It strikes me that these could be considered autumnal breakfast fare just as easily as holiday breakfast fare, but judging by the time of their release, I think we'll go with the latter, at least for now. I mean technically it is still fall, but it sure feels like winter around here. Berries and nuts are great in any season. And not only do these muffins flaunt the delicious flavors of cranberries and pecans, but there's also maple syrup and brown sugar in the mix, too.
They taste and feel significantly better when warmed for a spell. You could toss them in a toaster oven if you've got one handy, but we just put them in the microwave for about 15 seconds. Add a dab of butter, and you've got yourself a tasty breakfast.
The muffins are quite large. In several instances, Sonia and I split a single muffin for a mid-day snack. For breakfast, a single muffin is more than enough for one person in most cases. There's a good bit of the titular fruits and nuts in the mix. The bread is sweet but not over the top sugary. The streusel topping makes the head of the muffin just a tad more indulgent and dessert-ish than the rest of the product.
Texture-wise, these are very similar to the multitude of other four-packs of muffins we've seen from Trader Joe's throughout the years. And like some of those others, there is just a hint of grittiness or coarseness in the breading. That's really my only complaint. I think I like the texture of Trader Joe's gluten free muffins just a tad better than the texture of these glutenful ones.
$5.49 for four muffins. Kosher. Would buy again. Sonia gives Trader Joe's Cranberry Pecan Muffins eight out of ten stars. I'll go with seven and a half out of ten.
Some of you are going to look at the 7/10 score at the bottom of this review and be like "I can't believe Nathan and Sonia actually liked these cookies" and others of you are going to be like "Seven out of ten?? These are at least an eleven on a scale of one to ten!" To be fair, we've reviewed over a hundred different kinds of Trader Joe's brand cookies over the past 15 years, the vast majority of which have been crispy, crunchy cookies. So it takes something extra special to get an extra special score on this blog.
So you're saying Trader Joe's Sleigh Ride Cookies aren't extra special, Nathan? Huh? Is that what you're saying?
Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Unless you absolutely love rock hard, rigid cookies and were pining for ones with bits of smashed up Peppermint Joe-Joe's and candy cane pieces baked into them...in which case, I suppose it's within the realm of possibility that you'll think these cookies are extra special. I wouldn't have asked for such a cookie in a million years. But if Trader Joe's sells it, you bet we're gonna try it.
On the plus side, these cookies are pretty good when dunked in coffee or hot chocolate. They're sweet and minty, crunchy, chocolatey, and you get a lot of cookies for four bucks. Fun packaging design, too.
Negatives? They're too hard, there's too much peppermint, and the overall flavor just isn't that memorable in my opinion. Sonia agrees.
Me? If you want a recommendation for extra special crunchy cookies, there's always the Italian Amaretti Cookies. Oh wait. Trader Joe's didn't bring those back this year. Bah humbug. If you want a rec for peppermint cookies, Sonia and I were both pleasantly surprised with this year's Peppermint Brookie. Hopefully some of those are still around.
So yeah. Four bucks for about 16 cookies. Kosher. Shelf stable for a good six or seven months. I wouldn't buy again. Sonia thinks they'd be nice to take to a party. I guess. Seven out of ten stars from the beautiful wifey and me for Trader Joe's Sleigh Ride Cookies.
