Aldi Animal Crackers Are Dead Ringers for McDonald’s Cookies

Pardon me for quoting defunct hair metal band Cinderella here, but sometimes you don’t know you’ve got until it’s gone—and so it was with McDonaldland Cookies. Between 1979 and roughly 2003, every McDonald’s Happy Meal came with a little packet of cookies shaped like those bizarre McDonaldland characters that got so much traction at kids’ birthday parties in the ‘80s (I don’t know about you, but I was lucky enough to grow up near one of the McDonald’s that had a “jail” shaped like Officer Big Mac). I remember being pretty disinterested in the cookies as a kid—I always preferred savories to sweets—but the instant they were replaced with apple slices, I joined the chorus of people shouting, “What gives, McDonald’s?”

Videos by Sporked

Much like Officer Big Mac and those disgusting little Fry Kids, McDonaldland Cookies retreated from the front of my brain and nestled somewhere in my memory, never to be seen or heard from again. Or they had until I saw people on Reddit saying they’d found a perfect dupe for McDonalds cookies.

According to Reddit, Benton’s Animal Crackers from Aldi are pretty much identical to McDonald’s cookies

Could it be true? I was dubious, mostly because from what I could remember of the McDonaldland cookies, they weren’t like animal crackers at all. Traditionally, animal crackers are puffy, toasty, and tinged with a bit of vanilla (I’m specifically thinking about Barnum’s). But as it turns out, Benton’s Animal Crackers aren’t really like animal crackers—as one commenter put it, “I always thought those tasted so different from other animal crackers, yet so familiar! Now I know why!”

Now, keep in mind that I have a 43-year-old brain that hasn’t encountered the flavor of McDonald’s cookies in around 20 years, so I can’t say for sure that Aldi’s animal crackers taste exactly like McDonald’s cookies, but sense memory is a powerful thing. Just ask Proust! Caveats withstanding, I gotta say, these really do taste the way I remember McDonald’s cookies tasting. They’re thin and snappy and have a perfect blend of both vanilla and something that’s akin to citrus extract. They’re nothing like animal crackers…and I have a strong hunch they would taste REALLY good with some extra-salty french fries and a small, flat hamburger with lots of reconstituted onion bits. Reddit nailed this one.

Best Animal Crackers for a Wildly Good Time

About the Author

Howdy! I’m Gwynedd, Sporked’s managing editor. I live in Los Angeles and have access to the best tacos the U.S. has to offer—but I’m a sucker for a crunchy Old El Paso taco night every now and then. I’ve been at Sporked since 2022 and I’m still searching frozen mozzarella sticks that can hold a candle to restaurant sticks. Why you should trust me: I’ve been a journalist for 20 years (yikes), a consumer of food for 40-plus years, and I’m truly hard pressed to think of foods I don’t like (or that I can’t tolerate at the very least). Oh and one time I cooked my way through Guy Fieri’s cookbook and wrote about the journey through Flavortown. What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s Original Savory Thins. Fat free plain yogurt (usually Fage or Nancy’s). Honeycrisp apples. Sweet cream coffee creamer for my at-home Americanos. A frozen cauliflower crust pizza and some jarred mushrooms to top it with. Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff taco shells and Gardein Ground Be’f, even though I think “be’f” is a nightmarish contraction. Favorite ranking: Stouffer’s frozen dinners. I don’t own a microwave (I get my cancers the old fashioned way!), so I love taste testing things that I don’t really buy to eat at home. Least favorite ranking: Soy sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love soy sauce—but consuming that much sodium in one sitting is probably illegal in some countries. Our frozen enchilada taste test was a close second; the smell of microwaved corn tortillas still haunts me.