Trader Joe's Pumpkins Sugar Cookie Dough

These are pretty commonplace sugar cookies in most regards. The pumpkins are cute, but they're just there for decoration. No pumpkin or pumpkin spices here. And honestly, the pumpkins aren't even all that distinct once you bake the cookies. They're like a faded shade of orange on a golden-brown background.

Flavor-wise, there's nothing wrong with these cookies. They taste like every other sugar cookie I've ever had. Particularly when they're fresh out of the oven, they're pretty scrumptious, both taste and texture-wise. They're nice and soft, warm, and the sweetness just melts in your mouth.

Unfortunately, after an hour or so, these cookies lose almost all of their charm. They get oddly hard and crunchy. They still taste fine, thankfully, but they're not the type of snack or dessert that I'm craving with any regularity. If you have a big family, it wouldn't be any problem at all to finish them within a few minutes. If you're just an individual or a couple, you might struggle to finish the dozen.

Check out the video review embedded below to see me (Nathan) refer to myself as a "culinary idiot," use a tape measure to space the cookies exactly three inches apart, and find out what the only class I ever flunked in school was. Madcap antics ensue when Sonia accidentally hits the time lapse button to record most of the video. It's five minutes of fun you don't want to miss.

$3.99 for 12 sugar cookies, each one about 2.5 inches in diameter, found in the refrigerated section. Kosher. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes (ours took closer to 15). 

Nothing particularly wrong with this product, but nothing particularly memorable either. Probably wouldn't buy again. Seven out of ten stars from me for Trader Joe's Pumpkins Sugar Cookie Dough. The beautiful wifey will go with seven and a half.

Bottom line: 7.25 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Icelandic Style Skyr Yogurt

Never had Icelandic yogurt before. "Skyr" sure sounds like an Icelandic word, though. I bet Björk eats a lot of skyr.

It's very thick. It's on par with Greek yogurt in terms of thickness. It's not an unpleasant texture by any means, but I almost want to compare it to the texture of paste. Not that I've ever eaten paste. I mean, some kids did, but I wasn't one of those kids. I was pretty weird as a kid, but not like paste-eater weird.

Sonia wanted to say the texture was slightly "gritty." I think that's primarily from the berry base, which might contain some faint whispers of raspberry seeds or something along those lines. I don't know that I'd call it gritty. It was pretty smooth to me. Thick. Tacky. But not particularly coarse.

The flavor is unusually subtle. In both cases, there's just a faint fruit flavor behind the tangy yogurt essences. It's slightly sweet—and I mean very slightly sweet. It's almost like what you'd get if you mixed plain Greek yogurt with a spoonful or two of berry flavored yogurt. Color-wise, the product is an extremely faint shade of pink, just a hair on the reddish side of plain yogurt white. Both flavors look remarkably similar.

On the plus side, calories and fat are very low. Protein, on the other hand, is very high. Each cup boasts 15 or 16 grams, about a third of your recommended daily allowance. This skyr yogurt is quite filling.

$1.19 for each 5.3 oz cup—40 cents to one dollar cheaper than leading brands of Greek yogurt in the same size container. Kosher. Found in the refrigerated yogurt and cheese section. Trader Joe's also sells a vanilla skyr flavor, but we weren't able to get our hands on that one this go around. Despite its health benefits, Sonia and I both think we'd stick to more familiar, more palatable yogurts before buying Trader Joe's Icelandic Style Raspberry and Cherry Skyr Lowfat Yogurts again. Still, we're very glad to have tried this interesting product. Seven out of ten stars from both of us.

Bottom line: 7 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Tangerine Vanilla Sparkling Water

My parents always had Perrier water on hand for some reason. It only came in glass bottles back then as far as I know. They let me try it as a youngster, and I actually loved it. It was hard to go back to traditional flat water after getting used to Perrier. I remember my old babysitter-slash-adopted grandmother Minnie used to call it "Pierre water." Bless her heart.

