After Trader Joe's released last year's Carrot Cake Spread, I'm now truly concerned about the hype regarding anything in a little jar. Aside from pure disappointment if not outright disgust, I was hoping this jar would be something different.
Taste and review
For the most part, this jar is a bit better. Albeit, not too much.
If you go by name alone, it conjures up an image of the slightly crunchy and deeply cinnamon filling that is deeply buttery.
For me, cinnamon buns are something that reminds me of the holidays in ways that few foods do. We always had homemade cinnamon buns, so if you have never had the real thing, it is so vastly different than anything that can ever come out of a can.
However, when you open this jar it is truly a spread. It is smooth and quite spreadable. So if you are hoping for any of the crunch, then you'll need to add your own texture to this.
But my biggest problem here is that rather than eating like a cinnamon bun this is way more caramel-like in taste. Even the cinnamon flavor isn't terribly assertive here. It reminded me more of a dulce de leche than anything else.
So what could you pair this with? Waffles, ice cream, or anything that calls for a bit of caramel-like flavoring. Heck, you could even put this into a crescent roll and make sorta kinda not really cinnamon buns.
Just understand, that this is a seasonal offering, and my receipt reflected as such.
Overall
For $3.49 fun to try, but not a winner in my book. This got a lot of hype on social media thanks to a really clever name. But it never truly lives up to a cinnamon bun.
Would I buy this again? Nope, Trader Joe's Cinnamon Bun Spread is a one-and-done from me. No need to stock up on this one as it didn't hit it out of the park for me either. However, it was way more palatable than the Carrot Cake Spread.
Did you try it? Let me know what you think in the comments section!
Product Photos
The jar of Trader Joe's Cinnamon Bun Spread:
Calories and ingredients
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Trader Joe's Cinnamon Bun Spread
Product Name: Trader Joe's Cinnamon Bun Spread
Product Description: Trader Joe's Cinnamon Bun Spread is a caramel-esque spreadable sauce.
Price: $3.49
Summary
Trader Joe's Cinnamon Bun Spread is a new sweet spread.
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Taste
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Value
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Worthy of Repurchasing
Pros
- Sweet cinnamon caramel spread
- Has a social media set abuzz
Cons
- Had no texture
- Did not remind me of a cinnamon bun.
I was thinking of swirling in cake batter. Apple pie crust topping.
Hey Alek! That would work and yes, pairing with apples would be a great suggestion too!
Thanks for trying this. I had thought about buying it but it doesn't sound like it's worth it. Also glad to see a post from you. Was getting a little worried when you hadn't posted in a couple of weeks or so.
Hey Dagmar! Thanks so much. Between coming back from vacation and not feeling well recently (and a pause in new stuff to try before all things pumpkin came raining down) I figured it was a good time to take a little break (it has been three straight years). I'm fine and I'm hoping to get regular reviews back up and running this week. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. Thanks for worrying about me and I'm back.
first of all, thank you for stopping by my blog...and now I know about your awesome blog! I love that a huge part of your blog is reviewing Trader Joe's food items. Pure genius 🙂 I'm so glad I just read your review on this cinnamon bun spread. It was one of the few seasonal items they carry right now that I did not buy, haha. I figured my kids would just crack out on it so I pretended like I never saw it. But I was intrigued 🙂 Love your site, and thank you for stopping by mine 🙂
I felt the same as you when I first tried it. It was OK. I was trying it on toast, waffles, and pancakes. Then I started swirling a teaspoon into my plain oatmeal with one packet of Splenda. Now I can't wait until it appears on the shelves again, and I don't even live in a town with Trader Joe's. I highly recommend putting it in oatmeal. It's delicious!
Hey Laura! I haven't seen this item recently as it was a seasonal item. Maybe it will be back in the fall. Thanks for sharing how you enjoyed this product and thanks for taking the time out of your day to stop by and share.