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I tried 10 of Trader Joe's holiday snacks, and I'd buy at least 7 of them again

Paige Bennett   

I tried 10 of Trader Joe's holiday snacks, and I'd buy at least 7 of them again
I tried all of the seasonal winter snacks from Trader Joe's that I could find. Paige Bennett
  • I tried 10 of Trader Joe's holiday snacks to see which were the tastiest choices.
  • The peppermint pretzel thins had a unique minty, salty flavor, so I'm not sure I'd buy them again.

I love getting snacks at Trader Joe's, and with the holiday season in full swing, I decided to see which seasonal offerings I could try.

Here's how 10 Trader Joe's holiday snacks stacked up.

I was impressed by the number of gingerbread sandwich cookies in each package.

I was impressed by the number of gingerbread sandwich cookies in each package.
The gingerbread sandwich cookies looked generous in size.      Paige Bennett

My first thought upon opening the frosting-filled gingerbread sandwich cookies was, "Wow, that's a lot of cookies!"

Each box held 18 sandwich cookies, which were on the softer side.

I was a little concerned about how the cookies would be texture-wise because the box I picked up had large oil spots seeping through the packaging.

Trader Joe's gingerbread sandwich cookes were sugar, spice, and everything nice.

Trader Joe
I really enjoyed Trader Joe's gingerbread sandwich cookies.      Paige Bennett

The gingerbread sandwich cookies were a hit in my house.

The cookies were soft, the filling was creamy, and the top had a slight crunch from a sugary coating.

I also thought the cookies had a good balance of spice and sweetness.

I was skeptical of the salty, minty Trader Joe's peppermint pretzel slims.

I was skeptical of the salty, minty Trader Joe
Trader Joe's peppermint pretzel slims have a candy coating and sprinkles.      Paige Bennett

I love chocolate-covered pretzels and combinations of sweet and savory flavors.

But I wasn't sure how the pieces of peppermint candy would taste with the salty pretzel slims.

The flavors of mint, sweetness, and saltiness came in waves.

The flavors of mint, sweetness, and saltiness came in waves.
The peppermint pretzel slims might have had too many conflicting flavors.      Paige Bennett

I first noticed a strong peppermint flavor when I took a bite.

Then I got the flavor of the pretzel and a hint of the candy coating, which tasted like white chocolate.

I liked the combination of a thin pretzel and a thick candy coating, as it made for a crispy yet chewy texture that's good for snacking.

The pretzel bites were better than I thought they'd be, but I don't know if I'd grab them again.

The Scandinavian Tidings gummies looked really cute in the package.

The Scandinavian Tidings gummies looked really cute in the package.
The Scandinavian Tidings came with tree, star, and ornament shapes.      Paige Bennett

As a vegetarian, there are a lot of gummy candies out there that I don't eat because they contain gelatin, so I loved that the Scandinavian Tidings gummies were an option I could enjoy.

In the package, the tree, star, and ornament-shaped candies looked cute.

However, I didn't love the smell of this candy because the scent reminded me of cherry-flavored medicine.

The gummies were OK, but I prefer Trader Joe's Scandinavian Swimmers.

The gummies were OK, but I prefer Trader Joe
Trader Joe's Scandinavian Tidings were sweet.      Paige Bennett

I tried Trader Joe's Scandinavian Swimmers earlier this year, and I think I'd prefer them over the holiday gummies.

I didn't notice a flavor difference between the various shapes or colors of the gummies. They were all chewy with a mildly sweet flavor.

Though they weren't my favorite, my partner really liked them. For that reason alone, I'll buy them again for stocking stuffers.

I wondered how flavorful the Nuts About Rosemary mix would be.

I wondered how flavorful the Nuts About Rosemary mix would be.
Trader Joe's Nuts About Rosemary mix was crunchy.      Paige Bennett

The shelves at my local Trader Joe's were packed with sweet holiday snacks and desserts so it was nice to see a savory snack option, the Nuts About Rosemary mix.

I liked that the mix had a good variety, with almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, and cashews.

I liked the nut mix, though I wish it had a little more seasoning.

I liked the nut mix, though I wish it had a little more seasoning.
I think more garlic or pepper could've benefitted Trader Joe's Nuts About Rosemary mix.      Paige Bennett

Rosemary can be a strong flavor but I thought the nuts had a pretty mild taste.

They were good and not too salty, but I wished they had more garlic or black pepper.

Still, I'd buy the mix again to eat as-is or use as a salad topping.

I was excited to try the Trader Joe's sweet and salty snack mix.

I was excited to try the Trader Joe
Trader Joe's sweet and salty snack mix had potato chips in it.      Paige Bennett

Earlier this year, I tried Trader Joe's snacky clusters, which has chocolate-covered potato chips, corn chips, and mini pretzel nuggets.

I loved those, so I hoped this snack mix would be similar.

I was excited to try the half-dipped, chocolate-covered potato chips in the holiday sweet and salty snack mix.

The potato chips were easily the best part.

The potato chips were easily the best part.
Besides the potato chips, I thought the sweet and salty snack mix was just OK.      Paige Bennett

When I opened the bag, it seemed like the mix mainly had pretzel and popcorn pieces, which was a bit disappointing.

I thought the pretzels were fine. They seemed like a smaller version of Trader Joe's peanut butter-filled pretzels, but this version didn't have quite enough filling.

The peanuts tasted pretty standard, but I liked the dark-chocolate-drizzled popcorn.

Out of all of the components, the chip pieces were the best. They had a sweet yet slightly bitter taste from the dark chocolate and saltiness that blended well together.

