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I tried 10 of Trader Joe's holiday snacks, and I'd buy at least 7 of them again

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I tried all of the seasonal Trader Joe's holiday snacks that I could find.
  • I tried 10 of Trader Joe's holiday snacks to see which were the tastiest choices.
  • The peppermint pretzel thins had a unique minty, salty flavor, so I'm not sure I'd buy them again.
  • I'll definitely repurchase the Nuts About Rosemary mix and Jingle Jangle.

I love delicious, satisfying snacks, and with the holiday season in full swing, I decided to see which Trader Joe's holiday items I could try.

Here's how 10 Trader Joe's holiday snacks stacked up.

Editor's Note: This story was originally published on December 1, 2023, and most recently updated on December 6, 2024. Product availability varies — some items on this list may not currently be available at Trader Joe's.

I was impressed by the number of gingerbread sandwich cookies in each package.
The gingerbread sandwich cookies looked large.

My first thought upon opening the frosting-filled gingerbread sandwich cookies was, "Wow, that's a lot of cookies!"

Each box held 18 sandwich cookies, which were on the softer side.

I was a little concerned about how the cookies would be texture-wise because the box I picked up had large oil spots seeping through the packaging.

Trader Joe's gingerbread sandwich cookes were sugar, spice, and everything nice.
I liked the sweet, spicy flavors of Trader Joe's gingerbread sandwich cookies.

The gingerbread sandwich cookies were a hit in my house.

The cookies were soft, the filling was creamy, and the top had a slight crunch from a sugary coating.

I also thought the cookies had a good balance of spice and sweetness.

I was skeptical of the salty, minty Trader Joe's peppermint pretzel slims.
Trader Joe's peppermint pretzel slims combined sweet and savory flavors.

I love chocolate-covered pretzels and combinations of sweet and savory flavors.

But I wasn't sure how the pieces of peppermint candy would taste with the salty pretzel slims.

The flavors of mint, sweetness, and saltiness came in waves.
I thought the peppermint pretzel slims might have had too much going on.

I first noticed a strong peppermint flavor when I took a bite.

Then I got the flavor of the pretzel and a hint of the candy coating, which tasted like white chocolate.

I liked the combination of a thin pretzel and a thick candy coating, as it made for a crispy yet chewy texture that's good for snacking.

The pretzel bites were better than I thought they'd be, but I don't know if I'd grab them again.

The Scandinavian Tidings gummies looked really cute in the package.
The Scandinavian Tidings came with three different shapes.

As a vegetarian, there are a lot of gummy candies out there that I don't eat because they contain gelatin, so I loved that the Scandinavian Tidings gummies were an option I could enjoy.

In the package, the tree, star, and ornament-shaped candies looked cute.

However, I didn't love the smell of this candy because the scent reminded me of cherry-flavored medicine.

The gummies were OK, but I prefer Trader Joe's Scandinavian Swimmers.
Trader Joe's Scandinavian Tidings were all right.

I tried Trader Joe's Scandinavian Swimmers earlier this year, and I think I'd prefer them over the holiday gummies.

I didn't notice a flavor difference between the various shapes or colors of the gummies. They were all chewy with a mildly sweet flavor.

Though they weren't my favorite, my partner really liked them. For that reason alone, I'll buy them again for stocking stuffers.

I wondered how flavorful the Nuts About Rosemary mix would be.
Trader Joe's Nuts About Rosemary mix packed a lot of crunch.

The shelves at my local Trader Joe's were packed with sweet holiday snacks and desserts, so it was nice to see a savory snack option, the Nuts About Rosemary mix.

I liked that the mix had a good variety, with almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, and cashews.

I liked the nut mix, though I wish it had a little more seasoning.
Trader Joe's Nuts About Rosemary mix would've been better with more garlic or pepper.

Rosemary can be a strong flavor, but I thought the nuts had a pretty mild taste.

They were good and not too salty, but I wished they had more garlic or black pepper.

Still, I'd buy the mix again to eat as-is or use as a salad topping.

I was excited to try the Trader Joe's sweet and salty snack mix.
Trader Joe's sweet and salty snack mix had potato chips and other salted items in it.

Earlier this year, I tried Trader Joe's snacky clusters, which has chocolate-covered potato chips, corn chips, and mini pretzel nuggets.

I loved those, so I hoped this snack mix would be similar.

I was excited to try the half-dipped, chocolate-covered potato chips in the holiday sweet and salty snack mix.

The potato chips were easily the best part.
The sweet and salty snack mix was fine.

When I opened the bag, it seemed like the mix mainly had pretzel and popcorn pieces, which was a bit disappointing.

I thought the pretzels were fine. They seemed like a smaller version of Trader Joe's peanut butter-filled pretzels, but this version didn't have quite enough filling.

The peanuts tasted pretty standard, but I liked the dark-chocolate-drizzled popcorn.

