Among the types of desserts Aldi sells year round, the best have to include the mini cream puffs and mini éclairs sold in unassuming bulk plastic boxes in the freezer section. They’re generally stocked on the bottom shelf in the Regular Buy freezer, below the more brightly colored boxes of ice cream bars, popsicles, cheesecake, and ice cream cartons. It might be easy to pass them by while you’re shopping for your groceries.
But once you discover these gems, you won’t forget them. They are that good.
Specially Selected Mini Cream Puffs and Specially Selected Mini Éclairs cost $4.79 for a 22-ounce box of cream puffs (about 22 cents per ounce) or a 27.4-ounce box of éclairs (about 17 cents per ounce) at the time of publication. That’s considerably cheaper than what we’ve seen for different brands at other retailers such as Target or Walmart and pretty affordable for such fancy-looking and decadent desserts.
These cream puffs and mini éclairs consist of light and delicate choux pastry filled with either whipped cream or Bavarian cream, and the éclairs have a crisp chocolate topping as well. Their small size makes it difficult to stop eating them, so we try to portion them out carefully.
Each contains 48 to 50 mini pastries. The size of the boxes makes these perfect for parties or other times when you need dessert for a crowd.
Specially Selected Mini Cream Puffs and Specially Selected Mini Éclairs in their packaging.
However, because they’re sold frozen and will last a long time in your home freezer, they’re also ideal for families or for one- or two-person households because you can take out and thaw the exact amount that you want. Often we can’t wait to start eating these and will nibble on them before they’ve fully defrosted. Hint: they also pair well with a cup of coffee or tea.
Both the cream puffs and éclairs have a generous amount of filling.
Read on for more information.
Specially Selected Mini Cream Puffs
The package describes these as “Belgian choux pastry filled with whipped cream.” The 22-ounce box they come in contains 50 mini cream puffs.
They should be kept frozen until you’re ready to serve them. Before serving them, remove the amount you need from the box and defrost for 30 minutes at room temperature or about one hour in the refrigerator. If desired, you can dust them with powdered sugar or serve them with fruit or ice cream, but they’re fantastic on their own.
Specially Selected Mini Cream Puffs nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
Ingredients include: cream, eggs, sugar, water, enriched wheat flour, palm oil, modified corn starch, natural vanilla flavor, salt, and soy lecithin.
One serving is six cream puffs (75 grams), which will net you 280 calories, 23 grams of total fat (35% DV), 14 grams of saturated fat (70% DV), 115 mg of cholesterol (38% DV), 45 mg of sodium (2% DV), 16 grams of total carbohydrates (5% DV), less than 1 gram of dietary fiber (1% DV), 9 grams of sugars, and 3 grams of protein.
Specially Selected Mini Éclairs
The box describes these as “delicate choux pastry filled with fresh dairy Bavarian cream and topped with decadent dark chocolate.” The 27.4-ounce box they come in contains 48 mini éclairs.
These should be kept frozen until ready to serve. Before serving, allow them to defrost for 60 minutes at room temperature or for at least three hours in the refrigerator. Do not defrost them in the microwave. The box suggests they can be served on their own or with fresh strawberries.
Specially Selected Mini Éclairs nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
Ingredients include: water, cream, sugar, eggs, dark chocolate, enriched wheat flour, vegetable oil, modified starch, sodium caseinate, whey powder, skim milk, dextrose, sodium alginate, natural vanilla flavor, calcium carbonate, beta-carotene (color), salt, and soy lecithin.
One serving is five mini éclairs (81 grams), which will net you 230 calories, 14 grams of total fat (22% DV), 8 grams of saturated fat (42% DV), 65 mg of cholesterol (21% DV), 40 mg of sodium (2% DV), 22 grams of total carbohydrates (7% DV), less than one gram of dietary fiber (3% DV), 14 grams of sugars, and 3 grams of protein.
The Verdict:
Specially Selected Mini Cream Puffs consist of Belgian choux pastry filled with whipped cream, and Specially Selected Mini Éclairs are made with choux pastry filled with Bavarian cream and topped with dark chocolate. Both are excellent desserts and we highly recommend them, but if you are only buying one, we’re slightly more partial to the cream puffs.
Suggestion: if they aren’t going to be consumed quickly, tuck a paper towel into the box. will help with moisture and hopefully avoid freezer burn.
That’s a good idea!
How long do they last in the fridge I thawed