Trader Joe’s December Edition

Trader Joe’s holiday guide was full of so many treats that it was really hard to limit myself. You know you’re in trouble when you’re only on page 4 of the flyer and you already have 6 things marked on the checklist.

Here’s a round-up of the items we ended up buying:

Chocolate Marbles

Of all the purchases we made, this was our absolute favorite. We loved them so much that we actually went back and got several more boxes. I’m a sucker for pretty chocolate, but these aren’t just any old chocolates. They are truffle chocolates, filled with either chocolate ganache or hazelnut praline. We fell in love with hazelnut praline filled chocolates in Paris and it’s much harder to find here, so we were super happy to find Trader Joe’s selling boxes of these at a very reasonable price.

Sliced Truffle Ham

Thin slices of ham with natural truffle shavings inside. Given my love for truffles, I had to try this. I thought the ham had a pretty good truffle flavor. I’m not a huge fan of ham in general though, so this was just okay for me.

Truffle Mousse Pate

I was browsing through the cheese section when I came across this item. I’m not sure how long they’ve been carrying it, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it. We always enjoy ordering pates as an appetizer at restaurants, so I was excited to try this one at home. We spread it over some crackers and enjoyed it as a Sunday pre-dinner snack. It was very rich and creamy.

Nduja Spreadable Spicy Salami

I’m very intrigued by the idea of a spreadable salami. We haven’t opened this one yet, but we will soon.

Opal Apple

I love trying out new fruit and I haven’t tried this variety of apple before. The description sounded so good and I was especially curious by the fact that the apples don’t brown when you cut them open!

The apple was incredibly sweet and crunchy–and yup, it didn’t brown. I sliced it in half, then left the rest sitting on the counter for a few hours and it was still fine. It’s a little pricey at $1.19 each, but it was fun to try.

While at Trader Joe’s we also picked up some fresh holly branches to decorate our house with. I usually buy it every year and this year I added it to an already existing flower arrangement. (Sorry, no photo!)

Last, but not least, we stocked up on Trader Joe’s Triple Ginger Brew which was such a popular item last year. We’ve been waiting all year for it, but unfortunately it’s been recalled! If you haven’t read about the recall, found out more here. Sadly, no Trader Joe’s special ginger brew this year. We’ll have to stick to their regular ginger brew bottles that they do carry year round.