Out of all of the components, the chip pieces were the best. They had a sweet yet slightly bitter taste from the dark chocolate and saltiness that blended well together.

The cute packaging for the Danish butter cookies caught my eye.
I bought Trader Joe's Danish butter cookies based on the packaging alone.

Trader Joe's Danish butter cookies' packaging was too cute to pass up.

I didn't expect much in terms of the flavor, but I liked that the reusable tin housed a variety of cookie shapes.

The Danish butter cookies were nostalgic, though they weren’t my favorite snack.
The Danish butter cookies were light and crunchy.

The cookies were light and crisp, and they melted in my mouth when I took a bite.

They had a subtle sweetness that reminded me of cookies I'd had as a kid.

I don't know that I'd buy these again for myself, but they could be useful in a gift box.

The cinnamon-bun-inspired kettle popcorn seemed interesting.
The cinnamon-bun-inspired kettle corn had an odd smell.

I don't usually eat a lot of popcorn, but I was intrigued by the cinnamon-bun-inspired kettle corn.

I expected it to be pretty sticky and chewy from the flavor coating.

When I opened the bag, I was a bit confused by the smell. The popcorn didn't smell like kettle corn or a cinnamon bun to me.

I’m not typically a popcorn fan, but I'd repurchase the kettle corn.
I'd use Trader Joe's cinnamon-bun-inspired kettle corn for popcorn balls.

The kettle corn was light and airy without any of the stickiness, density, or chewiness I predicted it would have.

The cinnamon glaze was strong but not overly sweet, which was nice.

Because this kettle corn wasn't super sweet, I think it'd be good for holiday popcorn balls.

I was intrigued by the big box of multi-flavor mini pretzels.
Trader Joe's Astounding multi-flavor mini pretzels came in a large box.

When I walked into Trader Joe's, the big, brightly colored box of Astounding multi-flavor mini pretzels was front and center by the entrance.

The flavors sounded fun and festive: dark-chocolate peppermint, milk chocolate with rainbow pearl sprinkles, peanut butter and candy-coated pretzels with cookie pieces and chocolate gems, and coffee and dark chocolate.

As expected, the coffee and peanut butter pretzels were my favorite.
Two kinds of Trader Joe's Astounding multi-flavor mini pretzels stood out to me.

The box contained four smaller bags of each flavor of pretzel. I liked that the flavors were separated, but I wish the bags were resealable.

I had the same issues with the peppermint and dark chocolate pretzels as I did with Trader Joe's peppermint pretzel slims. To me, the peppermint and salty pretzel were a weird food combination.

I thought the milk-chocolate pretzels with pearls tasted OK, but I didn't like the texture of the sprinkles.

The pretzels with the coffee-flavored coating and dark-chocolate drizzle and the ones coated in peanut butter were my favorites.

However, I wish the cookie and candy pieces stuck to the peanut-butter-coated pretzels better. Most of the cookie and candy pieces were loose in the bag.

I was impressed by the giant tin of the Baton Lover’s Quartet.
Trader Joe's Baton Lover's Quartet wafer cookies came in a cute tin.

The Baton Lover's Quartet came in a canister that looked ready to be gifted and included four flavors: chocolate orange, cookies and cream, cocoa, and hazelnut.

I’d probably skip the Baton Lover's Quartet in the future, as I didn’t love any of the flavors.
The Baton Lover's Quartet wafer cookies had a good texture.

When I opened the tin, I saw that each flavor was individually packaged.

I tried the cookies-and-cream baton first and thought it was very chocolaty and tasty. It didn't really taste like cookies and cream to me, though.

I thought the chocolate-orange baton's wafer overwhelmingly tasted like artificial orange, though the chocolate center mellowed it.

The cocoa baton's wafer exterior didn't really have any strong flavor but the filling was rich and chocolaty.

The hazelnut baton tasted more chocolaty to me than anything else.

The texture of all the wafer batons was nice, as the exteriors were light and crisp and the fillings were rich and creamy.

But overall, I didn't love any of the flavors enough to warrant buying the multipack again.

Jingle Jangle is already a treat I look forward to buying every year.
Trader Joe's Jingle Jangle contains chocolate-coated treats.

Each year, I eagerly head to Trader Joe's in search of the brand's Jingle Jangle mix.

The container includes a range of milk- and dark-chocolate-covered treats, like pieces of Joe-Joe's cookies and mini pretzels.

I always love to get this mix, eat all the dark-chocolate-covered pieces, and offer my partner the milk-chocolate ones.

Jingle Jangle is still one of my favorite Trader Joe’s snacks of all time.
I love how Trader Joe's Jingle Jangle lasts all season long in my house.

The mix was just as delicious as I remembered it.

The Jingle Jangle is pretty rich because each piece has a thick chocolate coating. Due to its intensity, I typically enjoy only a few bites at a time.

One tin tends to last me all season long. I already have my tin for this year, but I already know I'll buy this again next winter.

Read the original article on Business Insider