Trader Joe's blog and cooking.
The pros: O and H Danish Bakery Raspberry Kringle is the newest flavor to hit the shelves at Trader Joe’s, but represents a substantial savings over ordering it online.
The cons: The kringle flavors at Trader Joe’s are only seasonal, but fortunately, all the flavors I’ve tried so far have frozen very well.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Maple Leaf Cookies are delicious cookies that share the usual format of so many filled cookies, but have a flavor that stands out.
The cons: Way too easy to eat the whole box.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Mango Mini Mochi is a classic dessert of east meets west. Mochi evokes strong feelings of love or dislike.
The cons: This is a texture pairing that not everyone is going to love and adore.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Key Lime Tea Cookies are a seasonal flavor variety that isn’t shy on the key lime flavor.
The cons: They are seasonal. So if you like them, you might want to pick up a few boxes to get you through the season.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Frosted Sugar Cookies are a sweet and decadent bit of sweetness.
The cons: One cookie is 160 calories. There are lots of other desserts that have far fewer calories.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Vanilla Ice Cream Bon Bons are a small and portion controlled dessert that might satisfy a sweet tooth.
The cons: Vanilla ice cream could be better.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Cocoa Filled Pinwheel Cookies are a beautiful and whimsical cookie with a delicious filling.
The cons: The cookie isn’t as flavorful as it could be. In fact, it’s a bit bland.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter Sandwich Cookies have cookie butter in them.
The cons: These should be redone and sold as “double stuff.”
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Pecan Pralines are a dangerous combination that are a touch sweet, salty, buttery, nutty, and crunchy.
The cons: It would be easy to eat way more than a serving or perhaps a whole box of these.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Chocolate Pecan Pie Bar is a solid option in the baked good aisle. It’s a reasonable sized dessert if you are having company.
The cons: Like most Pecan Pies, this one does not shy away from the calories. However, one serving is quite a generous size. Would be better if this had some bourbon flavoring to it.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Blondie Bar Baking Mix is a super quick and easy baking mix that makes a reasonable amount of blondies.
The cons: While the box does not mention it, these pair very well with nuts too.
The verdict: …
The pros: O&H Danish Bakery Pecan Kringle is a seasonal offering at Trader Joe’s. If you were a fan of previous flavors, then you’ll probably enjoy this one too. This is perfect for either breakfast, brunch, or dessert. This is far more affordable at Trader Joe’s than on the bakery’s website.
The cons: This is a seasonal offering. While mine did not come out of the bag in a photogenic way, it still tasted fine. In other words, mine was super flaky.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Mini Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups are addicting and a better balance of peanut butter and milk chocolate than the full sized ones they sell.
The cons: Addicting. It’s not hard to sit and eat the whole container.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Gummy Bears are the traditional gummy bear flavor and texture.
The cons: If you’ve gotten spoiled by the texture of Trader Joe’s Scandinavian Swimmers or other gummies, then you might not love these.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Crunchy Cinnamon Squares Milk Chocolate Bar is new to shelves, adds to a line a fun candy bars that are well sized and under $2 each, and has good texture.
The cons: This is a very sweet bar which in the end just did not make me want to go back for more.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Tarte Aux Fruits is a terrific blend of sweet and tart on a nice crust.
The cons: Be sure to keep this level if you are defrosting, otherwise you’ll have a gnarly mess waiting for you. Mine wasn’t quite as picture perfect as the box, but it tasted just fine.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Speculoos Cookie Butter has a golden cap and a golden seal on the inside to remind you that you have won the golden culinary ticket by picking this up.
The cons: Easy to consume the entire jar.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Scandinavian Swimmers are available all year round. There have been other gummies available like Scandinavian Tidings and Gummy Xs & Os. These are also a different set of flavors than the seasonal variety.
The cons: These are pretty addicting.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Chocolate Sunflower Seed Drops reminded me of peanut M&M’s except these are much smaller, more filling, and well, no peanuts in them but…
The cons: While they taste like peanut M&Ms, the allergy warning does mention some possible cross contamination. Don’t leave these in direct sunlight as the natural food coloring will fade extremely quickly.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Speculoos Crunchy Cookie Butter is one of two iconic cookie butter varieties currently on shelves.
The cons: I’m not sure how they think there are 27 servings in this jar. Clearly, they are misinformed or never tasted it.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Chocolate Chip Cookies are a nice balance between soft and chewy without being too soft or crumbly.
The cons: If you are a crunchy cookie fan, then don’t reach for these. Also, the hint of molasses is kind of misleading. Yes, there is molasses but isn’t brown sugar just sugar with molasses?
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie is 2000 calories in all, but makes for a pretty good dessert.
The cons: C might be for cookie, but this is not good for your diet. Then again if you picked this up, I’m sure diet might not be on your mind.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Gummy Xs and Os are a fun spin on Trader Joe’s Scandinavian Swimmers or the seasonal Scandinavian Tidings.
The cons: These are seasonal.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Mini Heart Cookies are another seasonal continuation of the super successful Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Stars. Five cookies to a serving for only 130 calories.
The cons: If you are looking for plain shortbread because that’s what the box makes it sound like, then you might be a touch disappointed. This is likely a seasonal product.
The verdict: …
