Trader Joe's Gingerbread Pancake Mix

I bought this back in December, which is the only time of year it's available, but didn't get around to trying it until this past week (April, as I'm writing this). But hey--at least the review will get published before next Christmas season, right?

Nina actually took charge of mixing up the batter and cooking the pancakes, while I attended to other parts of the meal--and she did it once at my place and once at hers, so she'll be better qualified to speak to the process of making them. I can only address the subject of eating them.

I thought they were surprisingly good for coming from a just-add-water mix. My only gripe was that the pieces of crystallized ginger were often too big and kind of jarring to encounter. If they were smaller and better dispersed, I would like them better.

I had them once with just butter, and they were fine that way. The second time I used some of Nina's homemade fruit syrup, which was also good. But they don't need added sweetness; they've got plenty of their own built in.

Will I buy it again? 

Probably not, though more because of the difficulties in making them come out right than because of any dislike of the final result. One of these days I'd also like to try the coconut version, which I presume won't have the same problem with the crystallized ginger pieces.

Nina's View

This is one of the rare pancake mixes that don't ask you to add milk or eggs. It's also a mix that produces a batter which sticks like the dickens. Coincidence?

I like the flavor of these well enough, but the difficulty in producing easily flippable pancakes was a major disappointment. At first I thought it was just that I was unfamiliar with Bob's electric cooktop. But then I tried it at my place, with my gas range, and the outcome was just as frustrating.

One of these days I'll experiment with producing my own version of these, because I think it's a great idea. But the TJ's implementation has not won my seal of approval.