The Best Chocolate Snacks from Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's chocolate snacks
There's actually a name for those chocolate snacks crowding the checkout lane at Trader Joe's: impulse buys. You've already shopped, but just as you are unloading your cart, something catches your eye. Or perhaps you're just feeling a bit snackish? Or you think you deserve a treat for having gotten your shopping done? You're in luck. Our expert tasting panel, consisting of 3 generations of chocolate fiends, rounded up the chocolate snacks and ranked them.
Oat Chocolate Bars
Oat Chocolate Bars
3 mini chocolate bars in a cute little box, dairy free, soy free, gluten free, vegan
Ingredients: Cane sugar, cocoa butter, ground oats, cocoa mass, rice syrup, sunflower lecithin (emulsifier) natural vanilla flavor
The box is so adorable we really wanted to like these. But no. "Waxy, boring, too sweet. I would eat it on a hike. Or if I was starving. Sad. Only a good option if you can't eat anything else."
Grade: D
Oat Chocolate Bars with Crispy Rice and Chocolate Nibs
Oat Chocolate Bars with Crispy Rice and Chocolate Nibs
3 mini chocolate bars in a cute little box, dairy free, soy free, gluten free, vegan
Ingredients: Cane sugar, cocoa butter, ground oats, unsweetened chocolate, puffed rice (cane sugar, salt, sunflower lecithin (emulsifier), cocoa nibs, rice syrup, sunflower lecithin (emulsifier), sea salt, natural vanilla flavor.
Adding in crunchy bits was not enough to make this a worthwhile treat. "Waxy, not rich, but the crunchies are nice. Only marginally better than the crunchy version."
Grade: C-
Dark Chocolate Sunflower Seed Butter Cups
Dark Chocolate Sunflower Seed Butter Cups
2 individual cups of thin cups filled with sunflower seed butter
Ingredients: Dark chocolate (cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter)sunflower seeds, organic powdered sugar, (cane sugar, tapioca starch) cocoa butter, sea salt
The moment we broke one of these in half we knew it was not going to be good. "Sunflower butter has a vegetal oily quality and a bit mushy. Chocolate has bloomed. Does not compare well to Justin's."
Grade: C
A Handful of Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzels
A Handful of Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Ingredients: Dark chocolate (sugar, unsweetened chocolate, processed with alkali, cocoa butter, milkfat, soy lecithin (emulsifier), natural vanilla flavor, pretzels (unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine monostrate, riboflavin, folic acid) malted barley flour, salt, soybean oil)
How could chocolate and pretzels not be good? "Crunchy, salty, sweet, cute, itty bitties, I would finish the bag. The salt is what makes them so irresistible."
Grade: B+
Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups
Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups
Ingredients: Dark chocolate (sugar, unsweetened chocolate processed with alkali, cocoa butter, soy lecithin (emulsifier) natural vanilla flavor) roasted almonds, white confectionery coating) (sugar, palm kernel oil, non fat milk powder, whole milk powder, whey powder, palm or soy lecithin (emulsifier), natural vanilla flavor, salt
The proportion of filling to coating is spot on. "Creamier, distinct flavor of almonds, smooth and melts in your mouth. Good texture."
Grade: B+
Chocolate Covered Almonds
Chocolate Covered Almonds
Crunchy California almonds drenched in our special blend of rich dark chocolate
Ingredients: Dark chocolate (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, milk fat, soy lecithin (an emulsifier), natural flavor, dry roasted almonds, dextrin (corn), confectioner’s shellac.
These taste as good as they look. "Very nice and dark! Crunchy and good, chocolate gets smooth and nice. A real treat. Shiny, attractive. You know what you're getting. Very good chocolate."
Grade: A
Coffee Lover's Espresso Beans
Coffee Lover's Espresso Beans
Chocolate covered espresso beans inspired by your favorite sweet coffee combinations
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, whole milk powder, soy lecithin [emulsifier natural vanilla flavor), dark chocolate (unsweetened chocolate processed with alkali, sugar, cocoa butter cocoa powder, milk fat, soy lecithin [emulsifier], natural vanilla flavor white chocolate coating (sugar cocoa butter, whole milk powder soy lecithin (emulsifier), natural vanilla flavor), sweet wafer (sugar-palm kernel oil, nonfat dry milk, cocoa powder, soy lecithin [emulsifier], natural flavor, salt, paprika extract [for color) coffee beans, dextrin, confectioner's glaze, natural flavor.
Despite the scary long ingredient list, these were very appealing. "I like these! A good snack. More sophisticated, I would like a double espresso bean. A good pick-me-up. Hard to stop eating them."
Grade: A
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Creamy peanut butter coated in dark chocolate
Ingredients: Semisweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor processed with alkali, milkfat, soy lecithin (emulsifier), natural flavor, peanut butter (peanuts), sugar, palm kernel oil, lactose, salt, palm oil, lecithin (emulsifier)
A classic treat, and this version satisfies. "Enough filling to make a statement. Good balance of salty and sweet, nice dark chocolate. Not at all waxy. Quite a delight! Great portion size, nice and petite. It's a good snack or dessert. Really, any time you like. "
Grade: A+