It’s been difficult to get into a wintery mood due to the current lack of snow. To combat this, I ended up in the local Trader Joe’s to search for some holiday snacks.
There was a plethora of peppermint and gingerbread-flavored snacks all across the store. I settled on a few treats: the gingerbread ice cream, the peppermint brownies, the candy cane JoeJoe’s and a bottle of the sugar plum sparkling beverage. I also tried the figgy cheddar and paired it with the scalloped crackers.
Starting off strong with the gingerbread ice cream, it exceeded my expectations. The ice cream itself was perfectly good — with a gingerbread flavor that was strong enough without being overpowering — but what made it really good were the bits of gingerbread cookies. I typically enjoy a little crunch in my ice cream, so I was a fan of the cookies in this. Overall, I really enjoyed this ice cream. I’m typically a pretty big fan of gingerbread, though, since the flavor is such a nostalgic one, so I wouldn’t recommend this ice cream unless you enjoy gingerbread to begin with.
The next item I tried were the peppermint JoeJoe’s, which are essentially just Trader Joe’s take on an Oreo, only peppermint flavored (and gluten free). I enjoyed these significantly more than the peppermint brownies. There was nothing else going on flavor-wise aside from the chocolate and the peppermint, which was nice. The chocolate flavor in the cookie was delicious, and the filling actually had candy cane pieces in it. I really liked this addition because it contributed to the peppermint flavor and gave the cookie a crunch. The cookie itself wasn’t really that crunchy, so it was nice to have the candy to give it that. I’d recommend this item to anybody who wants a simple holiday treat.
I also picked up the sugar plum sparkling beverage. I’m not sure what a sugar plum really is, but I liked this drink. It had a fruity taste, like a fruit punch of some kind, and the bottle was perfectly festive in itself, which definitely gives it some points. Overall, the taste was pretty good and I enjoyed this drink. I’d recommend this beverage if you’re looking for something fun to serve at a holiday party or something similar, or if you’re into fruity drinks.
Ultimately, I noticed a considerable lack of savory snacks—most of the items I ended up buying were sweet. The exception to this was the figgy cheddar: I picked up some of this along with a box of the scalloped crackers. These items together were actually a pretty good combination. The cheese did have figs in it, but they complemented the flavor of the cheese itself really nicely, and the crackers paired well with the cheese without having too much flavor of their own. I liked this cheese, but I normally enjoy fruits and cheese together, so if you aren’t into that combination, it’s likely that you wouldn’t enjoy this cheese very much. I would, however, recommend this cheese to anyone who enjoys a charcuterie board — I’d be interested to see how it would go with other cheese or other crackers.
The only item I didn’t really like was the peppermint brownies. The brownies themselves were pretty good: the brownies were dense, and the peppermint flavor was sufficient. However, I didn’t love the addition of the white chocolate. I think it was unnecessary. Between the white chocolate chips baked into the brownies and the white chocolate drizzle on top of them, I felt like I was being assailed by white chocolate every time I took a bite. I actually like white chocolate, but I felt like it took away from the peppermint flavor overall. Perhaps it would have been better to include pieces of a candy cane as opposed to the white chocolate chips, or even nothing at all, I honestly think the brownie would have been fine had it just been peppermint flavored.
Overall, I found the Trader Joe’s winter snacks to be enjoyable for the most part. It’s a fun experience to eat snacks to get you in the holiday mood, so if you’re looking for something festive to do I’d urge you to go check out some of the festive items at Trader Joe’s.
Trader Joe’s Winter Snacks: ★★★★☆
