Do yourself a big favor and steer clear of Trader Joe until after the holidays. Take my word on this. You will only get yourself into trouble. The last couple trips I made there have resulted in me exiting the store with armfuls of amazing holiday treats that I "think I should have on hand in case I need a last minute gift for someone." Yeah, whatever. We all know what that means.
The first item I spied that has been my downfall: Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels. When you bite into one of these, you get a flavor shot of coarse sea salt at the very moment your taste buds recognize the caramel. I will not keep these in the house any longer.
The next item that your enabler friend here would like to share: Candy Cane Joe Joes.
I actually discovered these a few years back and really-honestly, have given them away for gifts but a few boxes always seem to linger behind in my own cupboard. Someone must have shoved them behind the cereal. So, what are Candy Cane Joe Joe's you ask? They are cookies that are way better than Oreos (the chocolate part is even more chocolatey) and they have bits of crushed candy canes throughout the cream centers. Pure bliss. Recently, some wise guy at Trader Joe corporate thought it would be fun to take things up a notch and cover these in dark chocolate, thus creating the new "enrobed" version but I did not even put them in the cart. I mean, enough is enough, right?
Now for those of you who aren't fond of chocolate (we can never be friends), here is something for you as well. Straight from the Netherlands - Caramel Stroopwaffles. Now that World Market is closed, I can only find these at Trader Joe. I am ashamed to say that I have gotten my dear 90-year old Grandmother hooked on these but I think at age ninety, I will eat whatever I wish and not worry. The caramel in these cookies is cinnamony and buttery and partially absorbed into the wafers, making them deliciously chewy. Great stocking stuffers I would think.
And saving the best for last.....sipping chocolate. You know what I'm talking about. Real chocolate designed to be slowly dissolved in warm milk. The only thing better than the Trader Joe version is the Caribou Coffee Guittard Drinking Chocolate which is my favorite because it has real chunks of chocolate that are slowly dissolved, rather than a mix. I just had their dark chocolate version in a mint mocha today and didn't want to ever get to the bottom of my cup. So good.
Sorry Swiss Miss, it just wasn't working out.