For years, I was a soda freak. I drank more Dr. Pepper than water as a teenager. Then I switched to diet sodas as a young adult. In my thirties, I started drinking these flavored sparkling waters in a can. I'm a pretty big fan of all the sparkling waters: Bubly, La Croix, Polar, Waterloo, you name it—and my favorite right now is Topo Chico. So good.

We've reviewed a bunch of these flavors of Trader Joe's sparkling water. See: Green Apple, Winter Sangria, and Cranberry Clementine. And of course, we looked at their old school lemon and lime mineral waters back in the day. This one's not bad, but I do have to say it's my least favorite of Trader Joe's flavors so far.

The tangerine taste isn't nearly potent enough. It's there, but it's very faint. You can taste vanilla, but it's such a strange vanilla. As much as I love vanilla flavor, it doesn't really lend itself to water. It needs a bit of creaminess or sweetness to work. Citrus flavors like tangerine make excellent additives to water, sparkling or otherwise, but this one simply doesn't have enough of it.

$3.49 for 8 cans. Kosher. Zero calories. I'd buy any of the other flavors I've tried again before this one. Still, I'm sure some folks will enjoy it just fine. Sonia and I will both go with seven out of ten on Trader Joe's Tangerine Vanilla Sparkling Water.

Bottom line: 7 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Lavash Flatbread

Nate's Notes: Penned by former contributor Russ, this review was originally posted March 29, 2011. This product disappeared for some time circa 2016 and then reappeared recently. The packaging is slightly different, they've added "Whole Wheat" to the title, and unsurprisingly the price has increased. It's still a great product and Sonia and I don't have much to add or subtract from the original article, so we've simply updated the pictures and bumped the post for our 2025 audience. Take note the original publishing was 329 and it's being re-posted on 923. Spooky.

Am I wrong, but there's something to be said for good, cheap carbs, right?

Probably the most famous cheap carb is the beloved Ramen noodle package. Well, "beloved" might be a stretch, but it's a pretty universal experience for college kids to subsist on them for long stretches of time. I certainly was one of them. My sophomore year, I sincerely doubt I went a day without a meal that involved either Ramen or leftover pizza from the dinner shift at Papa John's. It certainly helped that they were 10 for a buck at the local grocery shop. Some nights I'd eat two packages, other nights I'd mix in some frozen veggies and maybe make a piece of chicken. But man, all the Ramen ... I don't know how I didn't die from malnutrition. Once I was really, truly, ineffably sick of them, my grandmother came to the rescue and sent me a Ramen noodle cookbook. I had no idea about all the different possible uses for Ramen ... all the different stir-fries and noodle-based dishes, and even things like salads and pizza (using the noodles as a crust). That kept me going on them throughout the rest of my college years until I could finally routinely afford better starchy goods, like shells and cheese.

flatbread pizza with chicken, spinach, onions, and apizza gouda

Anyways, I love me some carbs. I could never be a legit vegetarian because I like meat waaay too much, and Dr. Atkins and I would never be dietary BFFs because he'd be slapping bagels out of my hands way too often. And the more ways I can use a single form of carb (like the Ramen noodles) the better.

That's why I like Trader Joe's Lavash so much. It's a pretty simple product, it's just a legal-document sized ( 9.5 x 13) rectangle of rather plain baked dough. But, like the package says, this is some fairly versatile stuff, and there's a lot of it. The first time Sandy and I broke it out, we used it as a crust for a thin crust basil pesto pizza. It was good enough that we've used it a couple more times as a crust since then. When baked, it gets really crispy and crackery when the sides and corners get browned and curled up. I'd definitely recommend if using it for a pizza, let it bake for a little while longer than you'd figure otherwise as the middle can get a little sogged down with sauce, etc, but rebounds nicely if given the proper oven lovin' time. 

But that's not the only good use of the lavash. I've made a breakfast wrap or two with it, and it held up with the eggs and cheese well. Sandy's taken it to work a couple times and used it like a tortilla with some rice and beans, and reported satisfactory results. The great thing is, there's six of them in a package ($2.19 for 6 in 2011—$2.99 for 4 in 2025) so there's plenty of it with which to experiment. I'd imagine they'd be pretty good cut and baked to munch on like a pita chip, or maybe even buttered, sugared, and cinnamoned, then cut into strips and baked for a dessert. Or maybe make some garlic breadsticks out of them in a similar fashion ... the possibilities may be endless.

