There haven't been many Christmas Day posts on this blog throughout its 15 year history, but once again we'll follow the precedent set by our Grump Tree write-up from a few years back and post about another living plant product from the Pacific Coast. I won't even call it a review, because I know very little about mistletoe, and what do I have to compare it to other than crummy wads of green plastic with little fake berries and twine?
I don't even think I've spontaneously kissed anyone under the mistletoe in my entire life. I mean, I grabbed Sonia the other day when she was standing within ten feet of the doorway where I've hung this happy little sprig and gave her a peck on the lips because I knew she'd appreciate the affection and attention. But I hardly need a wad of toxic evergreen leaves to smooch my wife of 16 years.
This is indeed "fresh" mistletoe. The little spiel on the back of the packaging says it's from "the Pacific Northwest" although it's not any more specific than that. It's real poisonous mistletoe. So don't eat it. Don't let your pets or toddlers eat it, either. I handled it with my bare hands and then ate some chips without thinking and I'm still here. So it's probably not all that potent.
It comes wrapped in a reddish bow and a golden twist tie. Yes. The sprigs are bound together with a twist tie like you use to bind up the top of a trash bag. But as twist ties go, this one is among the prettiest I've ever seen with its shiny gold hue. Our mistletoe didn't have any berries on it as far as I can tell. It's solid green except for the ribbon...and the gilded garbage bag tie.
For $2.99, you get actual mistletoe. No plastic stuff here. The box is pretty, with classic Joesian artwork on the cover. It's got a see-through window so you can make sure your mistletoe isn't rotted or anything. I think we'll stick it back in the box at the end of the season and see if it's preserved well enough to last until next year. We'll report back.
Sonia and I will go with eight out of ten stars a piece for Trader Joe's Real Mistletoe, found near the other seasonal greenery, flowers, and plants. Would buy again...probably? Anyway, merry Christmas to all! Thanks for reading!
We actually reviewed this product 12 years ago. I wrote a terza rima poem about it under the incorrect assumption that the product was pronounced pan-uh-TONE. It's actually pan-uh-TONE-ay. Or something like that...
Anyway, Sonia's score was tragically low for some reason. And yet she kept buying this product year after year. So we decided to do a video about it and amend Sonia's score and throw up some new info and photos.
I can't tell if the product is a victim of shrinkflation or if they just use slightly different ingredients now. But this version has 30 fewer calories than the version from 12 years ago, while the net weight has remained the same at 3.52 ounces—or did they just decide not to update the front of the packaging? I think we paid two bucks even for the one in 2013. This one cost $2.29. Not too bad considering how much everything else has gone up.
It's still imported from Italy. It's still remarkably soft and fresh-tasting bread considering it's shipped halfway around the world, wrapped in cellophane and a box. The "best by" on ours is in April 2026 and we bought it a couple weeks ago. It's still got a ribbon on the top of the package so you can hang it on your tree like an ornament.
Some might say it's just Italian fruitcake, but we think it's a fun, festive, and exotic product. This time around, Sonia and I are both giving Trader Giotto's Panettone Classico eight out of ten stars. Would buy again.
I was pretty young the first time I tried pecan pie. It was around Christmas time. A neighbor and friend of the family that made some tasty nut rolls tried her hand at pecan pie instead that year. Somewhere buried in my foggy memories of Yuletide yore—somewhere in between playing with the dog outside in the snow, sledding down the steepest hill in the town, and helping my dad set up his model train and Christmas village—somewhere in there lies my recollection of that first taste of pecan pie. I remember liking it a lot, but I really can't recall the specifics other than some sweetness and lots of pecans.
From then on, I rarely had pecan pie any time other than Thanksgiving. It was always pumpkin pie for Christmas dinner. But in recent years, Sonia and I have been sampling whatever pecan pie products Trader Joe's offers. Last year, we tried the delightful Teeny Tiny Pecan Pies. They were absolutely scrumptious, convenient, and fun. In years past, we sampled the Chocolate Pudding Pecan Pie. Many of you guys know I'm not fond of slathering all the food in chocolate as Trader Joe's is wont to do, but that was a very interesting and unique dessert.
We even had pecan pie filling in a jar...and some other mini pies from more than a decade ago. Can't say this large pecan pie is the best of the bunch, unfortunately. It's not bad. It's just...not as good as those aforementioned pecan pie products. The crust is very...blah. Just quite...unmemorable. There's too much filling and it's just like an off-yellow gelatin. It's sweet but not very interesting.
On the plus side, there are lots of pecan halves. I don't know if even more pecans could have redeemed this dessert, but it might have helped. I think I just wanted a richer filling mix. The crust could have been a bit more buttery, flaky, and flavorful, too.
It's ten bucks and serves five people. I'm pretty sure we got more than five servings out of it. Well, let's just say you'll get eight. I'd go ahead and recommend two boxes of the teeny tiny pies if you're trying to serve eight people. The teeny tinies are five and a half bucks each. So, for just a dollar more, you'd still have pecan pie for eight people and I think those diminutive doodads are head and shoulders better than this pecan pie.
We'll be nice and give this offering seven out of ten stars. It's found with the baked goods if you're still interested in giving it a whirl. We'd gravitate toward any of those other pecan pie products before purchasing this one again. Bring back that Chocolate Pecan Pudding Pie, please! In the meantime, there's always the Teeny Tiny Pecan Pies.
These two British imports came out a couple months apart, with the hot honey fudge appearing over the summer and the clotted cream following a bit later. Both are still currently available according to traderjoes.com and both were available at our local Trader Joe's as of the time this review was composed. I'm not exactly a fudge connoisseur but these products sound fairly interesting, and British candy is Christmassy enough, so let's get to it.
