Trader Joe’s 8 Mini Croissants

The pros: Trader Joe’s 8 Mini Croissants are new and replace the frozen ones you have to proof.  Don’t worry though, the Chocolate and Almond croissants are still in the frozen aisle.

The cons: If you imagined (like I did) that these would be about the size of say a crescent roll, then you will be surprised by how much they puff up.  This bag is not resealable.  They are made in Belgium.

The verdict:  

I love a good croissant.  So much so that a fellow friend and I decided to take a croissant making class at Sur La Table a day or two before my wedding.

Yup, nothing says I don’t need to fit into my clothes anymore, like learning to make buttery pastries.

So let’s start off with a couple of things that are worth noting.  This is a new product.  Trader Joe’s previously offered boxed variety with the same name that were just plain croissants.  Those required time.  Overnight + bake time. While the chocolate and almond croissants are still there, the plain ones have not been there the last few times I stopped into my local TJs.

Now, the chocolate ones are near perfection. The only downside is you can’t just pop them in the oven.  You have to wait for them to rise.

The almond ones are a close second, but they frequently leak their filling all over the cookie sheet. Also, they would be prettier if they mentioned the importance of an egg wash.  In terms of taste, they are on point too.

These croissants are for those of us who fail to plan. I know I’ll need to eat, but often I fail to plan.  If you have about 25 minutes, then you might be pleasantly surprised by how good these are for something coming out of a bag.

Let’s start off with the price.  For $3.99 you are getting 8 not so mini but not full sized pastries.  Go into any French bakery and that might get you two if you are lucky.

Because of the ridiculously high heat here in NY, these were pretty much fully defrosted for me by the time I brought them home.  So while I did not leave them out for 30 minutes, they did endure a shopping trip, a 25 minute car ride in 90 degree heat, plus putting the groceries away.

About 25 minute later I had golden brown pastries.  I pushed it to the 30 minutes to ensure that they weren’t quite as light as the ones on the picture on the bag.

You see, when it comes to croissants you want a bit of color. Without the color it means you might be biting into mush.  You want flaky layers. If I had let them stay in the oven a few more minutes I probably could have added to the layering.

But the outside was crisp and the inside light and tender.

For something that wasn’t full sized, it was pretty good.  For something that does not require an overnight proofing, they are pretty good.

Best of all these are less than half the calories of the chocolate or almond croissants and a touch easier to make.  It’s like Trader Joe’s understands just how lazy I am.

Don’t get me wrong, those chocolate and almond ones are worth the time.  But if you are looking for an upgrade to your Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, then you should give these a try.

Here is the visual run down of what you get if you buy this product:

The bag of Trader Joe’s 8 Mini Croissants:

The nutritional information:

The ingredients:

How to prepare:

How Trader Joe’s describes these:

After being cooked you get:

Would I buy this again? Yes, I would buy Trader Joe’s 8 Mini Croissants again. They were easy, peasy and tasted pretty good.  Not French Bakery amazing, but darn good out of the bag.

Want to see more items I’ve reviewed from Trader Joe’s?  Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe’s for a searchable list.

Did you try it?  Let me know what you think in the comments section!

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