The form of the lavash is pretty pliable, too. We tend to keep bread in the fridge to extend the shelf life some. I just wolfed down the last two-week old half-sheet remnant a few minutes ago, and it was as soft, floury, and flexible as the first time we used it. I could literally bend it any which way, and it wasn't stiffened enough to crack or break. Yet, it easily rips in a straight-enough line if you ask it to. I have to say, I'm pretty impressed overall.

Sandy gives it a 4.5 overall. "Mmm ... carbs ... it's good and it works. Not much else to be said," she says. Considering that I find myself craving a lavash-crust pizza once or twice a week, I'm inclined to be in the same ballpark. Part of me wishes it had a bit more flavor, like some sesame or poppy seeds mixed in (that's pretty common in Middle Eastern countries, from where this was inspired), but its plainness lends itself better to the overall versatility to use it to make it part of something of your own creation. Sounds like a 4.5 to me as well.

Bottom line: 9 out of 10 Golden Spoons.

Trader Joe's Apple Pie Spread

It's never been easier to turn an ordinary piece of toast into a delicious indulgent dessert. If you're like me, you like to consume an inordinate amount of calories around breakfast time because then you have the whole day to burn them off. That's what I tell myself, at least.

Following in the footsteps of other awesome autumn apple spreads from Trader Joe's like Trader Joe's Apple Cider Jam and Trader Joe's Apple Cider Fruit Spread, this spread is thick, sweet, and caramel-esque. It's got real apple bits and plenty of applicious flavor. It's surprisingly buttery. And I don't just mean creamy, texture-wise. I mean you can taste real butter in the syrupy spread.

There's brown sugar and cinnamon up in the mix. It's surprisingly rich and versatile. Everything from sourdough to ice cream is fair game. Traderjoes.com says you can even stir it into coffee. I better not tell Sonia about that or the whole jar will be gone by tomorrow.

My only complaints? It's messy. Have napkins and wet wipes on standby. I wish the apple bits were a tad bigger—more like apple chunks. Did I mention apple is the number one ingredient?

$3.99 for the 10 oz jar. It's kosher and shelf stable for a year if left unopened. Refrigerate after opening. In the video review, we gave it a unanimous 8.5 out of 10 score. However, we gave one of its predecessors nine stars, and it's at least as good as that one, so we'll upgrade the score here on the blog. Trader Joe's Apple Pie Spread is pantheon-worthy all the way.

Bottom line: 9 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Maple Leaf Ice Cream Sandwiches

Pumpkins, apples, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash all get harvested in the autumn. So it's logical that they're considered fall foods. Maple syrup is harvested around March. So...why we eat maple stuff at this time of year, I'm not really sure. Maybe it's the whole leaf association..? We think maple, we think trees, we think leaves, we think fall..? Gemini says it's because it pairs well with "squash, cinnamon, pumpkin, and baked goods." Fair enough.

All I know is that if TJ's rolls out a seasonal product, we race to grab it and review it regardless of when it's harvested, because no doubt these puppies will be gone in a matter of weeks, if not sooner. Pretty sure this is the very first year for this particular product. Think I would've remembered it if it had been around previously.

We've got ourselves a product of Canada here. That does not shock me for any reason. It's about four bucks for four little ice cream sandwiches, and they're pretty darn good. They're nice and mapley, but not overly so—containing real maple syrup in both the ice cream and the cookies. They're creamy, milky, and buttery too.

There's a brown sugar sweetness that accompanies the maple flavor. It works. The breading is soft and lightly sweet and does nothing to interfere with the great maplicious flavor of the treats. There's very little if anything in the way of miscellaneous fall spices. It's just maple, maple, and more maple with a hint of brown sugar.

Complaints? The sandwiches are quite small for the price. I wish they were a tad bigger. Could be worse, I suppose. Some grocery prices are getting ridiculous these days. Some folks might want even more maple taste, but I liked the flavor just fine as is.