The cute packaging for the Danish butter cookies caught my eye.

The cute packaging for the Danish butter cookies caught my eye.
I couldn't resist getting Trader Joe's Danish butter cookies.      Paige Bennett

Trader Joe's Danish butter cookies' packaging was too cute to pass up.

I didn't expect much in terms of the flavor, but I liked that the reusable tin housed a variety of cookie shapes.

The Danish butter cookies were nostalgic, though they weren’t my favorite snack.

The Danish butter cookies were nostalgic, though they weren’t my favorite snack.
The Danish butter cookies came in a variety of shapes.      Paige Bennett

The cookies were light and crisp, and they melted in my mouth when I took a bite.

They had a subtle sweetness that reminded me of cookies I'd had as a kid.

I don't know that I'd buy these again for myself, but they could be useful in a gift box.

The cinnamon-bun-inspired kettle popcorn seemed interesting.

The cinnamon-bun-inspired kettle popcorn seemed interesting.
I couldn't put my finger on what the cinnamon-bun-inspired kettle corn smelled like.      Paige Bennett

I don't usually eat a lot of popcorn, but I was intrigued by the cinnamon-bun-inspired kettle corn.

I expected it to be pretty sticky and chewy from the flavor coating.

When I opened the bag, I was a bit confused by the smell. The popcorn didn't smell like kettle corn or a cinnamon bun to me.

I’m not typically a popcorn fan, but I'd repurchase the kettle corn.

I’m not typically a popcorn fan, but I
Trader Joe's cinnamon-bun-inspired kettle corn was delicious.      Paige Bennett

The kettle corn was light and airy without any of the stickiness, density, or chewiness I predicted it would have.

The cinnamon glaze was strong but not overly sweet, which was nice.

Because this kettle corn wasn't super sweet, I think it'd be good for holiday popcorn balls.

I was intrigued by the big box of multi-flavor mini pretzels.

I was intrigued by the big box of multi-flavor mini pretzels.
Trader Joe's Astounding multi-flavor pretzels came with four different flavors.      Paige Bennett

When I walked into Trader Joe's, the big, brightly colored box of Astounding multi-flavor mini pretzels was front and center by the entrance.

The flavors sounded fun and festive: dark-chocolate peppermint, milk chocolate with rainbow pearl sprinkles, peanut butter and candy-coated pretzels with cookie pieces and chocolate gems, and coffee and dark chocolate.

As expected, the coffee and peanut butter pretzels were my favorite.

As expected, the coffee and peanut butter pretzels were my favorite.
I really only liked two flavors of pretzels.      Paige Bennett

The box contained four smaller bags of each flavor of pretzel. I liked that the flavors were separated, but I wish the bags were resealable.

I had the same issues with the peppermint and dark chocolate pretzels as I did with Trader Joe's peppermint pretzel slims. To me, the peppermint and salty pretzel were a weird food combination.

I thought the milk-chocolate pretzels with pearls tasted OK, but I didn't like the texture of the sprinkles.

The pretzels with the coffee-flavored coating and dark-chocolate drizzle and the ones coated in peanut butter were my favorites.

However, I wish the cookie and candy pieces stuck to the peanut-butter-coated pretzels better. Most of the cookie and candy pieces were loose in the bag.

I was impressed by the giant tin of the Baton Lover’s Quartet.

I was impressed by the giant tin of the Baton Lover’s Quartet.
Trader Joe's Baton Lover's Quartet wafer cookies came in four flavors.      Paige Bennett

The Baton Lover's Quartet came in a canister that looked ready to be gifted and included four flavors: chocolate orange, cookies and cream, cocoa, and hazelnut.

I’d probably skip the Baton Lover's Quartet in the future, as I didn’t feel love any of the flavors.

I’d probably skip the Baton Lover
Each flavor of the Baton Lover's Quartet wafer cookie was a different color.      Paige Bennett

When I opened the tin, I saw that each flavor was individually packaged.

I tried the cookies-and-cream baton first and thought it was very chocolaty and tasty. It didn't really taste like cookies and cream to me, though.

I thought the chocolate-orange baton's wafer overwhelmingly tasted like artificial orange, though the chocolate center mellowed it.

The cocoa baton's wafer exterior didn't really have any strong flavor but the filling was rich and chocolaty.

The hazelnut baton tasted more chocolaty to me than anything else.

The texture of all the wafer batons was nice, as the exteriors were light and crisp and the fillings were rich and creamy.

But overall, I didn't love any of the flavors enough to warrant buying the multipack again.

Jingle Jangle is already a treat I looked forward to buying every year.

Jingle Jangle is already a treat I looked forward to buying every year.
Trader Joe's Jingle Jangle contains pretzels, chocolate candies, and more.      Paige Bennett

Each year, I eagerly head to Trader Joe's in search of the brand's Jingle Jangle mix.

The container includes a range of milk- and dark-chocolate-covered treats, like pieces of Joe-Joe's cookies and mini pretzels.

I always love to get this mix, eat all the dark-chocolate-covered pieces, and offer my partner the milk-chocolate ones.

Jingle Jangle is still one of my favorite Trader Joe’s snacks of all time.

Jingle Jangle is still one of my favorite Trader Joe’s snacks of all time.
Trader Joe's Jingle Jangle contains treats covered in milk and dark chocolate.      Paige Bennett

The mix was just as delicious as I remembered it.

The Jingle Jangle is pretty rich because each piece has a thick chocolate coating. Due to its intensity, I typically enjoy only a few bites at a time.

One tin tends to last me all season long. I already have my tin for this year, but I already know I'll buy this again next winter.

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