Trader Joe's Vanilla Eclairs With Chocolate Fondant

I forgot to take my own photo of the box, so I'm borrowing this one from Trader Joe's own recent post introducing the product.

I liked these. They're not super-fantastic, but they're a darn sight better than eclairs can be expected to be when all you have to do is take them out of the freezer and let them thaw. Speaking of which, the recommended 30-60 minutes ain't nearly enough. They may be unfrozen by then, but they'll still be refrigerator-cold, which is not ideal for eating eclairs.


Will I buy it again? 

Once in a while, yes.

Trader Joe's Soft Black Licorice Twists

This is the best, most genuine-tasting licorice I've ever had. It suddenly made me realize that all the licorice I've had before has been too heavy on sugar and too light on actual licorice root extract. This seems like how licorice is supposed to be.


Will I buy it again? 

I don't get a hankering for licorice often, but when I do, this would absolutely be the one I'd choose.

Roundup

This is my weekly compilation of news and other links related to Trader Joe's.


Trader Joe's snacks that are actually good for you

Trader Joe's announces recall of Sierra Nevada beer

Trader Joe's announces recall of whole wheat bread

7 healthy meals you can make with Trader Joe's frozen foods

10 things I always buy from Trader Joe's for breakfast

The 8 best beauty products at Trader Joe's

15 Trader Joe's foods for game day



Best tweets of the week:

1.

Current desired coping strategy: lay in bed gorging on #TraderJoes roasted seaweed snacks & watching endless feed of @DowntonAbbey episodes.

— Don Brown (@donbrown) January 26, 2017

2.

Just drove my #hybrid to get organic veggies and fair trade, shade grown coffee beans at #TraderJoes before yoga. Am I #Seattle enough?

— The Healthful Model (@HealthfulModel) January 24, 2017

3.

I don't think I've ever bought the little $1 peanut butter cups from #TraderJoes with them lasting me past 86th street.

— Robert J. Keir (@RobertJKeir) January 24, 2017

4.

Awesome! #traderjoes Manhattan Beach CA crew member Shari had crying toddler in line. Paused checkout for impromptu juggling demo. All Happy

— Michael Scott (@mdscott) January 23, 2017

5.

Cookie Butter ice cream sold out at #TraderJoes the day after the Womens March. Coincidence? #earnedit

— Chika (@chikamachida) January 23, 2017

6.

This is why I'll keep giving #traderjoes my money: tonight, lines were 8 ppl deep & every employee AND customer was smiling, polite & kind.

— Lauren Bickerstaff (@laurenbick) January 23, 2017

7.

Cashier at #TraderJoes: "Aw, fish sticks! Grabbing these for the kids?"
Me: "Oh...yeah...for the kids."#nom pic.twitter.com/ZyU0DaqXZG

— Diamond Gray (@DiamondGray01) January 22, 2017

Sadly, I have no more pictures of cute cats in Trader Joe's grocery bags. I've depleted my stored-up examples, and people haven't been posting them with the usual frequency lately. This is clearly unacceptable. Step it up, folks!

Trader Joe's Soft Strawberry Licorice Twists

These are suspiciously like the ones Trader Joe's sells (used to sell?) under the "Darrell Lea" brand name; see my review here. I'm tempted to conclude that they are that same product from that same company in a new package, but I am given pause by the claim that these are made in New Zealand while the others came from Australia.

Whether the exact same thing or just a very close copy, what I said of the Darrell Lea version applies equally here.


Will I buy it again? 

No.

Trader Joe's Sliced Havarti Cheese

This was, I think, my first try of Havarti cheese of any sort. I like it, but it seems exceptionally mild, almost to the point of being flavorless. Whether on crackers or melted onto a burger, it was hard to detect its presence, other than by texture.


Will I buy it again? 

No.

Trader Joe's Soft Handmade Pretzel

If there's anything that distinguishes this as a pretzel, anything to convince me that it's not just ordinary white bread tied into a knot, it escapes me. There's no saltiness, nothing special about the crust, none of the flavor that I've come to associate with pretzels. I don't get the purpose of its existence.


Will I buy it again? 

No.

Trader Joe's Golden Spiced Milk Chocolate Bar

This is an interesting new Trader Joe's product--$1.49.

The crisped quinoa functions just like the rice in, e.g., Nestle's Crunch bars. The coconut component is, sadly, just a wisp rather than a major flavor. The spices consist of a blend of curry powder, salt, ginger powder, turmeric, cardamom, nutmeg, and black pepper. It all works together surprisingly well. The heat level is comparable to the milder samples in the Chili Chocolate Collection, which is to say, not hot at all.


Will I buy it again? 

Yes. I think it will make a nice occasional treat.