Sonia and I would both buy these little kosher leaf-shaped desserts again. I'll go with eight and a half stars out of ten for Trader Joe's Maple Leaf Ice Cream Sandwiches. The beautiful wifey will throw out nine out of ten.

Bottom line: 8.75 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Sweet Ripe Plantains

Long ago, I hung out with some folks from São Paulo, Brazil pretty frequently. They loved telling us about how life was different in Brazil and exposing us to their cuisine and culture. We went to a few different Brazilian restaurants together, and the most common type of platter we'd encounter was a simple dish with a grilled meat of some kind, rice, either beans or a small salad, and finally fried plantains. In contrast to, say your typical Mexican food for example, there were very few sauces, salsas, and cheeses. Everything tasted remarkably clean and fresh.

Around the same time, I discovered Cuban cuisine. Lo and behold, nearly every Cuban dish I tried came with a side of extremely similar fried plantains. Apparently, they're quite common in most cuisines in the Caribbean, Central and South America, and even Africa. With such a huge portion of the world enjoying a specific side dish with such regularity, it's a wonder it never really caught on in the US.

In the same way you might serve sweet potatoes with turkey and stuffing, Sonia made a delicious platter of sautéed chicken seasoned with Trader Joe's Cuban Style Citrusy Garlic Blend, white rice, black beans, and these sweet ripe plantains. From frozen, she simply fried them in a little olive oil for a few minutes on each side. They were quite tasty—among the best plantains I've ever had.

The texture was soft and a little starchy, very similar to a raw banana. The flavor was surprisingly sweet, with no added sugars. The only ingredients in this offering are plantains and palm oil. They complemented our savory sides and gave the whole dish a wonderful natural sweetness.

$2.49 for the 6 serving bag, found in the frozen section. Kosher. Product of Honduras. Sonia and I would both buy again. I'll throw out a solid eight out of ten stars for Trader Joe's Sweet Ripe Plantains. The beautiful wifey will go with nine out of ten.

Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Solid Light Yellowfin Tuna

I guess tuna canned in oil has more flavor and moisture than tuna canned in water, but it also has more calories and fat. It's more messy too, and when you eat as much tuna as we do, that's at least a minor consideration.

That said, if I'm going to buy tuna in oil, I prefer that it be olive oil. It's funny how every brand that packs their tuna in olive oil proudly specifies that it's "canned in olive oil" right on the packaging and in their advertising, while companies that use other oils like sunflower seed or soybean never specify what type of oil it is, but say simply, "packed in oil."

Anyhoo, this product is canned in the good old USA...with fish caught by pole and line in good old Indonesia. An interesting business model to say the least, but who am I to question Big Joe? International tuna tastes just as good as domestic tuna.

And it's your typical yellowfin here, flaunting a softer texture than albacore tuna and a slightly more pungent flavor. Fun fact: yellowfin is the only species of tuna that you'll regularly find as sushi, steaks, and canned. It's considered more versatile than its cheaper cousin skipjack but far more affordable than its fancy family member bluefin.

Would I buy Trader Joe's Solid Light Yellowfin Tuna in Olive Oil again? Sure. But I'd probably gravitate towards their Albacore Tuna by virtue of its cheaper price tag and packed-in-water status on the majority of my Trader Joe's runs.

$2.49 for the 5 oz can. Kosher. Dolphin safe. Found with the other tinned fish products. I give Trader Joe's Yellowfin Tuna seven out of ten stars. Sonia will go with seven and a half.

Bottom line: 7.25 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Pumpkin & Spice Snickerdoodle Cookie Mix

Prior to 2025, the only flavor of snickerdoodle I'd had was, you know, snickerdoodle-flavored snickerdoodles—cinnamon and sugar. Earlier this summer, we checked out Trader Joe's Strawberry Doodle Cookies, a product I didn't expect to work at all but was pleasantly surprised with.

