Trader Joe's Ranch Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips

After trying Trader Joe's Original Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips—the ones with chili lime flavor, we knew we had to check out this latest addition to the lineup: Trader Joe's Ranch Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips.

Right up front, the taste is ranchtastic. And if you've ever enjoyed a certain blue-bagged ranch tortilla chip from a certain major snack company, you'll immediately recognize where TJ's is going here. These taste very similar to Cool Ranch Doritos. There's that familiar tangy, savory, slightly cheesy ranch seasoning that coats your mouth and makes it really hard to stop reaching back into the bag.

But here, there's a little something extra going on. The seasoning blend is superb. There's onion, garlic, black pepper, and parsley all hanging out together, giving these chips a little more depth than just your standard ranch powder. The garlic and onion give them that savory punch, while the black pepper adds a tiny bit of bite. The parsley is a nice touch too, giving the flavor a little bit of freshness in the middle of all that salty snack goodness. These definitely aren't bland ranch chips.

We're aware that Takis has a ranch flavored offering, too, but neither of us have tried Buckin' Ranch Takis. I've heard mixed reviews about that product. Seems like Takis' wheelhouse is spicy stuff, but some folks say they do ranch pretty well, too.

To be quite honest, Sonia and I usually prefer our tortilla chips in the classic flat triangle shape. There's something about the regular tortilla chip that just works. It's lighter, easier to eat, and most importantly: it makes a much better vehicle for dipping.

The rolled shape is fun, but it also makes them feel a little denser and crunchier than a typical tortilla chip. There's a lot of chip packed into every bite. If you're eating handful after handful, that extra density starts to become noticeable. I thought it was my imagination at first, but I kinda feel like these are a tad thicker and harder than their chili lime counterparts.

In the end, the ranch flavor is spot on, the seasoning blend is delicious, and they absolutely hit the spot if you're craving Cool Ranch Doritos while cruising the aisles at Trader Joe's. Sonia and I both prefer crispy, wispy tortilla chips over something this dense, and we'd probably grab the chili lime offering again before this one—but if you're a ranch chip fan, these are absolutely worth a try. Trader Joe's Ranch Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips are fun, flavorful, and a decent addition to Trader Joe's snack aisle. $2.99. Kosher. Gluten free. Seven and a half stars a piece from Sonia and me.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's 12 Mini Blueberry Scones

Sonia and I both have the same introductory reference point for scones: Starbucks circa the early-mid 2000s. She was partial to the maple oat nut scone while blueberry has always been my go-to. All things considered, I'd have to say these bake 'em yourself petite pastries are comparable to the classic Starbucks offering if perhaps a tad less sweet and less dense. Also TJ's are "miniature" scones, so these are much smaller.

Trader Joe's 12 Mini Blueberry Scones will run you $5.49. They come frozen, and you bake from frozen: 375° for 14-16 minutes. We had ours in for about 17 minutes before it was all said and done.

They came out nice and hot, soft, crumbly, and reasonably sweet. You can both see and taste that there's no sugar glaze on these scones. That's just fine with Sonia and me.

Each specimen had between one and four visible blueberries on the outside of the pastry. On the inside, there were none. The couple of berries you see poking out of the dough are just about all you're gonna get, unfortunately. Each bite with a blueberry is well-balanced, juicy, fruity, and sweet. Each bite without a blueberry is doughy and comparatively bland—not awful. But these bready breakfast bites would be bounds better with beaucoup blueberries.

Have them with tea or coffee. Slather them with blueberry preserves. Serve them with clotted cream. Whip up some powdered sugar frosting. There are plenty of ways to dress up these scones. And honestly, they're quite noshable as is. Trader Joe was just predictably stingy with the fruit—and that's really our only complaint. I guess a resealable freezer bag might be nice, too, in case you don't want to eat all 12 scones at once.

We'd still buy 'em again. Look for Trader Joe's 12 Mini Pumpkin Ginger Scones with the same style packaging come fall. Eight out of ten stars from Sonia. Seven and a half stars from me for Trader Joe's Blueberry Scones.

Bottom line: 7.75 out of 10.