As the weather has gotten cooler and the days shorter, one of the things I was most looking forward to was seeing what Trader Joe’s would have for pumpkin season. Every year they add more and more pumpkin flavored food items, outdoing the previous year. I couldn’t wait to visit and explore. And for those who don’t really like pumpkin, I did find some interesting non-pumpkin goodies too.
During my shopping trip, I counted about 23 pumpkin flavored items, though I’m pretty sure I missed a few. There were even pumpkin flavored dog treats!
I managed to show significant self-restraint and not buy every single pumpkin item in the store. I did try to take quick photos of everything I didn’t buy.
Let’s start with the non-pumpkin goodies:
Brussels Sprouts Stalk
I’ve had Brussels Sprouts, but I’ve never seem them still on the stalk. How cool looking is this? I couldn’t resist buying one.
Coconut strips
I mentioned in my recent Costco post that I’ve been a little obsessed with the young coconut chunks. So I was really happy to see Trader Joe’s now carries their own version. I love the thick coconut pieces. I do wish they had an unsweetened version though.
While shopping there we also noticed bacon cheddar cheese, which they were giving samples of. It was pretty good.
And the cookie butter shortage is apparently over. They were fully stocked with both the smooth and crunchy version.
Now onto the pumpkin goodies:
Pumpkin Spice Coffee, Pumpkin Biscotti, Pumkin Spice Chai
Pumpkin Bar, Pumpkin Bread & Muffin Mix, Pumpkin Scone Mix
Pumpkin Cereal Bar, Pumpkin Oatmeal, Pumpkin Toaster Pastries
Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps, Pita Crisps with Pumpkin Seed
Pumpkin Spice Granola, Pumpkin Greek Yogurt
I forgot to take a picture, but I also saw the pumpkin ice cream that they also had last year. It’s quite good but I didn’t buy any as I had other errands to run after my shopping trip. I will be back for it. Update: I picked some up and used it to make Pumpkin Ice Cream Bread!
Also when I was checking out, the cashier mentioned pumpkin bagels. What? How did I miss those??
Here’s some of the items I picked up:
Pumpkin Granola
I love granola and I’m really enjoying this pumpkin spice version. It’s subtle but tastes just like Fall.
Pumpkin Macarons
This is another item I got last year. I like that these taste a lot like pumpkin and not just pumped with pumpkin spice.
Pecan Pumpkin Oatmeal
We haven’t dug into this yet, but I plan on having it soon.
Pumpkin Croissants
I’m really excited for these as well. I’ve never had pumpkin croissants before. They have to proof overnight so I will have to plan ahead to try this one out.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread
Another item I purchased last year and loved. Now to buy some bagels to spread it on.
You can read about my Trader Joe’s pumpkin purchases from last year here.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
Oh my goodness. I am so happy to have stumbled across this post. I too share the same Trader Joes pumpkin love :https://livingthepaisleylife.blogspot.com/2013/11/my-pumpkin-addiction.html
I wasn’t fortunate enough to buy a lot of the things shown in your post, as they we already wiped out! The macaroons were to die for though! Thanks for the great post. I am about to read your similar post from last year!
I do love the macarons too
Stopit!!. Stop telling people all the good stuff. When I called the city bus to see if left my sweater there (found it buried in comforter). She told me about the pumpkin stuff at TJ’s. Told her was glutenfree (SCD food). So after her description of P macarons, looked up, Whalla. Went there and none at noon,already sold out. (Takes me ~40minutes by bus(10 by car),but knit/croch/draw and meet neat people). He gave me number and said call in morning and they would set aside 1 for me, and then he changed the order from 4 to 10 for the store on Saturday.
Have you tried the Almond Horns yet?
I have not tried the almond horns. I hope you get your macs!
I am making the pumpkin bars as cupcakes. Does anyone know how long I should bake them for?
There’s also a pumpkin body butter (cream) — no lie! It’s in TJ’s Oct. 2013 Fearless Flyer.
I just went through the frequent flyer! i need to go back for pumpkin waffles and more
Wow! Thanks for the pumpkin update. I want to try those macarons and draw a little jack o’ lantern face on them with edible markers. I hear you about the cookie butter, the spoon method is best lol!
Oh that would be so cute!
Thanks to this post, I just informed my hubby that I will be making a trip to TJ’s this weekend. It’s about an hour from my house, so I have to make a plan in advance.
I hope you get everything you desire!
No pumpkin butter?!
Oh i didn’t check! I bet they did have it because I got it before.
