Trader Joe's Petits Palmiers

This was the second item that I learned (from the "Product Gangway" on the Trader Joe's web site) was scheduled for discontinuation. As with the sweet potato tortilla chips, I felt an obligation to try them while I still could.

They're OK, but I won't feel the same tinge of regret at their passing as I will the chips. I had never had or even heard of palmiers before. They're like a thin ring of cookie surrounding a heart-shaped slice of croissant, though the latter is dry rather than fresh and moist. Kind of an odd combination, but I warmed up to them. I liked them more as I got deeper into the bin, probably because I came to know what to expect. (I wish it weren't so, but my brain still balks at trying new things, and has to be convinced they're OK.)

These will disappear in July, so get some while you can if it sounds like something you'd enjoy.

Will I buy it again? 

No. They're not bad, but once was enough.

Nina's View

When I was a young person (back when dirt was new), a favorite treat from my local bakery was "elephant ears"—known to me later by their French name, "palmiers." They were buttery and flakey and crunchy and sugary—in sum: delicious toothsomeness. My Mom was pretty sweet-conscious, so they were a rare enough delight that I really enjoyed them when they were made available to me.

I also had them once in Paris, and of that experience we shall say no more than that—together with a cafe au lait—you have before you the food of angels. *sigh*

So I was simultaneously thrilled and saddened to learn of the imminently departing TJ's "Petits Palmiers."

Here's the thing, though. These weren't like my childhood goodies. They were much drier and crunchier, (hard, really) and had a bit of staleness to their shortening. Not bad, mind you, but not great. I would never buy them, even if TJ's were to keep them around, because despite their mediocrity they are precisely the sort of foodstuff I tend to consume mindlessly until it is all gone.

Bob notes: Nina is not the only one for whom these pastries conjure up wistful memories of France. See http://fortheloveofflour.blogspot.com/2011/05/trader-joes-petits-palmiers.html.