Trader Joe's It's Sedimentary My Dear Cookie

The pros:  Trader Joe's It's Sedimentary My Dear Cookie is a great gift idea that makes for a tasty batch of cookies.

The cons:  This is a seasonal item. The brown sugar in mine had hardened to near sedimentary rock level making a my spoon have to do a bit of jack hammmering and scraping to get this out. This also requires a 2 hour rest in the refrigerator, so if you need cookies quick, then reach for something else.

The verdict:  

It's that time of year where I don't need and excuse to turn the oven on or make a batch of cookies. But why bake from scratch when you can go straight to a mix. This mix in particular is gift oriented. It has all the cool layering of a gift set. More awesomely, the name of this was chosen in a contest last year. It's a combination of the fact that this looks like the layers that sedimentary rock would have and the phrase "It's elementary my dear Watson" a nod to Sherlock Holmes.

Origins of this product to the side, the most likely reasons you would buy this is because: 1) it looks cool, 2) it's a gift for someone, 3) curiosity got the better of you, 4) you are like me, an impulse shopper at Trader Joe's. Well, let me go through all the reasons why all of those are awesome reasons to pick this up. This is an awesome to look at jar that without the layering would look like most other cookies, especially Monster Cookies, which are usually a combination of chocolate chips, peanut butter, and oatmeal.

As a gift item, this is a no muss, no fuss, and under $5 item to reach for. Yes, those secret Santa or holiday grab bag times are coming up and this might be something that would fit in the budget. Those low budget gifts are some times the hardest things to come up with something really nice. Who doesn't want to bring home something to nosh on rather than a small trinket that will clutter ones home.

Now, I'm both the impulse buyer and curiosity got the better of me. I'm glad it did. These made tasty cookies. From the smell of them, I knew there was something pretty awesome happening. The dough formed a fragrant mish mosh of flavors and textures. You are getting the flavors of peanut butter, coffee, chocolate candy drops, oats, and graham crackers in addition to the usual butter, sugar, and brown sugar trinity of cookie deliciousness. With three simple ingredients it will all come together.

But you'll have to take your time with these cookies. They do take their time. Odds are it's because the oats will need to hydrate a bit before going into the oven. What came out of my oven weren't the most food blogger, magazine, picture perfect cookies. But they tasted darn good. Mine were slightly crisp on the outside and soft in the middle after a 15 minute bake. If you want them crispier, then let them go a few minutes longer because the sugars will begin to caramelize.

For $4.99 this is worth picking up whether you think it looks cool, is a gift, or you're an impulse shopper. Overall, I'm glad to see this return this year.

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

The jar of Trader Joe's It's Sedimentary My Dear Cookie:

The nutritional information:

The ingredients:

How to prepare Trader Joe's It's Sedimentary My Dear Cookie:

After being baked you get:

Would I buy this again? Yes, I would buy Trader Joe's It's Sedimentary My Dear Cookie again. I just wish this were sold on a regular basis in a plain old box so this flavor combination could be made year around.

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!