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I tried Trader Joe's award-winning sweet and savory snacks, but the runner-ups were even better

I tried Trader Joe's award-winning sweet and savory snacks, but the runner-ups were even better

Paige Bennett

I tried the 10 snacks and treats from the 12th annual Trader Joe's Customer Choice Awards.
I like the peanut-butter pretzels that won best snack, but the chili-lime corn chips won me over.
The peanut-butter cups won the sweet-treat category, but the ice-cream sandwiches were better.

Each year, Trader Joe's chooses its top products based on shoppers' opinions.

In the recent 12th annual Customer Choice Awards, recurring winners like the Mandarin orange chicken and the salted peanut butter-filled pretzel nuggets topped the charts again.

As a Trader Joe's fan, I wanted to give some of the top salty and sweet snacks a try to see if they were as delicious as the voters say they are.

I tried the winners and runners up of both the snack and sweet-treat categories and ranked them from my least favorite to most favorite.

Read on to see how the sweet and savory snacks stacked up.

First, I tried the winning snack alongside the runner-ups

This year, the peanut butter-filled pretzel nuggets took home the prize for the best Trader Joe's snack.

I'm already a fan of that product, so I was excited to see how the runner-ups - plantain chips, Bambas peanut snacks, elote corn-chip dippers, and rolled chili-and-lime corn tortillas - would fair against the fan-favorite.

The plantain chips weren't crisp or flavorful enough for my taste buds

I think fresh plantain chips are delicious, but I wasn't sure how I'd like a store-bought version.

One bite confirmed my suspicions: I wasn't a fan of this snack. They tasted very earthy and plain, and the texture was akin to a stale chip.

Paired with a dip, these would be better, but they won't be on my grocery list anytime soon.

I hadn't tasted the Bamba peanut snacks before, and I can't say I'd buy them again

I'd never tried or heard of this snack before, but it didn't seem like something I'd typically go for.

After taking a bite, I was very confused. The texture is similar to cheese puffs, so my taste buds expected that flavor. But the actual flavor was more like a muted peanut butter.

They weren't bad, but they weren't for me, and I wouldn't buy these again.

The elote corn-chip dippers were good, but they'd be better with a side of dip

I'm not typically a huge fan of corn chips, but I do love Trader Joe's elote seasoning blend.

The corn-chip dippers had a slight spiciness and an excellent crunch, and the elote flavor definitely came through.

I wouldn't eat them alone again, but I would love to try these dipped in guacamole, salsa, or queso.

The salted peanut butter-filled pretzel nuggets were named best snack, but they weren't my top pick

Trader Joe's peanut butter-filled pretzels are a hit in my household.

I love the balance of sweet, creamy peanut butter and salty, crunchy pretzels. Once you eat a couple, it's hard to stop.

These were the winner of the salty snacks category, and though I think they deserve that title, I actually found a different snack I enjoy even more this year.

The spicy chili-and-lime rolled corn chips were my favorite salty snack

Although these chips were a runner-up this year, I actually loved them more than the peanut butter-filled pretzels.

They were a little spicier than the elote corn-chip dippers, with just a hint of lime, and they were crunchier too thanks to the rolled format.

These would be delicious paired with a dip, but I'd happily eat them plain.

Next, it was time to rank the top-voted sweet treats

I'm also a big fan of this year's fan-favorite sweet treat - the dark-chocolate peanut-butter cups - so I understand why it took the top spot.

But I was hesitant to accept that the bite-sized candy was really better than full-on desserts like the brookie, Danish Kringle, Hold the Cone ice cream, and ice-cream sandwich.

The brookie was a very sweet, indulgent dessert

Chocolate-chip cookies and brownies are two of my favorite desserts, so I expected this fan-favorite combo to be a knockout.

The brownie was very rich and fudgy, so I could taste it more so than the cookie. But overall, it was still delicious.

I definitely recommend enjoying this with milk though because it was very chocolaty and dense.

O&H Danish Kringle is hard to get your hands on, and now I know why

I knew this would be amazing when the Trader Joe's cashier said, "I'm so glad these came back in stock recently" while I was checking out.

The Danish pastry is available sporadically throughout the year, in different flavors depending on the season.

I purchased a pecan option, and it definitely lived up to the hype.

The filling was similar to a pecan pie and, paired with the creamy, slightly tangy icing and the flaky pastry, it was incredible.

This will be a recurring purchase for me when it's in stock.

The dark-chocolate peanut-butter cups are a staple in my apartment

These are so good thanks to the balance of the sweet peanut butter and the bitter dark chocolate. I buy tubs of them to keep in the fridge because I think they're even better chilled.

The bite-sized treats won the sweet-treat category this year and were a runner-up for the overall winner of all fan-favorite products.

They're delicious, but I do think there are products more worthy of the sweets crown.

Hold the Cone is a classic Trader Joe's dessert with different flavors depending on the season

The company has multiple flavors of their beloved Hold the Cone treats. I've previously enjoyed the seasonal pumpkin variety, but for this taste test, I grabbed the chocolate-chip option.

It had a chocolate cone, vanilla ice cream sprinkled with chocolate chips, and a chocolate coating on top.

All that chocolate might seem overwhelming, but the small portion size and the vanilla ice cream balanced it all out.

I loved the flavor and the size is perfect, too. It's ideal for a little treat.

The ice-cream sandwiches were my favorite sweet treat

These ice-cream sandwiches feature two chocolate-chip cookies hugging a block of vanilla ice cream that's then rolled in miniature chocolate chips.

Sure, these are a little messy, but they were full of flavor, and I appreciated the contrast of textures between the crunchy chocolate chips, chewy cookies, and smooth vanilla ice cream.

Out of everything from both categories, I thought the ice-cream sandwich was the best

There were a lot of great products featured in both the sweet treat and snack categories for this year's customer awards, but nothing beat the flavorful chocolate-chip ice-cream sandwich for me.

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