I guess pumpkin spice isn't too far a cry from a classic snickerdoodle, since both flavors typically contain sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and clove or cardamom. Trader Joe's even threw in some actual autumn squash in the form of pumpkin powder for just a hint of harvestiness. It's balanced out by all the aforementioned spices and the nice soft breadiness of the cookies.

To prepare, you simply combine the mix with an egg, milk, and a stick of butter. Then you form the batter into little balls which then get rolled in the separate "sugar and spice mix." Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375°F and you've got about 22 pumpkin spice snickerdoodles.

Sonia and I both enjoyed the fresh-baked cookies quite a bit, and they're still scrumptious even after they've cooled down and solidified. We tried them for the first time live on camera, and you should totally watch, like, and comment on the YouTube video embedded below. <hint, hint>

The cookies are slightly crunchy on the outside thanks to the crystals of sugar and cinnamon. They're soft and chewy on the inside. We found the pumpkin spice level to be just about right here. We'd both buy this product again.

I kind of wanted to call them "pumpersnickle cookies." But then I Googled "pumpersnickle" and the Urban Dictionary entry for that word made me reconsider.

If it's not back on shelves at your local Trader Joe's now, it should be by the first or second week of September. $3.99 for the 17.57 oz box. Kosher. Eight and a half out of ten stars from Sonia. Eight out of ten stars from me for Trader Joe's Pumpkin & Spice Snickerdoodle Cookie Mix.

Bottom line: 8.25 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Organic Margarita Mix

Guess we better sneak this review in before the end of the summer. Cold margaritas go hand in hand with hot weather. If you're at TJ's buying Apple Cider Donuts already, you're jumping the gun in my humble opinion. But hey, whatever floats your boat.

Just because your kids are going back to school doesn't make it fall yet. For it to be fall and truly feel like fall, it has to be (1) AFTER Labor Day and (2) COOL outside. Astronomically, fall doesn't start until September 22nd. If the calendar still says "August" and heat indices are routinely reaching for a hundred degrees, that puts us squarely in margarita season, my friends. So grab a glass and a couple of ice cubes and let's have a drink together.

This product is certified organic. It is the fifth margarita product we've tried from Trader Joe's, but it's the very first one we've tried that's organic. For the sake of historical record, we'll link to the other margarita reviews we've done.

Trader Joe's (not organic) Margarita Mixer

Trader Joe's Mango Margarita Mixer

Trader Joe's Lime Margarita

Trader Joe's Everything but the Bartender Margarita

This product is sweet, but not quite as candy sweet as the recently-reviewed EbtB Margarita in a can. There's little to no syrupy aftertaste here. It's an organic margarita that finishes surprisingly clean on the palate.

Instructions say to add 2 parts mix with 1 part tequila, though that can be modified to suit your taste. I've seen virgin margarita recipes involving orange juice or flavored sparkling water that would go well with this product if you're looking for something non-alcoholic. The mix is quite thick and heavy by itself, so you'll want to dilute it with something.

$3.99 for the 32 oz plastic bottle. Organic. Would buy again. All in all, it's a tasty product with great ingredients. I'll throw out eight out of ten stars for Trader Joe's Organic Margarita Mix. The beautiful wifey will follow suit.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Chocolate & Peanut Butter Lover's Nut Mix

Well, this product was released around Valentine's Day and for some strange reason is still around. It's an unusual mix of nuts, cookies, pretzels, and mini peanut butter cups. At first, neither Sonia nor I were particularly enamored with it. It seemed dry and kind of boring.

But over time, it grew on both of us. I think for me it was the uniqueness of the elements and the plethora of almonds and cashews in the bag. For Sonia, it was the absence of "milk chocolate gems" which seem to make an appearance in nearly all of Trader Joe's snack mixes that put this blend over the top into winning territory for her. Let's break it down ingredient by ingredient, as we've done in the past.

First up, Trader Joe's Tiniest Chocolate Chip Cookies. They're probably the most unnecessary element in the mix. At least at one point, TJ's sold these by themselves in a resealable bag. They got a 6.5 out of 10 on this blog. So...they're just kinda "meh." Plus, this is a chocolate and peanut butter lover's mix, not a chocolate chip cookie lover's mix.

