Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe-Joe's

So this is the last post of mint week. And since we started with cookies, I thought we should end with cookies.

Last year when I fell in love with the Candy Cane Oreos, I got several suggestions that I should try Trader Joe's version: the Candy Cane Joe Joe's. I agreed but sadly, I couldn't get a box; I guess last year's batch was just that good.

But this year I made sure to get me some! (Wait, that sounded bad...)



Joe-Joe's come in a nice cardboard box and are sealed into in an Oreo style plastic tray inside. The box contains a pound of cookie goodness. The cookies themselves are chocolate wafer cookies. Nestled between the cookies is a layer of vanilla flavored cream, studded with actual pieces of candy canes! OK, the description sold me.

This is not going to be an easy challenge for Trader Joe. And since Oreo is pretty widely available, that is what I am going to use for comparisons sake.



The wafer is softer than its Oreo counterpart. I actually sort of liked that. The pieces broke off in sort of a flaky way. Texture-wise I really liked them. Flavor-wise...eh, not as much. The chocolate flavor is not as strong as the mass-market Oreo. I don't often say this about cookies, but I think it could benefit from a little salt. It's still tasty, but I thought the wafers were kind of bland.



The creme: It is a pretty looking filling. It's a delicate pastel pink, and you can actually see the candy bits. And speaking of the candy bits, I really liked the crunch. The pieces aren't big enough that you find yourself wondering why they didn't just throw the whole cane in. I know the creme is supposed to be vanilla flavored, but I didn't really pick that up. The creme is pretty smooth and the portion is generous (I would compare it more to a Double Stuffed Oreo than a regular Oreo)

The milk test: The wafer quickly becomes soggy -- which I love. And the sogginess makes the crunches pop even more, which was also good. I did like the cookies better in milk.

I know that Joe-Joe's have a hugely dedicated following, which I am now probably going to annoy...right...about...now...

I do give Trader Joe props for using ingredients that one can actually pronounce and that are probably Dwight Schrute approved and/or supplied (beet color). But while I found the Joe-Joe's to be a decent cookie, I still prefer the big, bad, mystery ingredient-laden competitor.

I know, I know. I am kind of ashamed of myself too.



PURCHASED FROM:
Trader Joe's

Mint Fudge Covered Oreo Cookies (Limited Edition)

Many of you (well, I hope it's many of you) may remember that I loved last year's Old Fashioned Candy Cane Oreo so much that not only did I rave about them in my review, but I also hoarded them and worshipped them at a shrine that would have even the most hardcore Twihard look at me like I was a little crazy.

Sadly, I have not seen the Candy Cane Oreos in my local WalMart, although Twitter follower SherryPys did mention them in a tweet so perhaps they are out there. What I was able to find -- and is widely available, rather than a WalMart exclusive -- is the Mint Fudge Covered Oreos.



There are a couple of major differences here. First, the Candy Cane version was a regular sized 12 ounce packet of Oreos. The Mint Fudge version is a box of 12 cookies, for roughly the same price. This is standard protocol for all of the Fudge Covered line.

Second, in the Candy Cane edition it was the creme center that was mint flavored, leaving the classic cookie wafer "normal". In the case of the Mint Fudge, you may have guessed it: it's the fudge covering that is mint flavored.



OK, so how does it taste?

Like the best Thin Mint cookie you've ever had, that's how.

The fudge is liberally infused with mint flavor -- which is a good thing, because it distracts from the otherwise cheap fudge. The fudge layer is thick enough that it contains the crumbs of the cookies pretty well.



The cookie and the creme filling are both the same as classic Oreos; it is simply the addition of the mint flavored fudge that sets it apart. Part of what makes this so good and so different from say, a Thin Mint, is the quality of the cookie. Love Girl Scout cookies as I do, the chocolate is oily and the actual wafer has an oily aftertaste if you really pay attention to it. (Note that this does not keep me from eating my body weight in them once a year.) But this Oreo has no such issues.

Since the cookies taste so good, the big question for me is how would they hold up to the dunk test. While I don't dunk actual Thin Mints, I do dunk Oreo's. So I bit into the cookie first, because I figured the fudge would act like a little cookie condom and keep the moisture of the milk from making the cookie soggy. And I LOOOOOVE me some soggy Oreos! Unfortunately, in that respect, the fudge coating makes it a fail...because, just as I'd feared, it seals the cookie so well against the milk that dipping it really doesn't do much other than make the outside kinda wet. So have them with milk if you like, but maybe don't bother with the dipping.

Marvo beat me to reviewing these -- be sure to check out his review here.



PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket