The pros: Trader Joe’s Grade A Maple Syrup is a lighter maple syrup with a good flavor profile.
The cons: Nothing comes to mind.
The verdict: …
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Baking
Trader Joe’s Organic Sugar
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Sugar is kosher, organic, and tasty. There are some noticeable differences between regular sugar and organic. It comes in a bag that can be resealed.
The cons: Organic sugar comes at a premium price. The last time I was at Costco, sugar (in a much larger and non organic package was about $0.40 cents per pound). This is about triple the price per pound.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Brownie Mix
The pros: Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Brownie Mix is just as quick as any brownie mix and you won’t feel like you are missing anything.
The cons: Priced higher than the Non Gluten-Free variety
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Coffee Flour
The pros: Trader Joe’s Coffee Flour has some good potential as it’s eco friendly and would be discarded. If you add 1 Tbsp to whatever you are making, it contains 6 grams of fiber. Very cool resealable bag that seems to utilize a Velcro like seal.
The cons: Limited production of this item and even more limited number of suggested uses of this product. They included a few recipes, but not many. This is a half pound bag. There will have to be a lot of consumer experimentation and I’m not sure most are willing to devote that much time to incorporating this one product.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Brownie Truffle Baking Mix
The pros: Trader Joe’s Brownie Truffle Baking Mix makes decent brownies. It has a nice texture with chocolate chips added in.
The cons: Not as much value in this product as it is smaller in size than Duncan Hines and Pillsbury packages.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Mixed Berry Scones Mix
The pros: Quick, easy and fast to put together. Trader Joe’s Mixed Berry Scones Mix only requires water to come together. Were ready in under 20 minutes from start to finish.
The cons: Light on the mixed berry. You might want to keep some freeze fried berries on hand to add into this mix.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Chocolate Chip Scone Mix
The pros: Trader Joe’s Chocolate Chip Scone Mix are super quick, very easy, minimal mess, just add water (just use a measuring cup filled to between 5-6 ounces to get the right measurement rather than that stupid suggestion of 1/2 cup + 3 TBSP). Buttermilk scone mix means these are light as a feather when you are eating them.
The cons: Trader Joe’s Chocolate Chip Scone Mix are light as a feather and even lighter on the chocolate chips. Were best cooled from the oven. The next day they were noticeably drier.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Semi Sweet Chocolate Chunks
The pros: Trader Joe’s Semi Sweet Chocolate Chunks is almost 60% cocoa, rich cocoa taste, great for baking.
The cons: If you need uniformity in your chocolate then reach for the chips and not the chunks. These were meant to be uneven on purpose.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Organic Light Brown Sugar (and cookie recipe too)
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Light Brown Sugar is tasty, works well in cookie recipe (see below), strong smell of molasses.
The cons: Pricey because its organic.
The verdict: …
Trader Joe’s Blanched Almond Flour
The pros: $7.99 might sound like a lot for Trader Joe’s Blanched Almond Flour, but that’s actually a very reasonable price. King Arthur Almond flour sells for double.
The cons: Still expensive compared to regular wheat flour, but for some wheat flour is a non option.
The verdict: …