Next, let's look at the pretzel sticks. Also somewhat pointless, but some type of pretzels generally get thrown into every trek mix/trail mix/nut mix/snack mix in existence. They add crunch and saltiness, but again, do they really have a place in a chocolate and peanut butter mix?

Mini Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. Okay, now we're talking. With plenty of milk chocolate and peanut butter in every little cup, these things are great. They make up for the humdrum cookies and pretzel sticks. In fact, if there were too many of these guys in the mix, it might be a bit too much chocolate and peanut butter.

Almonds. Whole almonds, roasted, covered in sea salt. Very nice. I guess you have to love almonds in addition to chocolate and peanut butter. Fortunately, both the beautiful wifey and I do.

Cocoa dusted dark chocolate almonds. More almonds, but with a twist this time. They have a layer of dark chocolate on them. A bit of dark chocolate in the mix is interesting. It provides a slightly richer flavor and a bit more complexity to the overall taste of the snack.

Cashews. It's getting pretty nutty in here now. Gotta love cashew halves. They just bring even more rich, nut-tacular flavor.

Finally, peanuts. Wait. There are no peanuts in a peanut butter lover's mix? Version 2.0 should totally have peanuts. If I were the mix master, I would lose the little cookies and throw in peanuts, for sure.

$5.49 for the 12 oz resealable bag. Kosher. In the end, the lack of peanuts and inclusion of a couple of superfluous elements will put me in the "not bad" territory. I'll spring for seven and a half stars out of ten on Trader Joe's Chocolate & Peanut Butter Lover's Nut Mix. Sonia will go with a full star more than me: eight and a half out of ten stars.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Spicy Mango Habanero Guacamole

Well, shoot. If mango can work with pico de gallo, who's to say it can't work in guacamole? Avocado, mango, onion, jalapeño, bell pepper, and habanero pepper. That doesn't sound half bad.

And it isn't. It's actually surprisingly delicious. The mango gives the whole thing a bright, sweet zip. The rest? It's like regular guac minus the tomato. I've never been a huge fan of raw tomato, so it's a step in the right direction as far as I'm concerned.

Sonia's a tomato-lover, but even she loves the refreshing uniqueness of this dip. It's great on chips. Isn't all guacamole great on tortilla chips? It's just as good if not better on fish tacos. We imagine it would work with shrimp tacos, chicken tacos, and probably even classic ground beef tacos—but we can tell you from experience that white fish, beans, and cheese in corn tortillas blend beautifully with mango guac.

We polished off the tub on the same day we opened it. At 35 calories per serving, we really don't feel too bad about doing that. We have no major complaints other than the word "spicy" in the title. I mean, it does contain jalapeños and habaneros, but they're well-tempered by the other ingredients and there's not much more than a faint residual heat, at least by our standards.

Would we buy it again? You betcha. $3.49 for the 10 oz tub. Kosher. Found in the refrigerated section. Eight and a half out of ten stars from me for Trader Joe's Spicy Mango Habanero Guacamole. The beautiful wifey will spring for nine stars.

Bottom line: 8.75 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Crunchy Chili Onion Sprinkle Seasoning Blend

At least one of our YouTube viewers mentioned this product in a couple comments, and we finally got around to trying it. So glad we did. Thanks, Jane Doe. I wish we could go back in time and add this to our big discussion about our favorite TJ's seasonings. We like the original Chili Onion Crunch product quite a bit, but this one surpasses it in the flavor department by a good margin.

The original condiment is certainly a bit crunchier than this one, although there is a distinct crunch element here as well, in the form of crispy fried onion pieces. I was never super enthused about the oiliness of the original topping, and we definitely don't have anything like that here. It's dry as a bone. That's a good thing IMO. I think it actually makes this product more versatile.

Flavor-wise, this blend is absolutely delicious. It's robust, zesty, and spicy—but not too spicy. It's a heat that you feel in your chest at least as much as your mouth. It tastes like sea salt, onion, garlic, chili, and pepper all mixed together.

