Specially Selected Apple Berry and Caramel Apple Blossoms

The Specially Selected product line at Aldi encompasses gourmet-style foods, and you generally know you’re getting something good with this house brand. It includes products such as brioche loaves, German luxury cakes, shrimp and scallop entrees, specialty salsa, lemon-flavored Greek yogurt, stuffed shrimp, and brownie mix.

Among the most recent Specially Selected products to show up in the Aldi Find freezer aisle are Blossoms — a baked pastry dessert filled with fruit and wrapped up so it looks like closed flower petals. These cozy, carb-laden treats sound like just the thing to enjoy as we head into the cooler fall and winter months.

The boxes state that these are “made from scratch” and are a product of Canada. Some fine print on the boxes states that the term “Blossoms” is a registered trademark of Chudleigh’s. A little research indicates that Chudleigh’s is a farm and bakery operation in Ontario, Canada, that’s been around since the mid-twentieth century. The farm is open to the public and offers traditional fall fun activities such as apple picking, farm animal exhibits, wagon rides, outdoor play areas, and a café.

But you don’t have to visit Canada to enjoy Chudleigh’s signature Blossom desserts. You can also pick them up at Aldi, while supplies last.

At the time of publication, Specially Selected Apple Berry Blossoms and Caramel Apple Blossoms are an Aldi Find, which means they’re only in stores for a short time. Each store receives one shipment, and after that sells out, they’re gone unless Aldi decides to bring them back at some later time. Aldi does not offer online ordering for products not currently in stock at your local store.

These blossoms cost $3.29 for an 8-ounce package at the time of writing. With two servings per package, that comes out to about $1.65 per serving.

For comparison, you can purchase a two-pack of Blossoms directly from Chudleigh’s website, but only if you live in Canada, as their website doesn’t appear to offer shipping options in the United States. If you do have a Canadian address, you can buy a large 12-pack of Blossoms for about $1.08 per serving, plus shipping. If you only buy a two-pack, you’ll pay about $2.50 per serving, plus shipping.

You may also be able to purchase Blossoms at retailers such as H-E-B in Texas (the only other U.S. locations I could find selling these), or Costco stores only in Canada. I found them on Sam’s Club’s website as well, but they were unavailable for purchase there at the time of writing.

The packages describe these Blossoms as either “sweet pastry filled with apples and mixed berries” or “sweet pastry filled with apples and topped with creamy caramel.”

Nutrition information and ingredients. Apple berry blossoms on the left, caramel apple blossoms on the right. (Click to enlarge.)

These are kosher certified. If you’re looking out for allergens, the apple berry blossoms contain wheat, eggs, and milk, and they may contain soy and tree nuts. The caramel apple blossoms contain wheat, milk, soy, and eggs, and they may contain tree nuts.

These have a lot of calories and carbs, along with fat (including saturated fat) and added sugars, but they’re a dessert, so they’re not something you should eat all the time. Depending on the flavor, these also contain some processed ingredients such as dextrose, guar gum, xanthan gum, soy lecithin, and natural flavor.

One serving has between 320 and 340 calories, along with 15-16 grams of total fat (19-21% DV), 7-8 grams of saturated fat (35-40% DV), 5-10 mg of cholesterol (2-3% DV), 250-310 mg of sodium (11-13% DV), 43-44 grams of total carbohydrates (16% DV), 2 grams of dietary fiber (7% DV), 19 grams of total sugars, 14 grams of added sugars (28% DV), and 4 grams of protein.

The boxes have directions for heating the blossoms from frozen in a conventional oven or in a microwave.

To bake in the oven, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the blossom from wrapping and place it on a baking sheet in the middle of the oven. Heat for 15-20 minutes or until the center is warm.

To microwave, remove blossom from wrapping. Heat on high for 50-60 seconds or until the center is warm.

Ready to serve after baking.

I chose to bake our Blossoms. They were done after 17-18 minutes in the oven. I wasn’t sure how these would do baking from frozen and I wanted to make sure they didn’t have cold spots in the middle. While the filling did not get bubbly, they were plenty warm inside.

These were a hit among my family. They’re just like a pie, but in a different shape, with perhaps a little higher pastry to filling ratio. The filling hits all the right notes, with plenty of sweet apples along with either berries or a rich caramel flavor. I’d be hard pressed to say which flavor was our favorite. They were both good.

Also, because of the way these are shaped, I found we could eat them either with a fork or pick them up and eat them with our hands. They hold together well when you pick them up, a bit like a hand pie.

I don’t see anything on Chudleigh’s website about serving these Blossoms with ice cream or whipped cream, but they would go well with those toppings. We ate our Blossoms plain so we could focus on what they taste like on their own, but if I buy these again, I might get some vanilla ice cream and serve them a la mode.

The Verdict:

Specially Selected Apple Berry Blossoms and Caramel Apple Blossoms feature sweet pastry filled with apples and either berries or caramel. The filled pastries are then wrapped up to resemble petals on a flower; hence the name Blossoms. These are made by Chudleigh’s, a family farm operation in Ontario, Canada. If you want a cozy dessert on a fall or winter evening, these are well worth trying.