There are some Aldi products I just know are going to be good. At different times of the year, the discount grocery store stocks frozen dessert or ice cream-like products that are produced by Leone, a novelty ice cream maker in Slovenia in Central Europe. Leone makes products not only for Aldi but also for Lidl, Tesco, Morrisons, and other European grocers in countries including the U.K, Germany, Poland, Denmark, and Norway.
Leone’s desserts have distinct, whimsical appearances that are usually a giveaway to me that they’re made by Leone. As soon as I spot them in the weekly Aldi ad, I can guess that the fine print on the box is going to say they’re made in Slovenia.
Over the years, I’ve seen Leone concoctions at Aldi such as chocolate hazelnut and vanilla rose cones, mermaid cones, donut-shaped frozen dessert bars, snowflake cones, strawberries and cream rose cones, and galactic and unicorn cones.
Leone also produces various frozen dessert pops on sticks such as leprechaun-themed cones for St. Patrick’s Day or reindeer and snowman ice cream pops for the winter holidays.
The latest themed frozen dessert pops to arrive in Aldi in the U.S. have a Halloween vibe. They feature orange jack-o-lantern shapes with pointy purple hats. A box found its way into my shopping cart during a recent Aldi run.
Sundae Shoppe Jack-O-Lantern Pops 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 next year. Aldi does not offer online ordering for products that are not currently in stock at your local store.
The pops cost $2.39 for an 8.1-ounce package containing four servings at the time of publication. That comes out to about 60 cents per serving.
The package describes these as “orange colored vanilla flavored frozen dessert, purple colored strawberry flavored frozen dessert and cocoa flavored frozen dessert.”
Nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
If you’re looking out for allergens, these contain milk and wheat. They may contain tree nuts and peanuts.
These contain a few processed ingredients, which I would expect for a dessert like this, but overall they don’t look too bad.
Ingredients include reconstituted skim milk, sugar, coconut oil, glucose syrup, whey powder, strawberry puree, cocoa processed with alkalai, mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, water, dry skim milk, red beet juice concentrate (color), natural flavors, guar gum, locust bean gum, beta-carotene (color), citric acid, spirulina extract (color), and turmeric oleoresin (color).
One box contains four frozen dessert pops. One pop has 60 calories, 2.5 grams of total fat (3% DV), 2.5 grams of saturated fat (13% DV), 15 mg of sodium (1% DV), 8 grams of total carbohydrates (3% DV), 6 grams of total sugars, 5 grams of added sugars (10% DV), and less than 1 gram of protein.
These bars are on the smaller side, which is good if you’re trying to limit your intake of sugar and extra calories. In addition, Leone’s products often seem like they have a lot of air whipped into them (referred to as overrun in the ice cream industry), which is part of the reason why they’re not usually referred to as ice cream and instead are called frozen desserts.
Even if they’re not officially ice cream bars, these are good. The distinct chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavors all come through. The pumpkin shape is cute and appeals to kids and kids at heart. Plus, these will satisfy your sweet tooth without overriding your goal to eat reasonably healthy.
The Verdict:
Sundae Shoppe Jack-O-Lantern Pops feature frozen dessert molded into a jack-o-lantern shape with a pointy hat and served on a wooden stick. Each pop features three different “ice cream” flavors according to color: strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate. These are made by Leone, a European frozen dessert maker that regularly supplies Aldi with novelty treats. If you’re looking for a dessert worthy of the Halloween season, give these a try.
Sundae Shoppe Jack-0-Lantern Pops 4/box ALDI Find—-very disappointed Grandkids! went to buy right after seeing the ad early October, and none in small allotted area in the ALDI Finds freezer section. Little price sign there, and was told to come back next day, that they would be on the truck. went back two days. Sorry kids. No more.