It has a bit of brown sugar in the mix, too, so it's slightly sweet. I don't know if I've ever had szechuan pepper before, but that's one of the many elements in this mix, and it very well may be the magic ingredient. I'm not sure. 

This may be my new favorite seasoning from Trader Joe's. Nay. This may be my favorite seasoning blend, period.

$1.99 for the 2.64 oz shaker. Kosher. Nine and a half out of ten from me for Trader Joe's Crunchy Chili Onion Sprinkle Seasoning Blend. The beautiful wifey will go with nine out of ten stars.

Bottom line: 9.25 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Strawberry Mochi

It seemed like for a long time, Trader Joe's mainly just carried Mikawaya brand mochi. In fact, Mikawaya mochi was the first ever non-Trader Joe's brand product that we reviewed on this blog. It was also the first ever dessert item we reviewed on this blog, a full 15 years ago this month.

Slowly, TJ's rolled out their own line of mochi with specialty flavors like mango and pumpkin pie. Mikawaya brand suffered from a few recalls of their products throughout the years and eventually, Trader Joe's just started offering their own classic flavors like vanilla and, of course, strawberry. 

This is the fist time we've tried Trader Joe's own strawberry, but we've had Mikawaya's version from TJ's many times throughout the years. Internet rumors suggest Bubbie's Ice Cream is Joe's supplier for their own line of mochi.

Well, shoot, these strawberry mochi are delicious...but maybe not quite as delicious as the Mikawaya strawberry..? The rice shell seems much stiffer on these for some reason. I guess we did experience something similar with the vanilla flavor we reviewed in 2019.

Odd that these and a few other flavors would be so stiff and starchy while products like Trader Joe's Blood Orange Mochi have both stellar taste and texture. It seems to bother Sonia a bit more than it bothers me. Pro tip: let the mochi thaw more than the five minutes suggested on the box.

$4.99 for six mochi. Kosher. Gluten free. Found in the frozen dessert section. Would probably opt for one of the newfangled gimmicky flavors or Mikawaya brand before purchasing this exact product again. Seven stars out of ten from me. Five out of ten from Sonia.

Nathan's score: 7 out of 10.

Sonia's score: 5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Sparkling Tea & Lemonade and Trader Joe's Sparkling Matcha Lemonade

Some of you youngsters may be unaware, but there was a famous golfer in the 1960s named Arnold Palmer that popularized mixing iced tea and lemonade. At some point, they just started calling the mixture by his name and even folks like me who never watched golf and are way too young to remember him in his heyday would occasionally order "an Arnold Palmer" at restaurants and such. Folks that grew up in the 80s and 90s might remember him from ESPN and Pennzoil commercials. He was still a household name even if you didn't pay much attention to golf. But yeah. Lemonade and iced tea = Arnold Palmer.

I mean, it is an outstanding combo. Now matcha and lemonade? That seems a little weird to me, but hey, I'm game for a sip or two. I'll try just about anything once. Sonia is a little more into matcha and green tea than I am, and she thinks matcha lemonade sounds pretty enticing.

<tries product, shoots video>

Shockingly, the beautiful wifey likes the black tea and lemonade combo a little more than she likes the matcha tea and lemonade combo. I like them both about the same, to be honest. Neither are particularly syrupy or sugary. I mean, they're a tad sweet, but they're also a tad tart and tea-ish. The carbonation is a nice addition. That's one thing a traditional Arnold Palmer never had: fizz. I always enjoy fizz.

Refreshing? Yes. A bit of caffeine in the tea part of the beverage? I would think so. Excessive sugar? Nope. Just 80 calories per 12 oz can.

I think I like sparkling juice beverages better than these tea and lemonade dealies in the end. Sonia thinks they have their place. She'd consider a repurchase, particularly of Trader Joe's Sparkling Tea & Lemonade.

$1.99 for each individual can. Not sure if they sell a 4-pack or not. Trader Joe's Sparkling Matcha Lemonade is showing "not available" on traderjoes.com as of the time of writing this post, but its counterpart is alive and well. I'll go with seven stars a piece for both tea and lemonade beverages. Sonia will throw out seven and a half stars for the matcha drink and an even eight for the black tea version. Our scores are still close enough that we'll just average out the points.

