And after a little break, I'm back with more reviews. A little break does the soul good. And with that, there are some really good (and bad) items hitting shelves. Yes, Trader Joe's 4 Cheese Pastry Rolls are good. But if you follow the directions on the box you are going to not be too happy with this product.
The directions
Ok, before I even dive into the taste of this product. The directions are so wrong it isn't even funny. They give you oven directions. That's wonderful. Just pop them into a cold oven and they'll come out perfect, right? Wrong.
I have an electric oven. By the time my timer was based on the directions on the box, my oven wasn't even up to temperature. And because of this, I needed to add another 10 minutes to the cooking time. And out of the oven they were just ok. And for those of you with gas ovens, let me know how the directions worked for you in the comments section.
I've had to buy 2 boxes of these to work through the directions. Yes, I've tried letting them rise overnight, cooking them in a pre-heated oven, and finally, the air fryer got the best results each time.
Air fryer directions
So in order to get the most out of these preheat your air fryer to 325F. Once pre-heated. Spray the bottom of the tray to ensure nothing sticks. Place 2 in the basket. Cook 10-13 minutes.
This method yields results you can't hope to replicate in your oven.
The taste
First, if you remember the now discontinued Trader Joe's Cream Cheese Brioche Pastries, then you might be familiar with the filling used here. If you never got a chance to try those then this is basically a sweetened cream cheese filling. But instead of brioche bread, you are getting what will remind you of a croissant.
Now, if you are following the directions you might be disappointed with this product. I know I was. It had potential when I bit into it but I knew it could have been better. Because my electric oven takes its sweet time with getting to temperature it took 10 extra minutes. It was also very small and dense. I had made 2 this way expecting the directions to work.
Since I had 2 more, I had 1 that I let rise until it doubled in size and the one extra one went into the air fryer.
After letting it rise, it was better, but still was lacking.
Then the air fryer was a revelation. It didn't rise much but the layers were distinct. The only problem was I had put the air fryer up to 350F which was still far too warm. Yes, in 13 minutes mine were close to burnt.
The next box I bought was all air fryer experiments. I found that 325F worked the best. So did preheating your air fryer.
The taste here wasn't as dense. The layers were light and flakey. The top got a nice caramelization which I didn't notice making this the other way. Each bite was delicious. It made a slight mess with each bite with the break flaking off. But there was a nice ratio of filling to bread.
The filling was sweet but just sweet enough to not be off-putting. And again, I didn't even notice the outer layer had a fine layer of sugar which seemed to only caramelize for me in the air fryer at the lower temperature.
But this item is a treat. I just wished someone had tested out the directions a bit more thoroughly. A lot of people may be expressing unnecessary disappointment in the product because the directions might fail them.
Cooked properly, this product was delicious. Following the directions led me to believe this product was just meh.
The packaging
Packaging is minimal here. All four rolls are in the box with no extra plastic packaging.
Overall
Would I buy this again? Yes, I would buy Trader Joe's 4 Cheese Rolls again. For $4.79 these are a solid value and delicious. And yes, the trick here is to make it in the air fryer.
Did you try it? Let me know what you think in the comments section!
Product photos
The box:
The nutritional information, ingredients, and cooking directions:
Out of the package you get:
The results are a few different ways:
Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe's for a searchable list.
The Bottom Line
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Trader Joe's 4 Cheese Pastry Rolls
Product Name: Trader Joe's 4 Cheese Pastry Rolls
Product Description: Trader Joe's 4 Cheese Pastry Rolls is new, frozen, but the directions need to be redone.
Price: $4.79
Currency: USD
Availability: Discontinued
Summary
Trader Joe's 4 Cheese Pastry Rolls is new, frozen, and makes for a quick breakfast or dessert.
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Taste
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Value
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Worthy of Repurchasing
Pros
- If cooked properly, these are absolutely delicious
- No need to let them rise.
- The sweetened cheese in the middle is delicious.
Cons
- Directions are very wrong especially if you have an electric oven or any oven that is slow to warm.
KingOfBeacon says
Welcome back. I was starting to wonder if everything was ok.
becomebetty says
Thank you! Yes, everything here is ok. Life got in the way for a bit. I've been updating older posts but I'm looking forward to getting back in the swing of things. Thanks so much for your comment. It made my day.
Alek says
Welcome back!!
I have the exact same product. I air fried it for 9 minutes and it came out perfect! Not doughy at all. I served with raspberry sauce and it was DIVINE! Good for brunch item.
becomebetty says
Thanks for sharing Alek! What temperature worked best for you?
pauldaviescartoons says
Good. To see you back, fascinating how different these products look to the image on the box! Looking forward to reading more of the strange stuff the Americans ingest!
becomebetty says
Thanks so much!
Alek says
400 degrees.
Laura says
I used my toaster oven and after11 minutes it was burnt. I will try another one another day a try it at 350
becomebetty says
Did you defrost these in advance or heat them from frozen?
boouldergramp says
My results are completely different. I let them rise in a warm oven with the light on for about two hours and cook in a convection countertop oven at 350 deg for 15 minutes...just like the TJ's croissants. They come out perfect every time. My wife occasionally cooks them as directed on the package and they are fine. They certainly don't burn like the pictures.
becomebetty says
Thanks for sharing!
Leonid says
I followed the instruction and was very disappointed. Very! The traditional way of rising overnight and the temperature at about 350 F work much better.
becomebetty says
Thanks for sharing Leonid!
Deb says
I followed the directions and they were burned to a crisp at 20 minutes. Wish I had found your review before instead of after ruining the whole box. I agree that the directions are way off!
becomebetty says
Thanks for sharing Deb!
Julie holliday says
We have been enjoying the pastry rolls for a long time and have had no problem with baking. I put them on a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet at 350 and they come out just great
I just stopped at Trader Joes and was informed they have discontinued this product. I am very disappointed as this was a staple in my freezer. A favorite
becomebetty says
Thanks for sharing!