newton due to the reason that they do not contain partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredients list which are solid oils found in the Fig Newtons and many other things to make them more solid and last longer, but really bad for your health because partially hydrogenated oils clog your arteries. So these Aldi fig bars are better because they're cheaper and healthier too, although they are still junk food and should be eaten in moderation.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if the recipe has been tweaked in the past 5 years since this original review was written, but these are practically Fig Newtons, for a third of a price. The fig filling is spot on. The cake is a little thicker and the cookie over all is softer and a little smaller, but all those other generics don't compare.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you!!! Benton's over Fig Newtons anyday!
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