Not to be confused with macaroons, the macaron is a French sandwich cookie made with egg white, almond flour, sugar, and some creamy or fruity filling. We've seen a bunch of different macaron offerings from Trader Joe's steadily over the course of this blog's tenure. One highlight: the pumpkin macarons. Those are probably still our favorite (although we haven't had them in many years. Let's hope they didn't change suppliers or recipes or anything like that) but these would have to be a close second.
Preparation: you simply thaw the entire pack at room temperature for an hour or in the fridge for four hours. Pro tip: actually let them thaw the whole hour. As much as I love cold desserts and iced treats, the flavors of these macarons hit just a little nicer when they're fully unfrozen.
The blueberry flavor was our favorite by a pretty solid margin, the raspberry our second favorite, and vanilla—though not bad by any means—fell in third. The fruity flavors actually tasted like their namesake berries thanks to the inclusion of actual raspberry and blueberry puree. There's apple in there, too, since apple tends to just lend sweetness and rarely overshadows the tart intensity of something like blueberry or raspberry.
The vanilla cookies tasted nuttier and creamier than their fruit-based counterparts but perhaps not quite as sweet or indulgent somehow. Again, nothing to complain about, but if I had the opportunity to buy a dozen blueberry macarons all by themselves, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
Texture-wise, like most good macarons, these were meringue-esque but also soft and slightly chewy. You could feel the almond meal, too, but they never came across as gritty or unpleasant in any way. Very pleasant mouthfeel.
$5.99 for 12 macarons. Product of France. We'd give the blueberry flavor nine out of ten stars. The raspberry and vanilla flavors would get eight and a halfs and eights, respectively. So, in the end, averaging all three scores, both Sonia and I would give Trader Jacques' <ahem> Trader Joe's Raspberry, Vanilla & Blueberry Macarons eight and a half out of ten stars. Would buy again.
Crispy jalapeños? Are they a topping? Or are they a snack? Trader Joe's is quick to let us know that they're whatever you want them to be. I mean, Sonia and I like spicy foods, but I don't think we or a whole lot of other people would be content simply noshing on these crispy critters straight from the bag.
Yeah, they're jalapeños, so they're hot. I mean, they're not Carolina Reaper hot, but that spice builds up on the tongue if you gobble down more than just a handful of these babies. You might be tempted to, however, because they're pretty tasty. They're lightly battered and slightly oily but there's plenty of jalapeño flavor. There's a nice crunch in each bite, too.
Certain pieces are much bigger than others. Some specimens look and feel like they might be a whole dehydrated jalapeño pepper and others seem to be little more than crumbs. They're quite versatile and add a bit of flavor and texture to everything from soup to sandwiches, salads to pizza.
Plus, they're imported from the land of jalapeños, Mexi...wait. What? Thailand? Who ever heard of a Thai jalapeño? Anyway, Sonia and I both agree Thai jalapeños aren't bad.
$2.99 for the resealable bag. Imported from Thailand. Would buy again. We'll go with eight out of ten stars for Trader Joe's Crispy Jalapeño Pieces.
