10 Best Cookies from Trader Joe’s, Ranked

How many shopping bags does it take to carry one box of every cookie from Trader Joe’s? I can tell ya, because I’ve done it. It’s four. Four very full Trader Joe’s paper bags. After surviving the most awkward (and least sexually charged) TJ’s checkout experience in store history (I tried to explain that it was for work, but I don’t think they believed me), I taste-tested every cookie they sell side-by-side to recommend the very best Trader Joe’s cookies you can buy, provided you have a TJ’s near you. Sorry, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming! 

What we looked for in the best Trader Joe’s cookies

• Flavors worthy of the farmer’s market: I don’t care if it’s a classic shortbread or wacky fall flavor; I expect it to taste like it was baked by a retired pastry chef named Fran who sells cookies at the local farmer’s market for fun.
• Fresh texture: Look, most of the Trader Joe’s cookies that come in those big plastic tubs taste pretty stale. The best Trader Joe’s cookies retain a freshly baked chew or crumble, even if they’ve been sitting on a shelf for a hot minute.
• Great dupes: From Joe-Joe’s (aka Oreo’s) to Aussie-Style Chocolate Creme Sandwich Cookies Coated in Chocolate (aka Tim Tams), TJ’s signature cookie dupes should rival the real thing, at an even better price.

Anyways, don’t buy four shopping bags worth of cookies. Save yourself, and stick to these ten best Trader Joe’s cookies instead. 

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Best Trader Joe’s Cookies

Speculoos Cookies

Trader Joe’s

You’ve seen ‘em. You probably love ‘em. And we’ll admit, TJ’s Speculoos Cookies aren’t an exact dupe for Biscoff, nor are they as good—they come off as a little more crumbly, homemade, and unrefined. But these still hold a special place in my heart, perhaps because they’re used in Trader Joe’s best ice cream, Speculoos Cookie Butter Ice Cream. I look forward to buying these every holiday season and enjoying them with a small glass of Baileys—my ideal Christmas combo—but I’ll be the first to say they aren’t the very best cookies at Trader Joe’s by a long shot. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best Trader Joe’s Cookies

All Butter Shortbread Sandwich Cookies with Raspberry Filling

Trader Joe’s

If you love a jammy cookie, these are the best cookies from Trader Joe’s to buy. Me personally? Not much of a jam or jelly girl, but my gosh, the shortbread on these is really enticing. It’s soft but dense at the time, with lightly crisp edges. The raspberry filling leans a little sweet for my tastes, but most people will probably like it. Plus, these are just nice to look at. TJ’s cookies tend to have that mismatched, homemade appeal, but these are more neat and uniform. Kinda perfect for a holiday party platter or Christmas cookie arrangement. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Trader Joe’s Cookies

Maple Leaf Cookies

Trader Joe’s

We loved the new maple leaf ice cream sandwiches from Trader Joe’s that came out earlier this fall, and we were eager to try these. First, don’t be put off by the whiff of fake maple flavor that hits when you open the box. The maple is actually quite nice and bright and it only lives in the creme filling, not the softly baked butter leaf cookies. Altogether, the sweetness is pretty balanced for a thick, creme-forward sandwich cookie. It’s basically giving pancake in cookie form. The leaf shapes are pretty gorgeous but surprisingly huge. Perhaps too big, if that’s possible. You probably won’t want more than one at a time—but hey, for only $3.99 for approximately 14 cookies, that’s a pretty great value. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Trader Joe’s Cookies

Petite Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Trader Joe’s

Like the rest of modern American society, we’re getting serious pumpkin spice fatigue over here. Luckily, TJ’s Petite Pumpkin Spice Cookies taste way more like sweet ginger cookies than pumpkin spice. (It’s one of the few times I’m not docking points for false advertising.) Picture those yogurt- and sprinkle-dipped animal crackers, but tailored to fall, with a mild spice that pairs nicely with a good apple cider. They make cute and fun little lunchbox treats, too. Kids and adults will love these, trust us!

Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Trader Joe’s Cookies

Pumpkin Flavored Joe-Joe’s

Trader Joe’s

For the record: TJ’s “Pumpkin-Flavored” Joe-Joe’s aren’t nearly as sweet as their Pumpkin Spice Joe-Joe’s. I feel like the latter gets more hype, but these are way more balanced. You can actually taste the pumpkin puree in the ingredients, along with a hefty amount of sweet ginger and more subtle warm spices. This is what a pumpkin spice sandwich cookie should taste like, if you ask me—an homage to real pumpkin, not the Starbucks drink.  

Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Trader Joe’s Cookies

Triple Ginger Cookie Thins

If you watch our taste test video above, you’ll see these were pretty high in our on-the-fly ranking (third place), and I’ve demoted them slightly here. Not because I don’t love them—they are dead ringers for Anna’s Swedish Thins, if a little less crisp overall—but because I know the general public is not out here salivating over ginger cookie thins. You want a cookie, not a cookie lite™. The immediate sharp ginger bite you get here is exceptional, and between this box and Trader Joe’s Triple Ginger Snaps, these are the superior, fresher-tasting cookies. But they aren’t super exciting overall… hence my final placement. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Trader Joe’s Cookies

Belgian Cookie Butter Almond Thins

Everyone give a warm welcome to my new favorite cheeseboard crackers—I mean cookies. These super thin, graham-cracker-esque almond cookies would taste so very yummy with a creamy brie or honeyed goat cheese. They’re delicate, crisp, and slightly sweeter than your average graham cracker, with nutty almond bits to add interest to every bite. Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling would use them to make an icebox cake, because she’s a genius. Honestly, these are my personal pick for the best cookies at Trader Joe’s, but my sweet tooth really started to rot by the end of this taste test. Until there’s cheese involved, they can’t be much higher than fifth place. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Ebay

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Trader Joe’s Cookies

Walker’s Shortbread Fingers

Walmart

Walker’s, a Scottish shortbread company that started as a family bakery in 1898, doesn’t exclusively sell its famous shortbread fingers at Trader Joe’s—regardless, they are absolutely some of Trader Joe’s best cookies (I’m especially sad I couldn’t find the limited-time Walker’s Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel Shortbread on the shelves). These thick little planks of shortbread have a smooth, delicate crunch and buttery richness that shows a mastery of the craft. I mean, I’m probably overselling it—how exciting can a shortbread finger really be—but the melt-in-your-mouth texture really won me over. They even made our master list of the best cookies you can buy.

Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Runner Up

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Joe-Joe’s

Trader Joe’s

Hey, another great word of advice from Justine: Put your Chocolate & Peanut Butter Joe-Joe’s in the freezer. It’s life changing, okay. Even if you don’t, these are popular for a reason. I don’t think they’re the best cookie dupes TJ’s has to offer—they’re way more decadent than Oreos—but that only makes me like them more. The rich, velvety (and not at all waxy) chocolate on the outside is hard to beat. These are dangerously addictive—even though each cookie is so substantial, you know you shouldn’t have more than one or two at a time. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Aussie-style Chocolate Creme Sandwich Cookies

Trader Joe’s

These Tim Tam dupes are so damn perfect we couldn’t help but put them in our #1 spot. And yeah, dupes kinda took over the top half of this ranking, but…that’s the way the cookie crumbles, I suppose. (I had to do it, I’m sorry.) Tim Tams aren’t easy to find in every state, but as long as you have a Trader Joe’s, that doesn’t matter. The creamy chocolate is so comforting and the biscuit is so munchable, you’re in texture heaven. We didn’t test the efficacy of the Tim Tam slam with these, but that’s okay—you’ll just have to buy them and do it on your own. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other Trader Joe’s cookies we tried:

Double Chocolate Chocolate Wafers, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Crispy Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies, Gluten Free Soft-Baked Snickerdoodle, Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies, Cinnamon Schoolbook Cookies, Triple Ginger Snaps, Trader Joe’s All Butter Shortbread, Meyers Lemon Cookie Thins, Dark Chocolate Dipped French Butter Cookies, Lacy’s Dark Chocolate Almond, French Galette Butter Cookies