Behold, the first bit of pumpkin hitting shelves. Not that some fall items haven't already come back. My local store, they've already had the Ghosts and Bats out for a week now.
So, when my husband and I had to go away for a weekend I was on the hunt for snacks and breakfast items. So I grabbed these for my first meal of the day.
Taste and review
I love pumpkins. And these are pretty good. But be warned: they are sweet.
I love food where there is contrast. But that is not be found here beyond the two basic textures: soft and softer. The muffin is soft and the cream cheese icing is even softer.
These are good on their own as far as a pumpkin muffin goes. Nothing out of the ordinary. Good spice and a cake-like texture. These however had the addition of sweetened cream cheese in the middle. However, that sweetened cream cheese was basically like frosting in terms of sweetness. Paired with a muffin and it was a lot of sweet to handle.
If you imagine the icing found on red velvet cake and put that in the middle of these then that will give you some sense of how sweet these are. If you have any lingering doubts as to the sweetness then let's look at the nutritional information: 1 muffin contains 45g of sugar.
But to each their own. There was one element of sweetness that I could not figure out where it went: the walnut praline. If there was any, I'm pretty sure most of my boxes did not have any. I did not notice the taste or a crunchy texture which would have been an appreciated textural contrast.
Overall
As far as pumpkin muffins go they are good. But in all honestly, I'm anxiously awaiting the return of the pumpkin bread mix so I can make my own muffins.
For $3.99 these work out to less than $1 each. These are not cupcake-sized muffins either. These are something that came out of a jumbo-sized pan. If you love pumpkin muffins and have no intention of making them yourself then they are at least worth a try. As far as I go, they aren't worth a repurchase.
Would I buy this again? If Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread Mix returns, then opt for that in place of this. Put that mix in a cupcake pan and you'll be darn close to this item. While these were good, I would not buy Trader Joe's Pumpkin and Sweet Cream Cheese Muffins Topped with Walnut Praline again. Using the pumpkin bread mix would be just as easy.
Product photos
The box: of Trader Joe's Pumpkin and Sweet Cream Cheese Muffins Topped with Walnut Pralines:
The nutritional information:
The ingredients:
Out of the package you get:
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Did you try it? Let me know what you think in the comments section!
The Bottom Line
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Trader Joe's Pumpkin and Sweet Cream Cheese Muffins
Product Name: Trader Joe's Pumpkin and Sweet Cream Cheese Muffins
Product Description: Trader Joe's Pumpkin and Sweet Cream Cheese Muffins is a seasonally available item.
Price: $3.99
Summary
Trader Joe's Pumpkin and Sweet Cream Cheese Muffins are a seasonally available muffin located with the rest of the freshly baked bread.
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Taste
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Value
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Worthy of Repurchasing
Pros
- Trader Joe's Pumpkin and Sweet Cream Cheese Muffins are one of the first pumpkin items to hit shelves for 2018 and they are jumbo muffin sized.
- These have returned several times since.
Cons
- These aren't bad, but if Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread Mix returns, then opt for that in place of this.
Wished that they would come in mini sizes. But it nice to cut in quarters for a gathering. Pumpkin party. Everything pumpkin!
Hey Alek! I totally agree! And yes, so many of last years pumpkin items are back on shelves. Can't wait to get to the items I didn't get to last year.
My store is also rolling out all the pumpkin stuff, although i looked for the canned pumpkin and didn’t see that yet (TJs canned organic pumpkin is like half the price of other stores!).
These sound like cake more than a muffin! I know some people are crazy about the very similar muffin at starbucks, but like you i would rather use the box mix and make smaller muffins that aren’t as sweet- and add in nuts for crunch
Hey Ttrockwood! The canned pumpkin I saw in Westchester so hopefully you'll see it soon. It's so funny how one location can have a variety of pumpkin and other stores have almost nothing. And pumpkin muffins are usually pretty cakey anyways. And yes, while I have a sweet tooth, even I have limits on how much sweet I like. Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by!
How funny. I just tried these, and I didn’t find them overly sweet, but they were very salty, and had that slight steely tang that usually betokened too much baking soda. I’m surprised you didn’t mention all the salt – I wonder if I got a bad batch. I ate one before I got in the car, and I could taste the salt in my mouth the whole hour I was driving to work.
Hey Ethel! I'm glad you stopped by! A comment like yours is really important. It isn't the first time where I've been told that there maybe some inconsistencies in some of the products. I'm glad you stopped by and share this. I'm curious how many other people experienced the same thing as you. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to stop by.
I bought these in hopes that they might be a good replacement for the pumpkin muffin I loved at Starbucks (which is sadly discontinued). It was okay- but you are right that they are too sweet. An unsweetened cream cheese filling would have been appreciated. Oh well!
Hey Paige! I totally agree with you. I was looking for a reprieve from all the sweet. That ended up being the part that I avoided after my first muffin. Thanks so much for taking the time to share!
I just tasted one. I totally loved it. I would not call them muffins, I would say cupcakes. Very moist and sweet. I stopped myself from eating a whole muffin because of the sugar content. Yes, I would buy them again.
Hey Effie! I couldn't agree more with the cupcake aspect to these. They were way too sweet first thing in the morning. Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts on this one!