First up, Trader Joe's Hot Honey Fudge. True to the name, there's a whisper of distinctly honey sweetness. The "hot" part of the equation isn't particularly noticeable on the front of the palate when you first bite into the candy, but rather it creeps up on you and tingles the back of your throat at the finish. I'm surprised how much I like these. The heat isn't overwhelming if you're used to spicy food, but there's enough of a kick to make it quite interesting. I like this candy just a bit better than the other one.
Next, Trader Joe's Clotted Cream Fudge. This one's creamier, sweeter, and richer, and Sonia prefers this one over its spicy cousin. It has a more indulgent flavor, and the flavor isn't a far cry from that of butterscotch. Both fudges are soft and easy to bite into, with a melt-in-the-mouth quality as you chew.
Each box contains 10-12 pieces of fudge and will run you $2.99. We'd buy either one again in the future. They'd make great stocking stuffers for the fudge fanatics in your life. We've also checked out Trader Joe's Maple Flavored Fudge and Trader Joe's English Butter Fudge, in case you're interested.
Sonia will give seven and a half out of ten stars to Trader Joe's Hot Honey Fudge and she'll give eight out of ten to Trader Joe's Clotted Cream Fudge. I'll go with seven and a half for the hot honey selection and an even seven for the clotted cream offering. In the end, they'll both average out to the same score.
Traderjoes.com quotes the beginning of The Big Lebowski in its write-up for this product. I tried to recreate Sam Elliott's epic voice over from the Coen brothers film to the best of my ability in the video review below, so be sure to check it out and hit like and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Fun fact: I wrote my media studies final thesis on The Big Lebowski back around 1999. It was about how the film didn't have any real message or purpose and I argued that it didn't need one. It was super deep and philosophical but I don't have a copy of it anymore so you'll just have to take my word for it.
For those of you unfamiliar, the main character in the film goes by "The Dude." Apparently, it was the inspiration for this cookie. The palm trees behind the confection suggest a Mediterranean climate similar to Los Angeles, which serves as the setting for the film.
But enough about quirky late 90s cinema. How's the cookie? Well, the frosted parts are actually harder than the unfrosted parts, making them extraordinarily rigid. The taste is honestly better than I expected. It's very traditional gingerbread. It's sweet and spicy but not too strong on either count.
As long as you're not expecting anything too soft or extravagant, you probably won't be too disappointed with Trader Joe's Gingerbread Dude Cookie. It dunks fairly well. $2.99 for the very large four serving gingerbread cookie. Product of South Africa. Sonia and I give this item six out of ten stars for the food factor. Just so we don't come off too grinchy, we'll throw out a separate score for the novelty and cuteness factor. El Duderino would make an excellent stocking stuffer.
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.
Ten bucks gets you ten miniature puff pastries here. Obviously there's some French culinary influence but they are not imported, in case you were wondering. That's a steep price tag in my humble opinion, so let's take a look and find out if they're worth it.
They come frozen, of course. 400°F for 25 minutes will have them piping hot and golden brown on the outside. They smell pretty decent but not particularly pungent.
What's working: the delicious buttery, flaky pastry puff breading outer shell. It's similar to the crust on countless other hors d'oeuvres we've tasted from Trader Joe's throughout the years—the Mini Brie en Croute comes to mind in particular. The overall flavor including beef, mushrooms, garlic, green onions, and salt is complex and savory. Tastes like something a legit Parisian chef might come up with.
What's not working: there's not enough filet mignon, and what little is there is unpleasantly chewy. When I see the words "filet mignon," I'm expecting something tender and soft that will melt in my mouth like butter. Even if they'd have simply called this "beef en croute," I'd have been somewhat disappointed. To call it filet mignon seems downright deceptive.
Sonia isn't as critical of the texture as I am. She's also a bit more fond of the overall flavor. She does agree that Trader Joe's Mini Filet Mignon en Croute contains a very small amount of food for ten dollars, however, and wouldn't be particularly keen to purchase it again simply for the two of us. She would, on the other hand, consider buying it to take to a large holiday party for the benefit (or detriment) of many others.
There are many other appetizers at Trader Joe's that are just as tasty as this one with a better texture and cost less money. I wouldn't buy it again. I give Trader Joe's Mini Filet Mignon en Croute six out of ten stars. Seven and a half out of ten stars from the beautiful wifey.
It has been absolutely frigid here lately. I guess it's another "arctic blast." Fun. Have already done some snow shoveling with the beautiful wifey this year. It's always nice to duck in out of the cold, sit down by the fire, and warm up with a nice big bowl of ice cream, don't you think?
And not just any ice cream—it's Trader Joe's English Toffee Ice Cream. Finally, an English toffee product I can get behind. It's got a brown butter ice cream base, small toffee pieces covered in chocolate, almond bits, and a caramel-esque swirl. It's extremely buttery, sweet, rich, and indulgent.
Sonia and I are both happy it has a yummy toffee flavor without massive jawbreaking slabs of hard candy. It's mostly smooth, but the nuts and toffee pieces keep it interesting. It's got whispers of chocolate, but not much more than that.
We polished off the whole thing in a single day. It's one of the better holiday ice creams we've seen from Trader Joe's. English toffee is far from my go-to flavor, but it's seasonally-appropriate and this offering didn't disappoint.
$3.79 for the pint. Kosher. Would buy again next year. Eight out of ten stars from both Sonia and me for Trader Joe's English Toffee Ice Cream.
