Benton's-Soft and Chewy-Homestyle Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Benton's Homestyle Oatmeal Raisin cookies are a delicious, relatively healthy, oatmeal raisin cookie as far as commercial cookie products go. Benton's Homestyle Oatmeal Raisin cookies are as close to scratch as any you can buy at your supermarket. But this product can only be purchased at Aldi. It's an Aldi store brand. And, it's a 16 ounce package of goodness...
Overall rating 8* (on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest)

• Flavor--10
• Quality and count of raisins--11
• Fiber--10 (2g per cookie is equivalent to a slice of bread)
• Price--$1.99
• Freshness--10

Benton's Homestyle Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are a soft and chewy oatmeal raisin cookie, with lots of plump, whole raisins in every bite. I have purchased these cookies about ten times, since 2005, and every time they have been perfectly fresh and delicious. As a test for this review, I took a cookie at random (see pictures #1 to #5) and broke it apart with a fork. To my surprise, I counted 11 whole, plump, juicy raisins, not bits and pieces like I was expecting. There wasn't a bit raisin in the bunch. And, before taking the pictures, as I was arranging the raisins and resulting cookie crumbles on a plate, I saw a crumb that was a little large. When I went to break in half, I found a 12th raisin! I didn't think I could stand to find another raisin after that. Although the cookie is 2 3/4 inches in diameter by three-eighths inch high-a big cookie, yes-who'd ever guess it was hiding 12 raisins? Also, there are lots of whole oat pieces throughout the cookie; excellent for cholesterol benefits. Benton's Homestyle Oatmeal Raisin cookies are made with unbleached wheat flour, which gives this cookie plenty of fiber at 2 grams per piece, meeting 8% of the dietary fiber requirement per day. Additionally, these cookies have no artificial ingredients, and 0 grams of trans fat.

The cookies are packed in a double sided plastic tray, recyclable #6. For storage, Benton recommends after opening, removing the remaining cookies and storing them in the plastic bag. However, you will need a clip for this, as the bag does not stay closed. A serving suggestion from Benton is microwaving the cookies for 8-10 seconds for a "fresh from the oven taste." This should be delicious, but I like mine cold.

*On a scale of 1-10, I give Benton's Homestyle Oatmeal Raisin cookies an 8. I subtracted two points because each cookie has 11g of sugar, which equates to about 2 1/2 teaspoons and 120 calories. However, it is: high in fiber, high in dried fruit, (concentrated nutrients!), and, it has none of the preservatives and trans fats found in other cookie products. At $1.99 for 15 high fiber cookies, this is a good buy. In conclusion, if you cannot bake your own oatmeal raisin cookies or buy some which use no sugar, Benton's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are the ones to get.

Ingredients: oatmeal, raisins, baking oil (palm, soybean, canola), unbleached wheat flour, brown sugar, sugar, fresh eggs, molasses, malt, cinnamon, vanilla, baking soda, salt. Contains: soy, wheat and eggs. This product is manufactured in a facility that also processes products containing other tree nuts.

Nutrition

serving size - 1 cookie, 15 servings per container

calories 120 calories, from fat 40 calories

total fat 4g - 6%

saturated fat 1g - 5%

trans fat 0g

cholesterol <5mg - 0%

sodium 75mg - 3%

total carbohydrates 20g - 7%

dietarty fiber 2g - 8%

sugars 11g

protein 2g

vitamin A- 0%

viatmin C - 0%

calcium - 0%

iron - 0%

Percent of daily values based on a 2000 calorie diet

Also, available in Benton's Homestyle Chocolate Chip and Benton's Homestyle Peanut Butter