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 ½ 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: For $3.69 these are good to keep on hand because they came together in almost no time. Mine were ready and out of the oven in 14 minutes and managed to look exactly like the box. What they were lacking was part of the title, chocolate chip. I'll have to add mini chocolate chips the next time I make these as I had entire mouthfuls without one chocolate chip. For the price, it's hard to make them that cheap. If you look at my recipes posted at the bottom, most use lots of butter and heavy cream which means lots of calories, but they taste great. The pumpkin scones use buttermilk.
The box of Trader Joe's Chocolate Chip Scone Mix:
The nutritional information:
The ingredients:
How to prepare:
Out of the package you get:
All mixed together and yes, I used a serving fork to do the mixing:
I actually got 10 scones on one cookie sheet:
After being cooked you get:
Cooling on a rack:
Would I buy this again? I would consider buying these again and adapting them. They are not beyond repair, they are light and airy, just lacking the chocolate taste I was looking for. When I say lacking, I had entire bites of no chocolate. But it's nothing some mini chocolate chips probably can't fix. I'd also think about using milk instead of water as these were beginning to dry out after a day even in being kept in a ziploc bag. These are worth a try at least once.
Want to make scones yourself? Here are a few different recipes from scratch:
Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze
Heavenly Chocolate Scones with Chocolate Glaze Recipe
Lemon Poppy Scones with Lemon Glaze
Pumpkin Scones with Vanilla Glaze
Yes, they'll involve more than just adding water, but they can also be frozen. If you want to make it even easier for yourself make several of these ahead by putting in all the dry ingredients and writing down the wet items that are still needed.
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!
s30mething says
Does Trader Joe's have any gluten free scone mix do you know?
becomebetty says
At the moment, to the best of my knowledge the chocolate chip and the mixed berry are the only two scone mixes on the shelf. Neither is gluten free. This is their current list of gluten free items. I hope it helps!
http://www.traderjoes.com/dietary-lists/gluten-free
s30mething says
Oh wow! Thank you for looking that up, I appreciate it.
becomebetty says
No problem. When it comes to dietary needs and requirements I'm not going to guess. I'll pick up some of their Gluten Free All Purpose flour and give it a review. Thanks for asking!
John Bedrosian says
We buy the already made (3 in a bag) chocolate chip scones from Trader Joe's and they are always very smooth looking on the outer surfaces as if they were baked in a cupcake pan. The ones you show in the pictures above look more like a large cookie with rough outside texture or a biscuit which also looks like that.
becomebetty says
Hey John! It sounds like we are talking about different products. The chocolate chip scone mix used to be sold in a box. I think the item you are comparing this to are the ones in the bakery aisle which are exactly what you described. Thanks for sharing!