Costco's New Cherry-Topped Cheesecake Is Almost 6 Pounds of Indulgence. Is It a Good Buy?

There are certain Costco bakery items that have been available to customers for years. Take the store's classic jumbo-sized muffins. Whether your favorite flavor is blueberry, corn, or chocolate with chocolate chips, those muffins have been a Costco bakery mainstay for ages.

But the great thing about Costco is that the warehouse club giant also has a tendency to introduce new products to its lineup. And Costco's latest bakery offering might tempt you to a very large degree.

How does six pounds of cheesecake sound to you?

Costco has sold regular cheesecake at its bakeries for quite some time. During the fall, it tends to offer a pumpkin-flavored version.

Now, Costco is introducing a cherry-topped cheesecake that has many customers swooning. It features a graham cracker crust, a sour cream layer, a rich cheesecake filling, and a cherry topping, all of which is surrounded by white buttercream. Best of all, since this is Costco we're talking about, this new cheesecake offering is almost six pounds. And the price is a very reasonable $22.99.

As a point of comparison, Junior's, a famous cheesecake maker, sells a cherry crumb cheesecake for $55.95 for a three-pound dessert. Eli's, another big name in the cheesecake world, sells a cherry vanilla bean cheesecake for $63 for a 3.5-pound creation. So all told, Costco's version reads like the best financial deal.

Should you buy Costco's latest dessert?

Bringing six pounds of cheesecake into your home could be a somewhat dangerous thing from a caloric perspective. From a financial one, though, it's easy to argue that the latest cheesecake is a good buy if you have a good use for it.

You may be gearing up to host a room full of friends for the big game coming up. Costco's new cheesecake could serve as an awesome dessert. Similarly, if you're invited out that Sunday, showing up with the new cheesecake in hand could make you a hero.

If you're not hosting or feeding a crowd, you could still make the argument that Costco's cherry-topped cheesecake is worth buying. Though cheesecake has a limited shelf life, it freezes fairly well. You could portion it out and stash some of it away for those nights when you're craving something sweet and don't want to head out to the grocery store.

It's also worth noting that cheesecake isn't the easiest thing to whip up in your own kitchen. Baking a cheesecake requires certain tools that you may not have. And sometimes, even experienced bakers find that their homemade cheesecakes cave in on them during the baking process. So if you're someone who loves cheesecake but doesn't love making it yourself, buying Costco's newest creation could be a good bet.

Don't buy the new Costco cheesecake, though, if you have zero storage space in your freezer and you're not hanging out with company anytime soon. Your chances of being able to consume an almost six-pound cheesecake on your own are pretty slim. Attempting to finish one off on your own could lead to a world of digestive upheaval you'd probably rather avoid. Otherwise, it's pretty easy to make the case that this is a good dessert to bring home.