Bottom line: Trader Joe's Sparkling Matcha Lemonade: 7.25 out of 10.

Bottom line: Trader Joe's Sparkling Tea & Lemonade: 7.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's S'mores Bars

Truth be told, I didn't do a lot of overnight camping as a kid. I went to day camps for various sports and crafts. I went out to friends' places—people that lived on farms or acreages—and we'd occasionally have a bonfire or a campfire of sorts. And of course there were church camps and family camps, but I was usually just a daytime guest.

Even still, someone would inevitably break out the s'mores. At block party barbecues and school field days, at least one person had to throw marshmallows on a smoldering charcoal grill even if there wasn't an open flame. Once they had browned just enough, you'd tuck them in between two Honey Maid graham crackers right next to a little square of Hershey's chocolate. The heat from the marshmallow would melt the chocolate just enough to make it gooey. I always managed to get some on my clothing. But other than dark brown chocolate stains on khaki shorts, it was pure bliss downing a fresh-made s'more on a hot summer evening.

Since then, we've seen a few offerings from Trader Joe's with the moniker "s'mores" slapped on them. Not a single one has done the name justice. And this product is no different, unfortunately.

Trader Joe's Campfire S'mores Bar

Trader Joe's S'mores Frozen Sandwiches

Trader Joe's S'mashing S'mores

Trader Joe's S'mores Ice Cream

We've got a run-of-the-mill, store-bought, pre-packaged brownie as the base for these "s'mores." There's a very thin layer of marshmallow creme at the top and an equally thin layer of honey graham on the bottom. Had they beefed up the top and bottom layers, we might have been looking at a decent score on this product, but as it is, too much rides on the brownie portion of the dessert, and it's just not special enough to warrant all the calories and sugar here.

We tried them at room temperature, simply removed from the freezer and thawed for three hours. We also threw them in the air fryer as per the instructions. I liked the room temperature version just as well as the air fried one, but Sonia preferred them warmed up. Alas, in the end, we both had the same overall sentiment towards the product.

$4.99 for six bars. Kosher. Found in the frozen section. Neither Sonia nor I would buy Trader Joe's S'mores Bars again. Six out of ten stars from me. Six out of ten from the beautiful wifey as well.

Bottom line: 6 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Passion Fruit Granola with Dried Raspberries

Passion fruit and raspberry? That sounds interesting. Add to it some rolled oats, rice syrup, and sugar, and we probably have another tasty Trader Joe's granola on our hands. There have been so many throughout the years, it's hard to keep track of what we've reviewed and what we haven't, what's still available and what's been discontinued...

"Passion fruit puree" is the third ingredient here. It gives the big crunchy oat clusters a faint citrusy sweetness and a bit of a tang. Passion fruit and raspberry are both sweet and tart, so this cereal is quite tangy. It's almost bordering on too tangy for my taste, honestly.

Like most cereals of this kind, the dried raspberries are far and few between. That first bowl I poured in the pic only had two actual raspberries in it. I grabbed a third out of the bag just for the sake of the photo.

This just isn't my thing, personally. Sour cereal is just not something I'm craving, like, ever. For that reason, I think it works a little better as a yogurt topping than a traditional bowl of cereal with milk, but that's just me. There's quite a bit of sugar in this product, too, so I'd probably reach for something like cake or ice cream before I'd reach for this product again.

I know this granola has its following. Plenty of positive reviews out there in cyberspace if that's what you're looking for. Plus, unfortunately, negative reviews never go viral or do very well on social media, which sucks for the traffic on this blog. 

I gotta be honest, though. This granola is okay, but I wouldn't buy it again. By all means, if you disagree, let us know in the comments. Tell us why you like it. Six and a half out of ten stars from me for Trader Joe's Passion Fruit Granola with Dried Raspberries. Sonia will go with an even six.

Bottom line: 6.25 out of 10.