Ok I see your biscoff posts. 8 of them last year
https://kirbiecravings.com/tag/biscoff
I followed your link to their website. They dont have choco chip flavour or caramel flavour, it is just creamy or crunchy and their is espresso in it so this wont work for the kids. thanks anyways.
I will search for your biscoff post. I ‘ve only been to Amsterdam in Europe and didnt go to bakeries.
Poof: O ok. Please let me know how that all turns out. Like how you did multi part posts for the Kraft Recipe Makers post series?
The packaging from the pumpkin granola was different from last year. Sounds like it’s better because when I tried it in November 2012 it tasted almost perfume-y.
And while the cookie butter tastes amazing, a friend gave me a jar and I can’t figure out what to do with it. Spreading it on graham crackers seems redundant, putting it on a chocolate bar seems like trying too hard to get fat(ter), and using it to make cookies seems… well… ridiculous. I dipped honey wheat pretzel rods in it and that was OK but they are still better with peanut butter (Skippy chunky honey roasted, more specifically). I might try swirling it into a pan of brownies this week and see what happens.
I like spreading mine on toast, baking with it, and to be honest: eating it straight of the jar with a spoon. Which I know is not good for you. heh. I didn’t find the pumpkin granola to be perfumy so maybe they changed it. The pumpkin spice was pretty subtle.
kirbie,
brussel stalks ; YUCK I dont like brussell sprouts but I havent ever seen them on a stalk ever in my life. Is this how they grow or this is GM to grown on a stalk for presentation purposes?
COOKIE BUTTER: I didnt know even this existed! Are there different flavours like cookies n cream butter, choco chip butter? What do you speard it on, a cake/cipcake ?
pumpkin granola: whe you say it tastes like fall do you mean when you eat it you feel warm , cozy, hearty? Or you think of leaving changing colours and falling ?
pumpkim macaroons: i read in the nYT earlier this year that macarrons were going to be the next big pastry thing after cupcakes and cake pops. Instead it is cronuts. glad I didnt invest in that macaroon shop!
PUMPKIN CROSSIANTS: Please do a poston the pumpkin croissants. I LOVE croissants but I cant cook so I want an expert like you [i burn water] to let me know what ‘let poof overnight’ means. Also, the seeds on top are nut free right, like made/picked/processed in a separate part of the TJ factory ?
I’m pretty sure they are grown on the stalk and they just cut part of it off and left it on the stalk.
Cookie butter is basically Trader Joe’s version of Biscoff, which I have posted about. it’s a spicy biscuit speculoos cookie in Europe turned into a spread and they don’t have other flavors. And you can spread it on anything just like Nutella or peanut butter.
the granola reminded me of fall spices.
proof overnight means that you let the dough rise. I have no idea if it is nut free
oooh your post made me so envious! We have recently moved to Brazil, and if only I could find a supermarket like that here! Next time the hubby is on business in the US…he will be sent on some serious errands 😉
Lol, that’s great that at least you can send the hubby on errands in the US. =)
Oooh pumpkin croissant! I’ll have to try that 🙂
Yeah that was definitely one of the ones I was most curious about.
I saw some of the pumpkin items at TJ and thought of you, Kirbie 🙂 I’m not much of a pumpkin fan, but the mini pumpkin pies look yummy.
I was tempted to buy those! I like the idea of individual pumpkin pie.
I bought pumpkin yogurt and was disappointed. There was a weird aftertaste (maybe due to the fact it was lowfat). I’ve always wanted to buy a stalk of brussels sprouts but know I’ll be the only person eating it.
I bought the pumpkin yogurt last year and I remember I didn’t like it. I couldn’t remember why, I just know I didn’t like it either so I didn’t get it this year.
Very nice post. We were at the original TJs in Pasadena last Saturday and got a few things($18), came home and on Tuesday went back to ‘our’ location and bought more ($63)…the checkout lady told us there were about 30 more pumpkin items coming in (including pumpkin bagels)…I’m personally waiting for the fresh cranberry orange relish. The key to the Brussels sprouts is to pick off and use by size (i.e. all the smalls for one meal, all the larges for another).
Oh wow. Sounds like you got a good amount of pumpkin stuff! I bought about $20 worth and plan on going back for more. I really want to try the pumpkin bagels. Thanks for the tip about the Brussels sprouts!
Oh!!! This is wonderful! Trader Joe’s is 2 hours away from me, but we make trips!
Oh that’s too bad you don’t have one closer.